Tom Jones - Praise & Blame [US LP] Vinyl rip in 24-bit/96kHz 
Posted By : aksman | Date : 20 Nov 2010 09:13:52 |


Tom Jones - Praise & Blame
US LP / Lost Highway B0014555-01
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz (converted to 24/96) | FLAC | m3u, cue & Tech Log
Artwork | DR Analysis | 770 mb |& Filefactory | Blues; Soul | 2010

Allmusic.com rating: 4 / 5

Much had been made of the leaked pre-release memo from Islands vice-president, which called this masterpiece a sick joke. Just another example that there are tin ears at the top of the music business, but more than that, the statement is proof that high-rise living can suck the life out of you and that the meek -- of which Jones is now officially a member -- shall win in the end.
- David Jeffries/AMG
	



Praise & Blame is the 39th studio album by Welsh musician Tom Jones, released 26 July 2010. The album was Jones first release with Island Records and was recorded in 2010 at the Real World Studios in England. Produced by Ethan Johns, Praise & Blame was made up of largely little known devotional and gospel covers, marking a departure from the pop-orientated style that had dominated Jones recent recordings.

Critical response

Upon its release, Praise & Blame received generally positive reviews from most critics. Giving the album four stars, Andrew Perry in The Daily Telegraph claimed that the album was by far Jones best album in two decades and stated that with its loose, spontaneous sound, and the all-pervasive sense of artistic rebirth…its a revelation. Similarly, Andy Gill in The Independent stated: Overall, its an extraordinary achievement:Praise & Blame represents the kind of reconnection with his core creative fire that was hinted on a few tracks of his last album, 24 Hours, but is here left naked and bleeding raw, bereft of showbiz blandishments. Giving the album five stars, Gill labelled the album one of the best in Jones’ six decade long career.

The albums stripped down production and focus upon spiritual songs gained numerous comparisons to Johnny Cashs American series and Elvis Presleys 1968 comeback. Writing in American Songwriter, Rick Moore applauded the song selection and stated that on this excellent collection of songs examining the human condition, Jones confronts the issues of heaven and hell in a way that Cash did for much of his life, especially toward the end of it… [Tom] Jones and [Ethan] Johns have made a real statement in the same way that Rubin, and of course T Bone Burnett, do almost every time they produce an album. Writing in The New York Times, Stephen Holden states that Jones vocal delivery conveys the contrition of a sinner as he delivers a mixture of traditional spirituals and contemporary gospel songs tautly arranged for a small band. It is a respectful, expressively focused exploration of a genre beloved by Mr. Jones American counterpart, Elvis Presley.

The change of musical direction, together with stripped down, live production – much at odds with Jones’ traditional style – led Michael Hann in The Guardian to state at last Jones the artist is the match of Jones the entertainer. Allison Stewart, writing in The Washington Post, stated that Praise & Blame is Jones O Brother, Raising Sand and Aint No Grave all rolled into one, a mixed bag of roots-related styles – blues, gospel-lite, country-folk, rockabilly, soul – stripped of all fat and reduced to the barest elements of voice and spartan, if often electrified, instrumentation. The song choices are impeccable, from a thunderous cover of Bob Dylans Oh Mercy standout What Good Am I? to a holy roller redo of John Lee Hookers Burning Hell, all propelled by Jones remarkable voice, still a marvel of quaveriness and bluster and sinew after all these years.


Track listing

      Side A
      1. What Good Am I? Bob Dylan 3:51
      2. Lord Help Jessie Mae Hemphill 3:41
      3. Did Trouble Me Susan Werner 4:15
      4. Strange Things Sister Rosetta Tharpe 3:00
      5. Burning Hell Bernard Bessman, John Lee Hooker 3.26
      6. If I Give My Soul Billy Joe Shaver 3:30

      Side B
      7. Dont Knock Pops Staples, Wesley Westbrooks 2:16
      8. Nobodys Fault But Mine trad. 3:40
      9. Didnt It Rain trad. 3:21
      10. Aint No Grave Claude Ely 3:08
      11. Run On trad. 3:58



Personnel

      Tom Jones – vocals
      Ethan Johns – banjo, bass, guitar, percussion, producer, mellotron, omnichord, mixing
      Booker T. Jones – piano, hammond B3
      Mat Arnold – assistant engineer
      Dave Bronze – bass guitar
      Richard Causon – harmonium
      B. J. Cole – guitar
      Christopher – holland organ
      Ian Jennings – bass guitar
      Andy Kitchen – assistant engineer
      Bob Ludwig – mastering
      Augie Meyers – farfisa organ
      Benmont Tench – piano
      Billy Mims – assistant engineer
      Dominic Monks – engineer, mixing
      Henry Spinetti – drums
      Jeremy Stacey – drums
      Allison Pierce – backing vocalist
      Louis Price – backing vocalist
      David Rawlings – backing vocalist
      Camilla Staveley – backing vocalist
      Emily Staveley – backing vocalist
      Jessica Staveley – backing vocalist
      Oren Waters – backing vocalist
      Gillian Welch – backing vocalist
      Terry Young – backing vocalist


Technical Log

RCM Hannl limited with Circulating Brush
Music Hall MMF 9.1 Turntable
Tonearm: Pro-Ject 9cc evo with Pure Silver Wires
Cartridge: Nagaoka MP-500
Brocksieper Phonomax (Tube Phono PreAmp) (temporarily replaced by ProJect Tube-Box 2 SE)
E-MU 0404 external USB 2.0 Audiointerface
Interconnections : Silent Wire NF5
WaveLab 6 recording software
iZotope RX Advanced 1.21 for resampling and dithering

Vacuum cleaning - TT - Brocksieper Phonomax - E-MU 0404 - WaveLab 6 (24/192) - manual click removal - analyze (no clipping, no DC Bias offset) - converted to 24/96 with iZotope RX Advanced 1.21 - split into individual Tracks - FLAC encoded (Vers. 1.21)

No silence been removed, please burn gapless to match original tracklayout.


Personal Note

With my vinyl transfers, I try to catch the whole beauty of vinyl records; therefore I don't use any post-processing or any sound improvement. What you get is a clear and flat transfer. For getting a clear sound, I'll do an extended washing of each record with my RCM, which can take up to 30 minutes brushing on each side. Resistant ticks and clicks I try to remove as good as possible, but the priority is not to lose any musical information in the process. Surface noises, as long they are not too high, are left in place. Only on bad pressings or on records recorded at extremely low levels do I use a fade in-/-out. As John Peel said, "Life is full of surface noises." In some cases this means that I have to make a compromise.... The result has to pass my personal quality criteria, which is IMO quite high.