Tom Jones has announced that his new album Surrounded By Time will be released by EMI on April 23.
Produced by Ethan Johns and Mark Woodward, it features cover versions of songs by Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Terry Callier, Michael Kiwanuka, Tony Joe White and The Waterboys.
The first single is officially a cover of “Talking Reality Television Blues” by American country-folk singer Todd Snider, although the music bears an uncanny resemblance to Radiohead’s “I Might Be Wrong” (or perhaps Thom Yorke’s “Black Swan”). Either way, it’s a fascinating new direction for the 80-year-old crooner. Listen below:
“I was there when TV started,” says Tom Jones, of the song’s lyrics. “Didn’t know I’d become a part of it – but it could be that its power is to remind us how wonderful, crazy and inventive we are, but also how scary the reality it reflects can be.”
Peruse the full tracklisting for Surrounded By Time below and pre-order here.
Won’t Crumble With You If You Fall (Bernice Johnson Reagon)
The Windmills Of Your Mind (Michel Legrand/Alan & Marilyn Bergman)
Popstar (Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam)
No Hole In My Head (Malvina Reynolds)
Talking Reality Television Blues (Todd Snider)
I Won’t Lie (Michael Kiwanuka & Paul Butler)
This is the Sea (Michael Scott)
One More Cup Of Coffee (Bob Dylan)
Samson And Delilah (Tom Jones, Ethan Johns, Mark Woodward)
Mother Earth (Tony Joe White)
I’m Growing Old (Bobby Cole)
Lazarus Man (Terry Callier)