I heard the new Tom Jones single the other day - Cerys played it on the radio. And I hesitate to say this, but I think I quite like it.
It's not quite what it aspires to be. Tom's voice doesn't have the grizzled, broken gruffness of, say, a late-era Cash spoke word piece. Oh, and there's a moment when this famously Welsh superstar borders on being too Welsh (it could almost be Bryn from Gavin and Stacey describing the moonwalk as "sliding backwards really"). And although this is Tom's new single, it already feels like the past - its critique of television comes at a time when the online world's influence makes TV look so twentieth century; its damnation of Trump ("an old man with a comb-over had sold us the moon ... reality killed by a reality star") comes as we (hopefully) see the back of the orange one. And some critics (and lots of YouTube commenters) think the guitar riff is a Radiohead rip-off. Well, it's just three chords, in a certain order. Tom's musicians aren't the first to put them in that order, and they won't be the last. Sounds great, if you ask me.
The video is a real piece of work too, taking a wide aim and hitting most of its targets. As well as Trump, Boris, Zuckerberg, OJ, Weinstein, Jacko and a whole host of others fall within the crosshairs.
I don't know what it says about me that the first song of 2021 to really catch my ear is a spoken word piece by an eighty year old, about a medium in decline. Also, I don't care what it says about me. It think this is good, simple as. Others might disagree, but I don't care about that either, not any more.
More power to you, Tom. I don't know what I'll be doing at 80 (walking with a stick and losing my marbles, probably) but I doubt it will be as good as this.
Thanks for this Martin, I don't even quite like it - I absolutely love it. With the spoken word and hypnotic backing I was also reminded a little of Public Service Broadcasting - with a sprinkle of Gil Scott-Heron's 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised'. What's not to like? And at 80 years old too, fantastic.
ReplyDeleteDo you know who's behind it instrumentally?
Oh, good shout re PSB. I don't know who instrumentally, but will try to find out. Brill though, isn't it?
DeleteI prefer Todd Snider's original version, but Tom does a good enough job.
ReplyDeleteWell, I didn't even know it was a cover, though that explains the reference to Milton Berle.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBydsvJX8vM
ReplyDeleteAlso a great video!
DeleteBlimey. Quite extraordinary. Who'd have thunk it? Good on yer Mr Jones.
ReplyDeleteIt's a real piece of work, song and video.
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