A decade ago in 2010, Tom Jones emerged clasping Praise & Blame – a soul-baring collection that at long last unveiled his musical roots and lifelong affection for gospel and the blues. A decade followed with intriguing reveals via Spirit In The Room and Long Lost Suitcase, reaffirming his unique gifts, his standing in popular music and bringing him to a hitherto untapped audience. Now, at the age of 80, Tom proudly presents his latest musical adventure, Surrounded By Time on 23rd April 2021.
Co-produced by Ethan Johns and Mark Woodward, Surrounded By Time marks out new territory with a sonic landscape of outstanding musicianship and a vocal delivery that re-imagines a diverse set of songs of personal importance that have impacted the artist throughout a long, unpredictable but undeniably impressive career.
Surrounded By Time inhabits new ground, with Talking Reality Television Blues a startling opener that catalogues the impact and changing role of television from its beginning to current times. A driving, almost menacing track accompanies a cool, spoken-word vocal from a performer who has an intimate personal and working knowledge of this cultural force. As Tom explains, ”I was there when TV started – 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.”
Accompanied by a dynamic video which charts the highs and lows of the past 70 years of cultural and social history, the film mirrors an extraordinary career that has spanned the decades, witnessing an artist striving to try new things without losing sight of what is important…the music.