"What good am I, if I'm like all the rest?" emotes Tom Jones on his highly personalised version of Dylan's What Good Am I. No problem there. Few singers with a popular background are going to emerge with an album as remarkable as this during 2010. Recorded live, with no overdubs, and no horn or string trappings, the songs all stem from exemplary sources - culled from memories of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Marie Knight, Mahalia Jackson, John Lee Hooker, Jesse Mae Hemphill and such like and delivered with due reverence, turning on the power when required but never edging into showbiz. The presence of Ethan Johns, producer of Kings of Leon, Laura Marling etc, not only provides Jones with a dynamic sound but, backed by drummer Jeremy Stacy, bassist Dave Bronze and a sprinkling of knowing guests, donates some of the most aggressive yet agreeable guitar licks likely to bend ears this year. **** Fred Dellar, Mojo, Aug 2010