4**** Tom Jones could have capitalised on his current prime-time fame judging The Voice and given his greatest hits yet another repackaging but instead he’s stuck to the serious gospel soul of his 2010 album Praise & Blame. Classy touches include the presence of Ryan Adams producer Ethan Johns, plus a hushed take on The Low Anthem’s beautiful obscurity, Charlie Darwin. Other songs are less obvious choices by big names including Paul Simon and Paul McCartney. Like the twilight reinventions of Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond, at 71 Jones is finally singing songs that suit him, with stripped-back instrumentation that casts his ocean liner voice in the best possible light. “I got to be me, baby, hit or miss,” he sings on Odetta’s Hit or Miss. This one’s another hit.
David Smyth - The Evening Standard