Before TV viewers ask, there is, thankfully, no version of U2's Beautiful Day on Tom Jones's latest record. Like its successful predecessor, 2010's God-fearing Praise & Blame, Spirit in the Room is an album of covers. It does not feature Jones's most recent venture into other artists' material, however, in which the massed ranks (and we use the word "rank" advisedly) of Jones and his fellow judges on BBC1's The Voice performed cruel and unusual punishments upon Beautiful Day the other week. You almost felt for the Irish rock titans as the remains of their Day lay bleeding on to the set. On the other hand, neither does this album feature Jones's blistering cover of Howlin' Wolf's Evil, or his extraordinary take on Jezebel, recorded with Jack White in the manner of a satanic Delilah. [...]
Spirit In The Room - The Independant Review 4/5*
Continuing the association with producer Ethan Johns that proved so fruitful on Praise and Blame, Tom Jones's 2010 exploration of American blues and gospel modes, Spirit in the Room takes a decisive step forward by focusing instead on a more modern repertoire. The sound remains substantially the same, but rather than pitting himself against history, as it were, Sir Tom here tests his interpretive grasp of contemporary classics. [...]
Read 3 great reviews of 'Spirit In The Room' from NME, Time Out and Woman's Weekly Magazine [...]
Tom appeared on 'Later with Jools Holland' last night (Tuesday 8th May), performing 'Tower Of Song' and 'Traveling Shoes' live for the first time. [...]