Tom Jones is set to make a comeback with what could be the defining album of his career; ‘24 Hours’. Intimate, personal, moving and full of fire this is the first time Tom has had a major hand in the songwriting - and the result is a work of revelation from one of the biggest-selling artists of all time.
"It's all very well just singing songs," says Tom, "but for this record I really wanted to get properly personal. I've been getting reflective recently, looking over my journey through life, and I wanted to get that down on song. This time I wanted to make something that was all about me, my stories, my life. In other words, you listen to this album and you get the real me."
‘24 Hours’ was recorded in Los Angeles throughout last year, and was produced in the main by Future Cut, the drum ‘n’ bass outfit who have previously worked with Lily Allen, Dizzee Rascal, Estelle and Kate Nash. While the production references the impassioned cinematic classics of his early career mixed with a current cross-genre template, the performances deliver the unique power and iconic sound of Jones’ voice as he sings the tale of a mature man who has lived it large and full. The collection includes the sophisticated soul of first single ‘If He Should Ever Leave You’, the shirt button-popping cover of the Tommy James and the Shondells classic ‘I'm Alive’, the cool Latin beats of ‘Style and Rhythm’, the raw, contemporary statement that is ‘Feels Like Music’ and the pop genius of ‘Give A Little Love’.
However ‘24 Hours’ is much deeper than the upbeat pop blasts described above. One song that perfectly encapsulates the intimate tone of so much of this record is ‘The Road’, a wonderfully impassioned ballad about man’s one true love, Tom’s voice filling every note until it comes close to cracking. Meanwhile Tom’s version of Bruce Springsteen's ‘The Hitter’ is remarkable, the sad tale of a boxer on his last legs, Tom conveying the man's broken resolve with a sense of drama redolent of Richard Burton at his Shakespearean best.
This air of reflection continues with perhaps the album's pivotal moment, a song called ‘Seasons’ in which he confronts his past with an unflinching eye. "There's a reason for passing time," he sings. "These are the seasons of my life." And the sense that this is an historic Tom Jones album, one that brings the true substance, grit, strength and age of the man is best exemplified by the title track itself; a spine-tingling gaze into the abyss, delivered with sublime gravitas.
Tom Jones’ influence is all around us today in the likes of Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Duffy and more, and his voice is one of the great soul instruments. At the age of 68, and a recently anointed knight of the realm, Sir Tom Jones is still firing on all cylinders, still a huge music fan, still a genuinely great artist. ‘24 Hours’ is about to send him back up to the top of the charts, and bears witness to the incredible creative rebirth that comes as an artist looks back over their life and discovers through the ageing process what it means to be alive.
Or, in his own more humble words, "I'm just opening up shop again. Let's see who comes in through the door. "