Spirit in the Room

Spirit in the Room
Studio album by Tom Jones
Released	21 May 2012 [1]
Genre	Blues [2] [3] Americana [3]
Length	37:27
Label	Island
Producer	Ethan Johns
Tom Jones chronology
Praise & Blame (2010) Spirit in the Room (2012) Long Lost Suitcase (2015)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	72/100 [4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[5]
The Independent	[2]
BBC Music	Favourable [1]
Pop Matters	8/10 [6]
MusicOMH	[7]
NME	7/10 [3]

Spirit in the Room is the 39th studio album by Welsh musician Tom Jones, released 21 May 2012 and produced by Ethan Johns. The album is comprised entirely of covers.

Among the songs covered on the album are Tom Waits’ "Bad as Me", Odetta’s "Hit or Miss", Vera Hall Ward’s "Travelling Shoes", Richard & Linda Thompson's "Dimming of the Day", and "Charlie Darwin" by The Low Anthem. The album also includes songs by Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, and Paul McCartney among others.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Tower of Song"	Leonard Cohen	3:56
2.	"(I Want to) Come Home"	Paul McCartney	3:16
3.	"Hit or Miss"	Odetta Gordon	3:41
4.	"Love & Blessings"	Paul Simon	4:23
5.	"Soul of a Man"	Blind Willie Johnson	3:49
6.	"Bad as Me"	Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits	3:33
7.	"Dimming of the Day"	Richard Thompson	3:01
8.	"Traveling Shoes"	Ethan Johns, Tom Jones	2:38
9.	"All Blues Hail Mary"	Joe Henry	4:25
10.	"Charlie Darwin"	The Low Anthem	4:45
Total length:			37:27

Deluxe edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Just Dropped In"	Mickey Newbury	4:36
12.	"Lone Pilgrim"	B.F. White, Adger M. Pace	3:04
13.	"When the Deal Goes Down"	Bob Dylan	5:27
14.	"Hit or Miss" (radio version - bonus track)	Odetta Gordon	3:20
Total length:			53:54

Personnel

• Tom Jones – vocals
• Ethan Johns – bass, e-bow, electric slide guitar, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mixing, percussion, slide guitar, toy drums
• Richard Causon – piano, organ, harmonium
• Stella Mozgawa – brushes, drums, percussion
• Samuel Dixon – bass
• Ian Jennings – string bass

Technical

• Robin Baynton – engineer
• Dominic Monks – engineer, mixing
• Jose Gomes and Patrick Philips – assistant engineers ^[8]

Charts

Chart (2013)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart [9]	8

References

1. Aizlewood, John (30 May 2012). "Neither a sea-change nor a slump, this 40th studio LP finds Sir Tom on fine form" . Retrieved 5 April 2013.
2. Gill, Andy (19 May 2012). "Tom Jones: Spirit in the Room: Spirits lift as the Voice shows he's a modern master" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
3. Cooper, Leonie (18 May 2012). "Album Review". Nme.com. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
4. "Spirit in the Room". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
5. Jeffries, David. Tom Jones: Spirit in the Room > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
6. James, Matt (26 April 2013). "Tom Jones: Spirit in the Room". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
7. Paton, Daniel (21 May 2012). "Album Review". Musicomh.com. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
8. "Spirit in the Room - Tom Jones : Credits : AllMusic". allmusic. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
9. OCC. "Tom Jones". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 August 2013.