Reload (Tom Jones album)


Reload is the 34th studio album by Tom Jones, released in 1999. It contains 15 duets with a range of artists including Van Morrison, Cerys Matthews, Stereophonics, Robbie Williams, and Portishead, mostly recorded with each of the featured artists' usual record producers and in their usual studios. The tracks are mainly cover versions, with a new version of one of Jones' own songs, "Looking Out My Window", and one original track, "Sex Bomb".
Reload became the highest seller of Jones's career, reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart in 1999 and again in 2000. Its biggest single was the collaboration with Mousse T., "Sex Bomb", which reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and was later used in a 2003 episode of The Simpsons. The album has sold more than four million copies worldwide. It was not released in the US; instead the compilation Reloaded: Greatest Hits was issued there in 2003 and featured highlights from Reload.

Release

The album was released on 16 September 1999 in the UK by Gut Records and was released a little later in the US by V2 Records. Five singles were released from the album: "Burning Down the House", "Baby, It's Cold Outside", "Mama Told Me Not to Come", and remixes of "Sex Bomb" and "You Need Love Like I Do".

Critical reception

In a review for AllMusic, Carlo Wolff described the album as "Ultra-modern and topical", and that "Reload suggests you can easily ignore Jones' "What's New Pussycat?" past." He went on to opine that "Not only does Jones deliver one of the more invigorating workings of modern pop here, his selection of material and choice of mates prove that in addition to his routinely extraordinary performances, he's still recording quite potently, thank you." Wolff described the featured artists as "a motley, and very talented, crew", and that "Jones more than holds his own, turning the tunes into unusually personal and expressive vehicles.

Commercial performance

Reload became the highest seller of Jones' career, reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart in 1999 and again in 2000. As of April 2021, it has sold nearly 1.5 million copies in the UK, and more than four million copies worldwide.

Track listing

Note
  • A "special edition" release of the album also includes the single remixes of "Sex Bomb" and "You Need Love Like I Do" as bonus tracks.

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.

"Burning Down the House"


"Mama Told Me Not to Come"


"Are You Gonna Go My Way"


"All Mine"
  • The Divine Comedy – featured artist
  • Neil Hannon – vocals
  • Ivor Talbot – guitar
  • Bryan Mills – bass guitar
  • Joby Talbot – piano
  • Stuart 'Pinkie' Bates – Hammond organ
  • Miggy Barradas – drums
  • Rob Farrer – percussion
  • Phil Eastop, Jim Rattigan, Nick Busch, Richard Clews – horns
  • Maurice Murphy, Andy Crowley, Steve Waterman, Stuart Brooks – trumpets
  • Neil Sidwell, Mike Hext – trombones
  • Pat Jackman, Roger Argente – bass trombones
  • Jamie Talbot – baritone saxophone
  • Gavyn Wright, Perry Montague-Mason, Rebecca Hirsch, Pat Kiernan, Boguslav Kostecki, Jim McLeod, Dermot Crehan, Dave Woodcock, Chris Tombling, Jackie Shave, Vaughan Armon, Mark Berrow, Ben Cruft, Everton Nelson – violins
  • Peter Lale, Katie Wilkinson, Garfield Jackson, Bruce White – violas
  • Martin Loveday, Paul Kegg, Dave Daniels – cellos
  • Chris Laurence – double bass
  • Produced by Jon Jacobs & Neil Hannon
  • Engineered by Jon Jacobs; additional engineering by Andy Scade
  • Arranged by Joby Talbot
  • Recorded at Olympic; mixed by Jon Jacobs at Westside


"Sunny Afternoon"
  • Space – featured artist
  • Tommy Scott – vocals
  • Franny Griffiths – keyboards
  • Jamie Murphy – guitar
  • Dave Palmer – bass
  • Leon Caffrey – drums
  • Jens Lindgård, Petter Lindgård, Sven Andersson – horns
  • Produced by Tore Johansson
  • Recorded at Country Hell & Tambourine


"I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone"


"Sex Bomb"
  • Mousse T. – featured artist; producer
  • Peter Hinderthür – horn, bass
  • Uwe Granitza – horn
  • Lutz Krajenski – Hammond organ
  • Recorded at Peppermint Park & Bunk, Junk and Genius


"You Need Love Like I Do"


"Looking Out My Window"
  • James Taylor Quartet – featured artist
  • James Taylor – Hammond organ
  • Ed Baden-Powell – programming, bass, keyboards, guitars, drum programming
  • John Thirkell – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Steve Marston – saxophones
  • Kwame Kwaten – additional keyboards
  • Harriet Williams – opera voice
  • Pascal Consoli – drums
  • Produced by D'Influence
  • Pre-production at the D-lab
  • Recorded at Sarm West & Master Rock
  • Mixed at Master Rock; mix engineer: Paul Emanuel


"Sometimes We Cry"


"Lust for Life"


"Little Green Bag"


"Ain't That a Lot of Love"
  • Simply Red – featured artist
  • Mick Hucknall – vocals
  • Gota Yashiki & James Wiltshire – programming, keyboards
  • Gota Yashiki & Greg Bone – guitar
  • Neil Cowley – keyboards
  • Laurence Cottle – bass guitar
  • Ian Kirkham & Chris de Margary – saxophones
  • Kevin Robinson – trumpet
  • John Johnson – trombone
  • Produced by Gota Yashiki
  • James Wiltshire, John Lee, Matthew White, Alan Douglas – recording engineers
  • Emily Cracknell, Josh T. – assistant engineers
  • Mixed by Jeremy Wheatley at the Town House
  • Recorded at Westpoint


"She Drives Me Crazy"


"Never Tear Us Apart"
  • Natalie Imbruglia – featured artist; vocals
  • Alan Ross – guitar
  • Paul Turner – bass
  • Johnny Douglas – drums, guitars, keyboards
  • Dave Clews – programming, keyboards
  • Vocals recorded by Stephen Hague
  • String arrangement by Simon B. Hale
  • Ann Morfee, Ian Humphries, Anna Hemery, Bev Davison, Chris Tombling, Iain King, Andrew Roberts, Rachel Byrt, R. George, Helen Hathorn, Richard Milone – violins
  • Nick Barr, Steve Tees, Andrew Byrt – violas
  • Sophie Harris, Nicholas Roberts, Nick Cooper, Adrian Bradbury – cellos
  • Paul Sherman, Roger Linley – double bass
  • Beverly Skeete, Sylvia Mason-James, Andy Caine, Miriam Stockley – backing vocals
  • Produced by Johnny Douglas
  • Engineered by Steve Price & Marc Lane; assisted by Tim Lambert
  • Mixed by Ren Swan
  • Recorded at Mayfair, Angel & Sarm West
  • Mixed at the Town House


"Baby, It's Cold Outside"
  • Cerys Matthews – featured artist; vocals
  • John Parricelli – electric guitar
  • Steve Pearce – bass
  • Simon Chamberlain – piano
  • Ian Thomas – drums
  • Phil Todd, Jamie Talbot – alto saxophone
  • Chris Davis, Chris White – tenor saxophone
  • Dave Bishop – baritone saxophone
  • Derek Watkins, Steve Sidwell, Simon Gardner, Stuart Brooks – trumpets, flugelhorn
  • Pete Beachill, Neil Sidwell, Mark Nightingale – trombones
  • Adrian Hallowell – bass trombone
  • Rolf Wilson, Jonathan Evans-Jones, Rachel Allen, Bev Davison, Wilf Gibson, Helen Hathorn, Paul Willey, Pauline Lowbury, Paul Robertson, Sonia Slany, Pippa Ibbotson – violins
  • Bill Hawkes, Andy Parker, Steve Tees, Roger Chase – violas
  • Jonathan Williams, Nick Cooper, Mellisa Phelps – cellos
  • Orchestra arranged by Matt Dunkley
  • Produced & mixed by TommyD at the Town House
  • Engineered by Andy Bradfield


"Motherless Child"

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Austrian Albums 11
Dutch Albums 57
European Albums 8
French Albums 66
German Albums 10
Swiss Albums 29
UK Albums 13