Tom Jones International

A day before his show in Albany, here’s what is arguably the best article about Tom Jones written in a long while by a writer who does his homework. Enjoy! Feel free to add your own reasons.

Tom cat
Here are 10 reasons why, many years later, women still flock to see Jones

By GREG HAYMES, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, February 23, 2006

With his sonic boom of a voice, ’60s pop star Tom Jones is still making great music…and still making women weak in the knees.

Not only is Jones still hip-swiveling, but he’s still hip.

And as he returns to the Capital Region for a concert at the Palace Theatre on Friday evening, here are 10 reasons why:

1. The hits: Throughout the ’60s and ’70s, Jones was a veritable hit machine, rattling off 18 Top 40 tunes, including such smashes as It’s Not Unusual, What’s New, Pussycat?, Green, Green Grass of Home, Delilah, Daughter of Darkness and, of course, She’s a Lady. And while he’s certainly best known as a pop singer, Jones is — like the late, great Ray Charles — one of those rare singers who has also racked up Top 10 hits on both the country and black music charts. “When it comes to music, I like to do a lot of different kinds of things,” Jones explained during an interview a few years ago.

2. The knight: Heading up the list of names on the Queen’s New Year Honours, the Welsh singer began 2006 with a new title — Sir Tom Jones. “For the last 40 years, I’ve traveled the world singing and entertaining, bringing a bit of Wales and Great Britain to my friends, colleagues and audiences,” Jones posted on his Web site last month. “For me, to accept a Knighthood is a great and humbling honour.”

3. The lingerie: In his heyday, Jones was a larger-than-life sex symbol, igniting quite a combustible reaction among his fevered, predominantly female fans, who often tossed their underwear and hotel keys to the singer in the midst of his frenzied performance. “The whole panties thing really got out of hand,” said Jones. “I used to not exactly encourage it, but go along with it. Pick them up, wipe the brow and do the business, you know? But if people throw things at me now, I don’t pick them up. They just stay where they land. And believe me, sometimes the stage is quite littered.”

4. The voice: “I think that in my case, the image overshadowed the talent in a lot of people’s eyes,” Jones said. “Sometimes, the reviewers were so busy documenting the crowd’s frenzy that my voice would not even be mentioned in the review. The writers would be reviewing the audience’s reaction instead of my performance.” Make no mistake about it, Jones has a voice as big as an ocean liner — remember his towering rendition of I (Who Have Nothing)? — and he still knows how to use it. “I dread the day that I can’t sing,” he confided. “When my voice doesn’t work as well as it does, then I’ll have to stop.” Just don’t expect him to hang it up anytime soon.

5. The duets: As a duet partner, Jones is nothing if not fearless. He’s gone note-for-note with some of the best veteran vocalists around, including Tina Turner, Van Morrison, Dusty Springfield, Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan. But he isn’t afraid to share the microphone with more contemporary hitmakers such as Tori Amos, Portishead, Robbie Williams and Barenaked Ladies.

6. The songs: “If I hear a good song, I want to be able to record it without worrying whether or not it fits my particular musical style,” Jones insisted. And since his prime hit-making days, Jones has managed to maintain his contemporary edge by working with cutting-edge producers (Wyclef Jean produced his 2002 disc, Mr. Jones) and delving into some surprising song bags to tackle such songs as Prince’s super-sexy Kiss, Iggy Pop’s tumultuous Lust for Life (and not the sanitized Royal Caribbean Cruise Line version, either) and an absolutely scorching treatment of the Talking Heads’ Burning Down the House.

7. The catch in his voice at the end of the third verse of I’ll Never Fall in Love Again: ‘Nuff said.

8. The pop culture icon: Jones’ self-deprecating sense of humor has served him well over the years, and he’s scored big points by spoofing himself in The Simpsons, Sex and the City and Tim Burton’s sci-fi flick, Mars Attacks! Currently, you can hear Jones belting out his 1968 hit Help Yourself in new TV spots for Diet Dr. Pepper. And his signature song, It’s Not Unusual, pops up on the big screen in the soundtrack to Pierce Brosnan’s new film, The Matador. Of course, Jones’ music has long been a favorite of filmmakers. Who can forget his appropriately bombastic James Bond theme song, Thunderball?

9. The bluesman: Tom Jones, bluesman? Don’t laugh. Jones was one of the stars of Red, White & Blues, director Mike Figgis’ contribution to the 2003 PBS miniseries Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues, which is now out on DVD. Spurred on by guitar master Jeff Beck, Jones wailed through soul-soaked R&B nuggets, including Goin’ Down Slow, Lawdy Miss Clawdy and Ray Charles’ classic Hard Times. “Basically, I consider myself to be a soul singer,” Jones pointed out. “No matter what kind of music I’m singing, there’s always some element of soul in it.” And on his latest CD, Tom Jones and Jools Holland, Jones teams up with the former Squeeze keyboardist for such blues gems as Willie Dixon’s 200 Pounds of Heavenly Joy and My Babe, as well as Doc Pomus’ Mess of Blues and the standard Saint James Infirmary Blues.

10. The entertainer: While many in the audience at the Palace on Friday will be the longtime faithful Jones fans, the singer is well aware that some of the younger generation might attend simply for the kitsch ‘n’ camp factor. “Oh sure, I know that some people come to the show thinking that it’s going to be a bit of a novelty,” Jones says matter of factly, “but I’m not going to let them go away thinking that.”