Tom Jones International

“We marvel at the miracle, the blessing, that is Tom Jones’ voice.”

We were fortunate to see a promo copy of two of the three discs in the This Is Tom Jones DVD set to be released in June. The discs we saw were solely excerpts from shows; the lengthy interview with Tom done specially for these DVDs and the ABC-TV promo for the show which will be in the final set were not included. In short, these are kind of rough drafts.

So, what did we think?

Well, if you’ve been reading this site, you know we’re not given to gushing publicly about Tom’s appearance because, in the end it is about the voice. With that in mind, we’ll say it at the outset: As beautiful as he is today, watching these reminded us again of how Tom was just soooooo breathtaking then. He was….well, you’ll see (and you get a hint of it from these photos.) OK, we’ve gushed. Let’s get on with it. (We actually took notes as we watched so we wouldn’t forget.)

First, the main question — what about Tom?

Talking to guests Tom appeared a bit nervous, awkward at first. Still, you can tell how much he was enjoying their talents. But when the music played he moved with enthusiasm and abandon. He looked so sweet and we had forgotten his charming overbite. (Are we gushing again?)

Johnnie Spence and the orchestra and, especially, Big Jim Sullivan, were so outstanding. Among the musical highlights for us was a stunning rendition of Danny Boy. (WE mean the one from disc #1 although it is also on disc #2.)

Throughout, Tom sounds amazing. We marvel at the miracle, the blessing, that is Tom Jones’ voice. In these shows it had power and range where, today, it has power and more depth. But, however you define it, for 40+ years, it’s been extraordinary.
Among the guests was a young Richard Pryor who definitely cleaned up his act for the show. When you see him as he was then, his end is that much sadder. Peter Sellers was also on that first show. Interestingly, his sketch for that evening was written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman (Monty Python). On another show you’ll see Burt Bachrach and Anne Bancroft.

Anne Bancroft’s entire time on camera was spent in sketches dealing with the then-current issues of “women’s lib.” Seems so quaint now; like a history lesson for those who don’t remember that time. Bachrach looked very dapper in a tux that speaks volumes about the clothes then. Did anyone ever dress or do their hair like the people on the show? Hard to believe, but yes.

A barely 20 year-old Stevie Wonder, already so accomplished, sings with Tom and plays the drums. An under-30 Aretha Franklin does, among other things, an amazing, slow and bluesy rendition of It’s Not Unusual.

There’s a lot of the comedy troupe The Ace Trucking Company (with a very, very young Fred Willard) and of Pat Paulson.

We’re looking forward to the entire three-disc set and lots more of Tom on it. If you order them from TimeLife they will be mailed out June 4.

And these photos? They’re screen shots of Tom’s introduction of Anne Bancroft. There will be more screen shots to come. There is now, too, a very bad copy of the ABC-TV promo for the show on youtube.

Ellen & Ursula