Tom Jones International

The reviewer likes clearly likes Tom, but we get the feeling he’s too cool to give into that liking. Gets a song or two wrong (Grandma’s Hands is not a “spiritual” in the original sense. It may sound like one, but it was written by Bill Withers in 1971). Also, when Tom sings He Stopped Loving Her Today it is an unutterably sad song just as it is when the “other Jones boy” sings it. It’s just beautiful. And, for the record, when he does his standards set, Here’s That Rainy Day is, we think, the best and most restrained of the lot. The reviewer omitted mention of She’s A Lady, but we choose to believe that was just wishful thinking. Overall, it’s a good review (although we hate it when they talk about his “bug-eyed mugging.”) It sounded like a good crowd. If you were there, please let us know what you thought. Or, even if you weren’t, what you think of the review.

CONCERT REVIEW: Women of all ages adored the Welsh wonder, who rewarded them with heartfelt hits and humor.

By JON BREAM/Star Tribune/March 16, 2008

TOM JONES/When: 7:30 p.m. today/Where: Mystic Lake Casino, Prior Lake/Tickets: $49, $59; 651-989-5151

Tom Jones knows how to work it.

During the stripper classic You Can Leave Your Hat On (his version was heard in The Full Monty), at least eight women danced to the lip of the stage Saturday night at Mystic Lake Casino and flung their panties with style at the feet of the ageless sex symbol.

When one woman held up potato sack-sized whities, Sir Tom feigned embarrassment. Without missing a beat, he tore into Sex Bomb,a playful dance-party romp, and then It’s Not Unusual, his 1965 breakthrough hit that brought seven more panties onstage.

For an encore, the 67-year-old icon worked it even harder. Resurrection Shuffle and I Like the Way, his stabs at disco, were more like low-impact aerobics for the women of all ages (from teens to 80-somethings) who crowded in front of the stage. He then sealed it with Kiss, done with the kind of sassy funk that would have made Prince proud.

Despite the closing disco flurry, the 80-minute performance was really a showcase for Jones’ vocal versatility. Besides his hits from the ’60s and ’70s, he covered everything from standards and blues to country and spirituals — with mixed results.

His Broadway-like belting obliterated the subtleties on Here’s That Rainy Day and He Stopped Loving Her Today, which will sound sadder when George Jones croons it at Mystic Lake on Thursday and Friday.

The Welsh wonder’s approach was more nuanced on the Van Morrison ballad Cry for Home and the spiritual Grandma’s Hands. He was most effective, though, when he cut loose on the swinging That Old Black Magic, the very emotional I’ll Never Fall in Love Again and the hilariously suggestive blues Git Me Some.

With bug-eyed mugging and campy self-parody, Jones, who performs again tonight was in good spirits and in good voice. And, for the record, his performance ended with 49 panties (including one from a grandma gingerly helped by her adult granddaughter to the stage for a photo op), two bras, one stuffed Easter bunny onstage and 2,100 smiles on concertgoers faces.

Sir Tom still looks the same (tanned, toned, curly haired, open shirt and wearing major bling). He sounds the same (stentorian baritone). And he acts the same (bug-eyed mugging, mincing dance steps, a little bump-and-grind and lots of humor and camp). And, of course, he was highly entertaining — as always.

And the set list remains pretty much the same as the one he did at Mystic Lake Casino in 2006. Here’s Saturday’s song list:

1. Raise Your Hand 2. Help Yourself 3. He Stopped Loving Her Today (George Jones) 4. Delilah 5. 200 Pounds of Joy (Howlin Wolf) 6. At The End of the Road (Jerry Lee Lewis 7. Cry for Home (Van Morrison) 8. Here’s That Rainy Day (standard, associated w Sinatra) 9. Fly Me to the Moon 10. That Old Black Magic 11. Grandma’s Hands 12. Git Me Some 13. I’ll Never Fall in Love Again 14. Green Green Grass of Home 15. What’s New Pussycat 16. You Can Leave Your Hat On (Randy Newman) 17. Sex Bomb 18. It’s Not Unusual ENCORE 19. Resurrection Shuffle 20. I Like the Way 21. Kiss (Prince)