Fan Fare, What's New, Pussycat?
Here’s where you’ll find TJ photos and stories that don’t fit into any other categories. It is, as its name says, just for fans — and, hopefully, for fun.
Preview of Seattle Show: Too Often, When They Try for Humor, They’re Just Rude. Here’s An Example.
Friday, May 30th, 2008
This preview of Tom’s Seattle show tonight from the Seattle Times goes for humor but, instead, just rehashes a bunch of tired old stuff and is nasty; rude. If this is a music critic then the field is dying. The guy does no interviews for this article (did he try?). He refers to Tom as the “little Welsh Napoleon of Love,” whatever that means. And he goes on to discuss Tom making tasteless jokes. Finally, he calls Tom an “old goat.”
The only factor on the plus side is that Tom is “hip.” But the writer’s still way back in 2004 when Mr. Jones came out. Tom’s done lots of stuff since he worked with Wyclef Jean. Yet, this is the author’s yardstick of “hip.”
So, we apologize for linking to this article. If we had any integrity, we’d skip it. It shouldn’t be posted. But it’s been posted on Tom’s official site with no comment, so we decided it should be acknowledged/commented upon.
You can follow the link just below and, when you finish reading, click on the writer’s email and tell him what you think. Hopefully, he’ll review Tom’s show tonight and get a fresh look at an amazing talent.
May 30th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Not to disagree, I thought the writer wrote a pretty fair review. Gave Tom credit for some of his own songs, his covers of the great hits he has had in “recent” years, gave him credit for being hip. His comments about the jokes is probably also true. Before I became a “born-again fan,” what I had heard about Tom was very negative, and the raunch factor was one reason I shied away from Tom as a singer because of what I had heard about his act.
May 30th, 2008 at 9:53 am
I wrote Mr. McDonald and gave him a piece of my mind.
May 30th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Marian: Of course you are disagreeing with what we said and that’s fine. But this guy knows nothing after 2004. Thus, according to him the “old goat” has done nothing since then. It is his job to at least try for accuracy. We saw Tom back in those days and, with all the innuendo, all the raunch, all the panties, he was still a remarkable singer. And he still is. But you wouldn’t know it from this preview.
There are still good seats left for tonight’s show in Seattle. Not sure, if we based our decision solely on what this guy says, that we’d buy ‘em.
And, SusannePDX, we try not to give away pieces of our minds, as there’s not many left. But, you go girl!
May 30th, 2008 at 11:19 am
I read the article, and quite frankly, it is only one writer’s opinion. Perhaps it was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. He obviously has not seen Tom perform recently and that is what is important. I doubt that his editorial will change the minds of those who have wanted to see Tom Jones for years and conjure up memories of his old songs and better yet, what he has done since then.
I recently moved to Houston, TX from the San Francisco Bay Area and have visited a lot of places with live talent……musicians, audiences and customers really love to chat here. Whenever I mention that I have seen Tom Jones live several times, people here just go crazy with how they would love to see him…and I am talking about people in their 20’s and 30’s. He is still, and always will be a legend, but he will only be as strong as his management team is. Let’s hope that everyone comes up to the plate to promote this man’s extraordinary talent.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Hey SusannePDX-
Ditto, girl! I wrote to him also. “OLD GOAT?” - PURE TJ ENVY! Actually, I feel sorry for him. Will he ever know the thrill of complete adoration by millions of fans??
May 30th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
This article was this guy’s opinion. Why be so defensive. It was not all that bad. Lighten up folks.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Rica: This individual, lone guy’s opinion was read by tens of thousands of people and it was sloppy reportage. As for “lightening up,” we know many fans who can and do lighten up about Tom (ourselves included — just ask anyone who knows us), but even they usually don’t stoop to name-calling. This one guy was unfair and inaccurate. And, as members of the press, we believe that’s inexcusable. Yes, we can really disagree with reviews like the one from Portland (above), but she saw the show and is, of course, entitled to her opinion. This was pure opinion masquerading as as a news story. And, may we add, if he saw Tom 30 years ago, he may not be an old goat, but we’d venture to say he’s no spring chicken, either. But, this is our opinion of the article. You have a different opinion and we’re happy you posted it — really, that’s what the site is for. So, we do thank you.