Tom Jones International

From today’s Newsday blog writer Diane Werts, who reviewed the DVD (June 25 post below) interviews DVD producer Paul Brownstein, president of TV Classics, abut the issues involved in choosing the material. Should answer a lot of fan questions.

We hope that in the next set there will be more Tom, less comedy and, if some music has to go to make room for other songs, that It’s Not Unusual isn’t used so often. From the comments we’ve gotten from fans the verdict is, simply, “more Tom, please.”

There is another article (link below after the Brownstein interview) about TJ fans on Long Island that, we must say, is unfair to the majority of fans there. But, it’s press for Tom and we like that, but…..well, judge for yourself.

Finally, we hope the positive reception this project has gotten will encourage all those involved in future projects — CDs, DVDs — to understand and respond to the strong US/North American market for Tom Jones who, though Welsh by birth, lives in the US and is a citizen of the world.

Brownstein is used to big names like that. His TV DVD credits include acclaimed sets for Sonny & Cher’s 1970s showcase, The Dick Van Dyke Show and the “definitive edition” of The Twilight Zone, for which this self-proclaimed “raider of the lost archives” scrounged up more extras than anyone knew existed — not just new commentary tracks by cast and crew members, but also old audio recordings of lectures by creator Rod Serling, radio versions of episodes, isolated music scores, vintage commercials, etc.

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Amazon’s begun shipping so you should get your copies soon.

Finally, a high-circulation newspaper, Long Island NY’s Newsday had a known writer/reviewer do a review! Some random quotes: “…to say that Jones delivered would be an understatement.” “Tom Jones – rock and soul god! Seriously. There’s evidence now on DVD shelves that, before the strong-voiced Jones was a swoon-inducing showroom star, this Welsh coal miner’s son could kick out the jams with the best of them. Make that the best of the best. Aretha Franklin. Janis Joplin. Joe Cocker. Stevie Wonder.”

You get the idea, it’s a rave from a long-time TV critic in a major national newspaper that is in the top 20 of US newspaper circulation.

And, here’s another review of the DVD set. This guy gave it an 8 out of 10.

We’re really hoping to see it reviewed in even more widely read, credible pubs like Rolling Stone, People, ET and the other 19 of the top 20 newspapers, for example. Not so much because their reviews have more credibility but because they are read by millions of people.

And, of course we would love your reviews — often the most credible of all.

As we noted earlier, Tom did a private show in Moscow before he hit Hampton Court. He did another in London Saturday night. You can read about it here. There were 17,000 people there. The first public concert — last night — starred Jon Bon Jovi.

And we like the huge dragon, in case anyone forgets where the man is from. Nice employer, to invite Sir Tom to the company party, huh?

LeRoy Neiman, very well known for his brilliantly colored paintings (mostly of sporting events), did this sketch of Tom on November 17, 1965, at the Dudes ‘n Dolls Discotheque in New York City. The ink on white paper drawing is 22 by 30 inches and is signed by the artist. It is for sale now at Centaur Galleries in Las Vegas. The cost, framed, is $27,000.




Moderators’ Note: mharding sent this video so you can compare and contrast. We thought it worth bringing from the comments section to the main post. Enjoy! And thanks again, mh.

After reading the responses to our June Question of the Month, and reading what you’ve written on the forum at tomjones.com (which, as fans we always read), we’ve decided to produce a TomJonesInternational.com 2008 Fan Calendar.

The calendar pages will each be 8.5 x 11 inches. The cover will be glossy card stock and the pages will be glossy paper. It will be stitched, rather than bound with a spiral binding.

All we can say about the quality of the finished product is that it will be consistent with the quality of this website and sturdier than the ones we’ve seen sold on eBay over the last few years. The quality will be such that, after the calendar is used, we’re sure the photos will be well worth saving or, even, framing.

We’re working with vendors to find the best price and keep the cost at under $20 plus shipping, entirely consistent with the cost of other fan merchandise.

To do this we need your help.

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Please don’t forget to review the This Is Tom Jones DVD set (in the post below), but we just had to post this and comment on it.




The ad at right, measuring 5 inches by 4 inches (12.7×10.2 cm) appeared in today’s New York Times Magazine, a prestigious nationally circulated publication with more than 1.6 million readers. Although we haven’t seen it elsewhere, we’d bet it will appear in lots more places. And — look! — by sharing the cost of the ad, Borders (whose online partner is amazon.com) is making it a featured selection when it’s released Tuesday. And it is now available on iTunes in the US.

Now, we don’t love the duet with Tom on this CD but of course you’ve noticed that Tom (old photo and all) gets top billing here after Morrison. And their photo together is the largest one — aside from the picture of Morrison alone — on the cover. Obviously, Van Morrison’s people think Tom Jones is a name to reckon with here in the US.

Now, if only Tom’s new CD were to get this kind of push in North America…….What would happen?