Tom Jones International

Here’s a terrific review from our hometown daily. The reviewer, Mike Weatherford is, as you can tell from his knowledge of the setlist, a real fan of Tom’s (and a really nice guy) who deeply appreciates the artist. It’s so great to read a smart, informed review, isn’t it?

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By MIKE WEATHERFORD/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL• who: Tom Jones • when: 8 p.m. today-Wednesday • where: MGM Grand, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. South • tickets: $92.40 (891-7777)• rating: A-

Still Going: Repeat business no problem for singer Tom Jones

Bless ya, George Jones. You saved Tom Jones.

You never know how these things would have played out. But to hear Tom tell it from the stage of the MGM Grand, there was one song that might have cemented his success on the country charts and I hereby extrapolate — could have derailed his current status as the heppest cat on the Strip.

Jones’ initial glory years had leveled off by the end of the 1970s, but he would have a short stretch of country radio success in the early 1980s.

Songwriter Curly Putnam, who had penned Jones’ big 1967 hit Green, Green Grass of Home, had a new one called He Stopped Loving Her Today. But the song ended up giving the other Jones a comeback in 1980. Tom had to tread water another eight years, until the fluke success of a flukier song, Prince’s Kiss as mashed up by The Art of Noise.

It all evens out in the long run. Today, Jones uses He Stopped to stretch out, one of the many detours afforded to him by his 67 years and his long-term survival in show business.

But Kiss and its brethren are what make the singer remarkable for his 40 years on the Strip come March. You can’t say most of the people on hand this night weren’t in his age range. But while Barry Manilow panders to retirees by crooning Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing, Jones hits ‘em with the Sex Bomb.

The great thing about Jones is that he doesn’t always slam the brakes before hitting the wall of camp. This is a man who can make the innocuous phrase “at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas” sound lascivious, by adding the proper blend of eye-rolling and lip-licking. The fans still eat it up.

But they also allow him to act his age for the gospel soul of Van Morrison’s Cry for Home, or a trio of standards in which the singer tries to dial his booming voice down low enough for a verse with just piano backing on Here’s That Rainy Day.

You once could count on Jones changing his set list each year to reward loyal fans, a laudable effort. But it turns out I jumped the gun by rushing down in January. The set was the same as it was in late 2006, including the high point of an obscure but suitably dirty blues shout-out called Git Me Some.

Repeat business seems to be no problem either way, if only to answer questions such as, “Did he just point at his package when he sang the line ‘What’s mine is mine’?”

The Rolling Stones get more credit in the active-horny-senior department, and Jones no longer karate kicks through Delilah with the gusto he once had. But when Kiss comes and he declares, “I think I better dance now,” you still know you’d best clear the way.

A lot of us will be patient to wait for that new set, and to see just how long this cat can go.

Review-Journal Photo by Craig L. Moran

As many of you know, public relations is among the other things we do. Among our clients are The Scintas, a family of two brothers and a sister, along with Pete O’Donnell (who is clearly not a Scinta). They perform at the Las Vegas Hilton and their show is one of the most popular in town.

They are a multi-faceted, multi-talented group of great singers, amazing impressionists and terrific musicians. Here you can see Frankie Scinta’s funny tribute to Sir Tom. Please note that we only decided to post this after some fans were shown this video before one of Tom’s show last week.

It’s all in fun, so please enjoy Frankie Scinta’s Impression of Tom.

Each year, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the local daily newspaper here, conducts a poll to determine “The Best of Las Vegas.”

There are 175 categories (down from last year’s 248) and one of them is “Best Singer.” Of course, you know who we think —we know! — should win.

Specifically, the category is listed at #73, “Hotels: Best Singer.” (A link to the ballot is below.)

So many of you have been here to Las Vegas that you can (and should) vote in other categories.

Remember, the rules clearly state that you get one (1) vote only! They do check and will discard any duplicate ballots.

You only have until next Monday to vote! Ballots will be accepted until 5 p.m., Pacific Standard Time, Monday, January 28. Winners will be announced March 23.

When the results are printed, the staff prints their pick along with the poll results. In 2006, the readers (as they’d done for three years) chose Céline Dion. But the staff singled Tom out, saying, “Yeah, baby! The Tomcat turned 65 last summer. But you can take that AARP card and shove it — in your wallet, then head to the record store and try to get a seniors discount on Reloaded. Put on the greatest hits CD and let Jones blow the doors off your Oldsmobile with the opening notes of If I Only Knew

It would be so great if Tom won both the poll and the staff pick, wouldn’t it?

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I finally got the opportunity to see TJ’s show on an opening night. The set had not change but it didn’t matter. Every TJ show is like the first for me. Tom was ready to rock and he rocked down the house. He had more energy and there was more dancing than in his abbreviated December shows at the MGM.

Friday night’s show had the surprise of a new number introduced after Tom welcomed the audience to “Las Vegas, Ne-vah-da.” Although a country song, TJ’s take on He Stopped Loving Her Today had a more pop flavor than the George Jones original. By way of introduction, he told the audience that this song, like Green Green Grass of Home, was written by Curly Putnam. Unlike when Tom sang Stoned In Love last year and the audience just kind of sat and applauded politely at the end, the audience seemed to love this song. It is beautiful.

Speaking of the audience, I must note that I have met many great and interesting people at Tom Jones shows. Thanks to all the fans who have shared their stories and admiration of Sir Tom.

Thursday night, after the opening show, I was blessed when — purely by chance — I met Tom, was able to speak to him for a few minutes and got a picture with him. Ladies, Tom is even better looking up-close-and-personal. Plus, he is very soft-spoken and gracious in person. I have reached nirvana!

NEWS! On Friday, January 18, after his first two songs, Tom greeted the audience and brought back George Jones’ quintessential country classic, He Stopped Loving Her Today, which he did sing awhile ago in his show. (We forgot to mention in our original review below that Tom has changed his pre-song patter before he does the standards. It is a vast improvement over what he was saying.) There was some debate among fans about the song being in this particular show, as it is really the only pure country song Tom does. End of the Road is country, but its history also puts it in the rockabilly (remember that?) group. Anyway, please let us know what you think.

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We are so pleased to report that Tom Jones is back and things (and Tom) are looking good!

The last run at the MGM was kind of disheartening, as the show was of necessity rushed. But, not now. Tom looked and sounded great just as if, after not working for a month — except for New Year’s Eve — he was just rarin’ to go.

The set list was the same as it’s been, with no replacement yet for With These Hands. But the energy level onstage was, again, terrific.

Bass player Mike Mennell and trumpet player Pete Olstad have been replaced. We have a photo of the new trumpet player and will tell you about him soon. The bass position is still not filled permanently, but we’ll let you know that, too, when it happens. Both musicians (and, of course, the entire band and the singers) were fine.

We are very happy that the rushed, kind of pro forma shows were a result of the MGM scheduling Tom at 7:30 and another act at 9:30. That leaves too little time to do a full show, clean the theater and get the second audience in. Hopefully that won’t happen again.

Let us know what you think….and, of course, enjoy the show.

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Stepping in for Pete Olstad is Bill Churchville. An accomplished LA-based musician, Bill is an alumnus of Tower of Power. He’s worked with a very diverse list of musicians, from Elton John, Joe Cocker, John Hiatt, Wilie Nelson, Billy Joel, Bill Cosby, the Doobie Brothers, Kid Rock, The O’Jays, Percy Sledge, Rober Goulet, WAR, Dwight Yoakum….and — well, the list goes on and on.




A decorated veteran of the Armed Forces, the New Orleans native was awarded the awarded the prestigious Downbeat Magazine Outstanding College Jazz Instrumental Soloist Award while in college. He holds a master’s degree in Jazz Studies from USC, where he also taught.




You’ve heard his music in film, TV shows and commercials — and, now, with Tom.






You can read more about him and hear him play at his website.

NOTE: The new bass player will be chosen after this MGM stint. Rob McDonald, who played bass last night, was terrific. Photo here of Bill was taken January17, 2008 at the MGM Grand.

The much-anticipated second three-disc DVD set, This Is Tom Jones: Legendary Performers will not be released until February 22 by TimeLife. It was originally set for a February 12 release.

Exclusively for visitors to TJI.com, there is a discount coupon code — AFTJ — for $10 off the set and free shipping offered by TimeLife only for those who order it though the site. Just be sure to insert the code in the appropriate space when you order.

Of course, we do make a little bit of money on each order that results when you click through to a vendor from our site, but it goes to support what we do and we really, really appreciate you ordering through us.

Among the “Legendary Performers” on this set you’ll find Sammy Davis, Jr., Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, Liza Minnelli, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chet Atkins, Minnie Pearl and a better selection of comics than on the last one — David Steinberg, Pat Cooper and others.

Although amazon.com has not updated its site to reflect the new release date, the chances are that, as with the first DVD set, amazon.com will get it to send out a bit later (although we cannot be positive of that).

1/21 — 2008 Tour News: It has been confirmed that Tom will be at the MGM from May 8 through 21.

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Last weekend we had a wonderful warm-up to Tom’s opening at the MGM on Thursday. We saw Eric Burdon (you know, from The Animals) and Chubby Checker in concert.

Burdon’s wonderful, rambling set — with an audience that looked like they were still in the 1960s — was crowned by what the singer called “the new American anthem — House of the Rising Sun. It was nostalgic, raucous but, still, very relevant. Great blues and a great back-up band.

Chubby Checker was a real surprise. First, the man can still move and he can sing. Of course he did his hits —The Twist, Pony Time, Let’s Twist Again — but, having taken his stage name in tribute to the great Fats Domino, he also did some of Fats’ music and a really, really good Elvis impersonation. He has a gift and the audience loved him. Checker’s band, too, was terrific.

It was really fun to see shows that were full of surprises, even though they did the hits the audience came to hear. We recommend each. With all this music, we cannot wait for Sir Tom on Thursday.

So, now to answer some of your questions about Tom’s 2008 schedule, (and a few other things) here’s what we’ve found out so far (Please remember, nothing is confirmed until it’s posted on his official website or it’s been seen onstage):

The Show: Don’t look for a new set list yet. If it doesn’t come before (and it usually happens in February), it should come with the release of his new CD. NOTE: If you are going to the show at the MGM the first weekend (January 18, 19 and 20), remember that it will be very crowded in the hotel. Of course it’s MLK Day on Monday, so it’s a three-day weekend but, also, be aware that Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) is playing at the Grand Garden Arena. Expect lots of rugrats around the hotel.

Tom At MGM In March & May: Tom is definitely playing on March 31st. As near as we can figure, whomever posted the tour dates on his site (where it says he’s performing March 30 and, then, April 1 with no show March 31), just forgot the old poem “Thirty days hath September,” etc. We also have found out he’s set to be there for two weeks in May. But we’ll confirm that for sure as soon as we can. January 16: We have confirmation that Tom will be here for two weeks in May; still not on his site, and tickets aren’t being sold, but if all goes as expected, it will be two weeks.

Atlantic City: The probable reason Harrahs doesn’t have his May gig on their site yet is that their site doesn’t go that far ahead. But the fact that you can already get tickets on Ticketmaster is a pretty good indication that he’ll be there. (We think.)

We also hear he will be doing other dates in AC after May this year. So look for them.

Westbury: We hear that Tom will be playing this venerable Long Island venue sometime in the fall. We’re looking for confirmation.

The new CD and other tour dates: We hear that the CD will, if all goes according to present plan, be released in late spring or early summer. Expect some promotional dates and, maybe, TV to come at that time. If we hear anything, we’ll let you know. Please do the same for us.

Our wish list: Aside from hoping everyone gets to see Sir Tom this year, we’d love to see some club-like venues — HOB, Irving Plaza, the Fillmore — added. Those are well worth a road trip.