Tom Jones International

Gemma Watters, producer of National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition will be interviewing Sir Tom on Thursday for broadcast Saturday, December 6 between 10 am and noon. Fans are invited to submit questions and, if your question is chosen, you might be called to ask Tom himself a question. (In person via phone. Sort of.) Follow the link below.

She writes:

“Don’t tell my mum, but who would have thought that I would get excited about an interview with the Welsh King of Pop, Sir Tom Jones?

“Take That, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Kylie Minogue and The Cure! That was some of the music I was allowed to like as a teenager – I had a reputation to uphold at school. The wrong musical taste could lead to a lonely life.

“I was a teenager who liked to shut myself away from the world and make tapes of my favorite songs, while thinking about my secret crushes: declaring my love for them through lyrics: ‘Don’t you cry tonight, I still love you baby, Don’t you cry tonight.’ Thank you, Axl Rose! Could you imagine if I played Love Me Tonight by Tom Jones for a guy I wanted to date? I probably would have been invited to his house — to meet his father.

“But now, I’m proud to have the gyrating, leather-pants-wearing Tom Jones on my playlist. His credibility went up in my book when he sang with British-pop-singer Robbie Williams, who coincidentally, used to be in Take That!

“Now it’s your turn to love Tom Jones, too. Please post your questions … and we’ll call a few of you on Wednesday, so you can ask him your “burning” questions.”

The Dallas News says, “Call him ageless…” and gives 24 Hours a B+.

Bill Brotherton in the Boston Herald also awards a B+ grade and says, “Some 43 years after his first hit, the 68-year-old Welshman endures with a shockingly enjoyable set. Aided by red-hot Brit producers Future Cut, Jones co-wrote much of 24 Hours, and his booming baritone remains strong. The Road, an apology to his wife for putting up with his infidelities, and the soaring Seen That Face are standouts, as is the retro “Austin Powers” vibe of I’m Alive, an old Tommy James & the Shondells B-side. The only misstep is Sugar Daddy, an over-the-top embarrassment by U2’s Bono and The Edge that toys with Sir Tom’s sex bomb image. The song to download is a soulful, nuanced take of Bruce Springsteen’s little-known The Hitter.”

Finally, now, Nic Oliver in musicOMH.com gives it a rave review saying, among other things, that The Hitter “…is a sympathetic, deeply soulful reading that recalls the glory days of Stax Records” He bemoans the fact that If He Should Ever Leave You “maintains the hit rate and is also the album’s first single release, although its classic pop style seems to have regrettably avoided troubling the charts.” And, he likes Sugar Daddy.

Best of all is his conclusion: “24 Hours is notably Jones’s first American release for 15 years (he is signed to the independent label S-Curve over there), and on this form he deserves to reap the same kind of critical and commercial success bestowed on the likes of Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond in the twilight of their careers.”

OK, this short review of Tom’s show tonight in AC just came in from a long-time fan whom we know is totally unbiased:




“Un-believable!!! He was amazing. Sounded great and looked sooooo sexy. And, no, he did not wear shades and he did not sing Sugar Daddy.”

More reviews tomorrow and/or the next day…but, meanwhile….next Thursday night (12:05 a.m. Friday) Tom will be on Jimmy Kimmel’s show. He’ll be the musical guest and a panelist. The other panelist will be Hugh Jackman. Having just returned from seeing Australia, all I can say is Kimmel will have the world’s two sexiest men on his show that night*. Don’t think that’s true? Just ask Tom’s fans and the editors of People magazine. All have exquisite taste and are undoubtedly expert in that area.

Finally, in case you forgot, BBC America is running the Graham Norton Show episode with Tom tomorrow night, 10 pm EST/PST. It will also be rerun on at 1 am and 4 am Sunday morning and at odd times during the week. If you cannot see it, or haven’t seen it, check it out in the TJI.com Video Library.

*Please forgive the lapse into such shallowness. But, let’s face it, we speak the truth. And, each of these guys is also a very gifted performer. One does not have to be female to appreciate either of them.

It’s always so odd to read the listings for Tom’s appearances in AC. (For the first time, he’s at the Trump Marina which, we’re told, hasn’t retained the glory of the days when it was Harrahs Marina.) They actually mention Little Lonely One and Once Upon A Time. 24 Hours does get a mention but of all the tracks, they only cite The Hitter. On second thought, though, AC is in New Jersey and The Boss is, rightfully, a major point of pride in that state. And, here in Nevada, it gets kind of tiresome to read about Tom Jones as exemplar of Las Vegas casino performance. He is not now, nor was he ever, a lounge act. These writers should get over it.

At any rate, we’re looking forward to reports from friends at the show — will he do Sugar Daddy? — and will bring them to you ASAP.

From The Press of Atlantic City

WHO IS HE: With the possible exceptions of Wayne Newton and Elvis Presley, no artist is more synonymous with the Las Vegas casino performance style than Tom Jones. The Welsh baritone was part of the original British invasion during the 1960s and hit the big time with the 1965 hit single It’s Not Unusual. Other hits, including Once Upon a Time, Little Lonely One, With These Hands and What’s New Pussycat? were soon to follow. Over the years, Jones covered various styles of music including pop, rock, country, dance, techno and show tunes, yet his distinct singing style has always remained a constant. His 1988 cover of Prince’s Kiss is a good example of Jones’ experimentation with different genres.

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Tom went on Laurent Ruquier’s talk show in France November 22.

Even without speaking the language, it’s clear to the viewer that Tom was engaged and having a great time (see these photos).

But, since most of Tom’s fans do not speak French but are nonetheless avid viewers of any of his appearances, we contacted Nathalie, a French fan, with some translation questions. She responded and the entire package — video, translation/story and a bonus video — is in the TJI.com Video Library.

A major merci to Nathaie.

Please don’t forget to add your review to tji.com. Just click the link at right.

Then, to lighten the mood, Nancy reminded us of something funny in a review. Check out the headline in The River Cities Reader, in Davenport, Iowa. It’s under the Times review below. Good for a laugh — and probably for Leno’s “headlines” segment.

Jude Rogers/guardian.co.uk/November 14, 2008

What’s that sound, rising from the deep like the devil’s colon gargling into life? Why, it’s Tom Jones. “I’m aliiiive,” he roars as his 28th album begins, and this time, for the first time, he has helped to write and choose the songs, too. They include brassy belters of the style that Mark Ronson has brought back into fashion, ugly stabs at funk and a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s boxing classic, The Hitter, that is more Joe the Plumber than Joe Calzaghe. The ballads, however, offer richer pickings. The Road is an apology for Jones’ extramarital adventures, which overcomes a line of defence (“what matters is here and now”) that merits a saucepan to the temple, and 24 Hours is an effective piece of Johnny Cash-lite about a man on death row. The final breaths of this character may close the album, but Jones’s belly-deep bellow abides.

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To all our friends in the US, a happy Thanksgiving. (And to those not celebrating today, we still wish you much for which to be thankful.)

We are each grateful for so many things but the one we hold in common is the gratitude for the gift of Sir Tom Jones.

Now, you may have noticed that there have been some subtle changes on our homepage. That is because Ursula is no longer a partner in this site.

She and I have worked together on this site and have enjoyed doing so. Of course, we still enjoy our friendship (started at a show at the MGM,), the opportunity to work on professional projects together and, still, seeing Tom together. But priorities and schedules change and, thus — whether we like it or not — other things must change, too.

In Ursula’s absence, I am hoping more than ever that you will help this site flourish with your visits, your comments on the site and your suggestions. If you have any of the latter please don’t hesitate to href="http://tomjonesintl.com/wp-admin/post.php#" mce_href="http://tomjonesintl.com/wp-admin/post.php#">email me.

For the record, I believe that the role of the moderator is to bring all the news to site visitors. That means, for example, the negative and the positive and, occasionally, to keep things interesting, very often, the provocative. (Toward that end, tomorrow we’ll be posting two reviews from very respected news outlets that are more negative than one would believe possible — although one gave him two stars for, I think, just showing up.) Moderating means “moderating,” really checking comments. Moderating a website means doing one’s best. Hope that is what is being done here at tji.com. My email is on the homepage to be used when you wish to. Please do.

We — and I am a journalist, so please be indulgent of the editorial “we” — have a nice raffle to benefit breast cancer research coming up and hope you’ll participate. We’ll also be unveiling a special gift program where you can get and give — at very special rates — the music that influenced Tom.

Since today is Thanksgiving, a holiday, it’s a fine time to go back over the past few weeks of posts (68 since November 1) and see all you may have missed.

Please don’t forget to add your review of 24 Hours to the fan reviews by using the button at right.

For now, thank you all so much for your support and, as always, your donations — of content, of ideas and cash contributions (button at right) — that have kept this site going and will, hopefully, do so in the future.

Friends Through Tom and Giving Thanks To All of You,

Ellen

Tom and his troupe visited with Regis and Kelly (left) yesterday and, although they weren’t on long enough (just ask any fan), he did sing chat with the hosts and do a bit of It’s Not Unusual.

This morning right, it was an interview — no live music — with the hosts of the “women’s hour” of the Today show. Quite, surprisingly, entertaining. Tom, as always, was very charming. And very open about his life.

You can see the clips here, at the TJI.com Video Library.

Check out Sir Tom’s interview on Good Morning America radio in our TJI.com Video Library.