Tom Jones International

We’ve gotten in another, very interesting fan review from Dallas. Hopefully, it’ll be posted tomorrow or the next day. Stay tuned!

Below is an interview from a newspaper in Buenos Aires. I’ve done my best to translate it. It talks about a new Gospel-type CD being released “at Easter.” As noted before, TJI was told the release will be in May. The only problem with an Easter (April 4) release is it all has to be recorded already because he’s in South America for another week or so, then for the rest of February and March he’s in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia Thailand and Hong Kong. He has two weeks off and then on April 7 and 10 he’s in South Africa. It’s a grueling schedule that seemingly doesn’t leave enough time for any promotion. And, the interesting question is, to whom will it be promoted? I know Tom loves gospel and, as that is the music that, literally, gave birth to the blues, he understands it and, like most everything else, probably sings it it very well. TJI will continue to check sources and if anything is gleaned, it’ll be posted.

INTERVIEW: Tom Jones: “My only enemy is time.

Alfredo Rosso Special to Clarin

The Welshman is singing at Luna Park on Thursday. He speaks of his beginnings in Wales, from his shows in Las Vegas and madness that he continues to cause in women.

He emerged in the ’60s, amid the Swinging London, and leveled a powerful voice and a repertoire covering all styles, from rock and soul to rhythm and blues, jazz and romantic ballads. He accumulated a huge chain of hits, from It’s Not Unusual and Delilah to his energetic cover of Prince’s’ classic Kiss. He survived all the changes in the music scene and, four decades later, is the idol of three generations. On Thursday, 4 February, the ineffable Tom Jones returns to the stage of Luna Park. He was interviewed by phone and he answered our questions in a friendly and accurate manner.

When did you decide to become a singer? I wanted to sing from my earliest memory. I sang in public from childhood, at school, at wedding receptions in my family. And I loved it! When you see people respond it is a fantastic feeling. With typical imagination of a child I said: ‘When I grow up I’ll be a star.; Then you realize that life is not so simple, but I never lost that feeling, and felt I had talent to realize my dream. That is the most important: the passion for doing something and the ability to carry it out.

What was the biggest challenge you faced? I sang in clubs in my native Wales, but I realized that to reach the general public I had to be “discovered” by someone in the music business so that I could get a record deal, because back then it was necessary to record disc to appear on television. One day a man named Gordon Mills and told me he wanted to be my manager. He also sang and composed songs. I thought it was the right guy and I was right: the little time I traveled to London to sign a contract with the Decca label.

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In London, the music scene was seething with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and many more. How did you get such tremendous success among so much competition? When I arrived in London, the Beatles were just beginning to succeed and, as often happens in such cases, the other labels wanted to hire a similar group. They said, :You’re a soloist, your look is too macho and your hair is curly so it should be ironed.” But I had done well in Wales and I did not think England was so different. I knew I had something that drew people … I had to push and I did. And, of course, once you have a hit, they all say: “Oh yes, I always knew that this guy would win!”

When he began his career, his stage movements were very sensual and suggestive. Was it ever censored? Yes I felt the same way that Elvis Presley, but nine years later. On The Ed Sullivan show in 1965 they told me: “If you’re going to move like that on stage, we’ll have to shoot you only from the waist up.” The funny thing is that in England I had no problem. I thought America was more open-minded, because they were the birthplace of rock and roll and all that, but no. On the Ed Sullivan Show Delilah was censored. I had to change one phrase, which implied that the girl spent the night with her lover. It seems that the man killing his girlfriend was not shocking, but the girl had slept with his mistress …

In these four decades there were many changes in popular music and you went through them like nothing and have been a recognized artist and for three generations. What is the key to that? I think I have some skill and talent. But also, I love listening to music. I enjoy today’s music and I am very interested young singers such as Robbie Williams and the Scot, Paolo Nutini, and also several female singers. I don’t stay in the past. Some people say: “Oh, how everything has changed everything! Music is not the same.” However, I think music has not changed much. The big difference is in sound production. The biggest change is that now there are people who go to these reality shows and television exposes them before they have a hit. When I started it was the opposite: you needed to have a hit record before going on television.

Your repertoire includes many styles and you are so comfortable with all of them. How do you do “own” a song of another singer? I learn the songs easily and try to make each mine. I get into the words to extract their meaning, in the same way that an actor learns his role in a movie.

Speaking of movies, how was the experience of acting in the movie Your latest album 24 Hours was released in Argentina. You co-authored several of the tracks. How did this come about? We were at a club in Dublin, over drinks with Bono, of U2, and asked him to write me a song. Bono agreed, but asked me to speak to him before in my life, my childhood in Wales and others. I told him things and he wrote down everything. So wrote the song Sugar Daddy. I liked the idea and decided to invite a number of composers to Los Angeles and repeat the method. And it worked. One of the composers said, “How did you keep your marriage together for over 50 years?” I replied: “No matter where you went or what he has done, the road always leads me back to my wife.” And so came The Road. I also wanted to do a song about the effect that music has had on my life and so Never came about. That was the essence of 24 Hours.

You play a lot in Las Vegas. How important is this city in your career? I like working in Las Vegas and one reason is that people come to see you from around the world, so that the audience changes every night.

And yet they throw a lot of women’s underwear on stage?

Humm. Yes!

What about their music these days? Are you planning a new album? Yes I just finished recording a gospel album in England. It’s modern gospel, a bit similar to what Robert Plant did. I recorded it with a young producer named Ethan Jones, who worked with The Kings of Leon. The album will be ready for Easter.

When you look back at a career spanning almost half a century is there anything you would change if you could? Is there any goal that you need to achieve? There was a moment in the ’70s, when I did so many live shows that I neglected my recording career a bit and I missed out. If I could go back, would redress that mistake. But you have to go through things to learn and draw conclusions. In the overall balance, I would not change anything. I know that someday I will not be possible to sing so well and I’m terrified now because I do not want to retire. So my goal is longevity. My only enemy is time. ”