Show & Venue Reviews, What's New, Pussycat?
Please share your Tom Jones shows with other fans. Setlist? Audience? Energy? What was it like being there? We’d love to hear from you.
And, while you’re telling us about the shows, please let us know what you think of the venues where Tom plays. Clubs, theaters, casinos — Tom Jones performs in all of them. Which venue do you think is the best? The worst?
So that other fans will know what’s in store when they buy their tickets, please tell us a little bit about the venues you know. If possible, try to use the format below so others can tell at a glance what you think. The best venue will merit ****. More than one review of a venue is welcome.
Sydney Review Trashes Tom: What Is The Writer’s Problem? Was He That Bad? Or Doesn’t She Get Him?
Friday, March 5th, 2010If we did before reading this, we no longer have to wonder why Tom is among many performers who choose not to read their reviews. This is probably the worst review of Tom Jones that I’ve ever read. I apologize for once again bringing up the rules of integrity in journalism but she should have said at beginning that she doesn’t like Tom Jones. That way, the reader knows her point of view. (Perhaps, was turned down for a one-on-one interview?) Could be she’s just nasty, clueless and perpetually cranky? Either way her fury is evident (and very strange). Now, I’m not a big Barry Manilow fan and I mentioned that in a review of his show. But that didn’t mean I had to trash him. In fact — much to the fury of some people on this site — I said that his show is wonderful. Conversely, when I reviewed Tom’s show in 2007, I said at the top that I am a fan so anyone would know that going in. That’s fair. Not to do so is playing dirty and this woman played dirty. After you read it, you may want to click on the email address at the bottom and write let the editor the people who run that paper know how you feel.
It’s not unusual: knickers and a cruise crooner
Reviewed by Rachel Olding/March 5, 2010/Sydney Morning Herald
Entertainment Centre, March 3: THE beard has turned grey, the hips need some oil and the many decades of hanging out at the tanning salon have left Tom Jones looking more leathery than a chesterfield.
It seems unfair to judge a man who has been topping charts since 1964 by today’s pop concert standards. But what yardstick to use? Pairs of underwear? Yes, there were plenty of them. Sexual fervour? There was plenty of that, too. The performance was drenched in it from Sir Tom’s velvet moves to his velvet voice.
Jones’s management have at times tried to tone down his motel-room sex appeal but all attempts to quash that wild libido have been futile. Where ever he goes, bedroom eyes follow. Unfortunately, so too does a blanket of cheapness.
Hits were sung with all the elan of a naked karaoke session. What’s New Pussycat?, She’s a Lady and You Can Leave Your Hat On exploded like fireworks; bam, bam, bam. The undie count rose exponentially and so did the pelvic thrusting. But the hits were delivered in sporadic doses only. Long periods of underwhelming soul, jazz, blues, bossa-nova and country tunes were dreary despite an impeccable voice that still leaps between octaves with ease. Songs from his latest album, 24 Hours, and moving ballads had the crowd stumped — ”This isn’t what I paid for”, they might have been thinking.
Tunes from Jones’s collaborative era in the 1990s, when he realised after two decades of relative mediocrity that he needed to get in bed with Gen Y, were not enough on their own. Kiss needed Prince, Sex Bomb needed Mousse T, Mama Told Me Not to Come needed the Stereophonics.
Some will say he’s still got it, and for fleeting moments he did, but this performance belongs in the piano bar on a cruise ship. Perhaps it was the cheap perfume in the air or perhaps this love boat has sailed.
Want to tell the newspaper what you think of this review? Just click the link to email the editor at The Sydney Morning Herald. And, please let TJI know if you do.
March 5th, 2010 at 1:57 am
I,m sorry I read this I was feeling bad enough before.This is really digging the dirt and very hurtful!
March 5th, 2010 at 2:11 am
This woman is a disgrace to journalism!!! It’s obvious that this woman has a major attitude problem. The article reeks of someone obviously jealous of Tom Jones. The last Tom Jone concert I went to was Oct 2009 in Belfast. Four 18yr old males came along too for their first Tom concert. They thought he was amazing. Tom definitely has still got it, and it’s not the case of “Some will say he’s still got it” as this excuse for a reporter says. See mentions Tom’s hits “were sung with all the elan of a naked karaoke session”. Maybe people in Sydney like to sing Karaoke naked but us in the rest of the world dont. “Perhaps it was the cheap perfume in the air” she also says. She is more or less saying Tom’s Sydney fans are cheap people who are in the bottom class of society. Well those “cheap” people are the people who buy newspapers and keep her in a job. “Where ever he goes, bedroom eyes follow. Unfortunately, so too does a blanket of cheapness” she mentions. If there is anything cheap it’s her opinion of herself as written on her blog. http://blousesydney.blogspot.com/ she says “What does my Best of 2009 say? I feel it reflects my poor taste in music. And possibly an identity crisis. And it seems to be full of epic and monumentally moving songs which kinda masks the fact that I spend a lot of time in a club listening to bangers and I’m not an epic and monumentally melancholy person ” So it really seems the Sydney Morning Hearald is cheap when it comes to paying a decent journalist……
March 5th, 2010 at 2:26 am
I read this last night on google and it bugged me, people who dont like Tom say better things than this woman!!! Did she get a buzz writing this but im sorry lady but someone who has chart success for 45 years must HAVE something , people in the read world cant hold a career half that lengh that Tom has. And the cruise ship i only wish she was on it when it sinks! I agree 130% with Gill and Adam on this and i’m sure all TJI followers will be against this Low article of bull…..
March 5th, 2010 at 6:59 am
I can’t believe it! I know that reviews are always not positive…but this one is offensive and cheap itself!
March 5th, 2010 at 8:21 am
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder – this is a miserable and mean spirited “lady” whatever her ploblem is – she better gets some therapy… Have a wonderful and exciting world tour TOM and safe return home
March 5th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Right off the bat she states that it’s unfair to judge a man who’s been topping the charts since 1964. Then why did she? No one needs any type of yardstick to measure Sir Tom the entertainer, or Sir Tom the man. Could the problem be that she didn’t get to have a personal interview with him? How does she know what the crowd was thinking, did she interview them? Those who attended the concert, if they were true Tom Jones fans, knew exactly what they would get, and they would have appreciated the fact that he can sing anything, and with style. Velvet moves, velvet voice, bedroom eyes, DAMN STRAIGHT, this is TOM JONES! Blanket of cheapness, motel room sex appeal, not only no but HELL NO. We who are fans and have been following his career these last 40 years, have done so because, he’s a down-to-earth guy, who enjoys having fun, is exciting, classy and has “THE VOICE”! We celebrate his life, and his fantastic career. “Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone”.
March 5th, 2010 at 9:16 am
How sad! She sounds like someone who doesn’t have much joy in her life & wouldn’t know what to do with it if she did.
March 5th, 2010 at 10:12 am
I emailed the following message to their newsdesk:
In all my many years as a fan I have never read a review with such venom. If Ms. Olding isn’t a fan she should just say so and not trash Sir Tom Jones and his concert.
You can research countless reviews to see that Ms. Olding is out of sync with every other journalist/reviewer. How can Mr. Jones give an “underwhelming” and “dreary” performance “despite an impeccable voice that still leaps between octaves with ease?” Was Ms. Olding just trying to stand out – thinking its cool to not be just one of millions of fans?
Whether you are a fan or not, there is no denying that Mr. Jones still has the voice and gives 150% to his audience. I’m sorry that Ms. Olding can’t appreciate good music when she hears it.
March 5th, 2010 at 11:02 am
Too bad the article written by this reporter was without merit, however the photo of Mr. Jones was amazing. Sexy, red hot and obviously enjoying himself and the interaction with the audience is all that truly matters. He is a classy gentleman and attracts classy audiences who recognize years of talent and look forward to many more in the making.
March 5th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Cheers to SusannePDX for taking the time to write. Those of us who do use the email link cannot expect any satisfaction or another review. We can hope that the editors take notice and not allow her to review anything but music that she likes. This was dumb. If you do write, let us know. And, on the off chance you actually get a rely, let us know that, too. Thanks.
And, Tammy, glad you liked the photo. I pulled it from a news file. It was used in New Zealand. There was no photo with the article.
March 5th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
This is nothing more than trash I wouldn’t line my cats litter pan with her review.This make’s one ponder on why the state on newspapers as we use to know them are in trouble, they hire hack writers like Ms. Olding oops did I just call her a hack writer she is not even that good.i am sure she will have a a carrer that will span 45 years in her profession “RIGHT”
March 5th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
I just emailed the following to the newsdesk:
“I have just read Rachel Olding’s March 5th article on Tom Jones and felt the need to write and express my extreme disappointment that you would consider printing such trash. Did this reporter even interview Sir Tom? Sounds like she didn’t, and perhaps was a bit miffed that she couldn’t?? In any event, the article certainly makes it appear that she has some sort of axe to grind. I thought journalists (and in this case, I use the word “journalist” loosely) were supposed to be fair and unbiased – this reporter comes off as anything but. How can she describe Sir Tom as having a “velvet voice” and an “impeccable voice that still leaps between octaves with ease” and then say his performance had all the “elan of a naked karaoke session” which “belongs in the piano bar on a cruise ship”??? That seems like quite a contradiction to me. Ms. Olding is obviously not a Tom Jones fan, but if she claims to be a journalist, she owes the subjects of her articles the courtesy of a fair, balanced, and civil review. To use the term “blanket of cheapness” in describing Sir Tom was a cheap shot unworthy of print in any respectable publication. It does, however, appear to be the perfect description of Ms. Olding’s work. Anyone with a five-decade long career, as Sir Tom has, must be doing something right, and if Ms. Olding can’t see that, perhaps she should consider another line of work.”
I highly doubt any of us will receive any sort of reply, but this article really got my blood boiling, and I just had to write to let the editors know how I feel.
March 5th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Oh….by the way, I meant to compliment you on your 2007 review of Tom’s show, Ellen. Now THAT is what I call journalism. You stated up-front that you are a fan, but then proceeded to offer a fair and unbiased review. Very well-written! Rachel Olding should take a lesson (several lessons, actually!) from you.
March 5th, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Joanne, Anna: Thanks for the compliment but I was linking to it solely to explain how someone can write that he or she is or is not partial to whatever’s being reviewed and, then, the reader is aware of the reviewer’s perspective. And, Anna, you already did compliment the rewiew…..so I should say, “thanks again.”
March 5th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
This woman needs a colonic as she is obviously full of it!
March 5th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
I don’t agree with this writer trashing Tom. But I have to admit, the show I saw Tom do at The House Of Blues last year around March was the same as she is discribing. I found it short on the hits and very long on the slow nightclub material. I hope when he tours the USA again, he picks it up or I’m afraid he will have trouble filling the venues on the tour. Again, Who is handling Tom? They seem a bit out of touch.
March 5th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Nick: That is not “slow nightclub material.” Those are songs from 24 Hours and the show has changed considerably since he played the HOB. And, if you feel so strongly, why don’t you write to his management and tell them? Nothing will change if you only post your criticism here. Go to his official site. The contact info is there.
March 6th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
“Karaoke on a cruise ship”? OMG! I should be so lucky to see Tom singing on a cruise ship. That “reporter” couldn’t report the weather.
March 6th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Well tell me what ship and I’ll book passage.!!!!!!The show I saw in October was not “slow night club material”It was as Tom always does his material was a mix of all types of songs . Thats how he likes it.
March 6th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
It was clear that the writer would have written that crappy review whether she had actually seen the show or not. She seemed to have an axe to grind;I bet she was perturbed because she couldn’t get backstage or? And I could listen to Tom sing “Mama told Me…” for hours on end. That’s all I have to say.
March 6th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Ellen, I was not criticizing. I just said what the writer was discribing I saw live at HOB, Anaheim. Maybe he changes the show where he thinks it might fit. I have written management.You might recall my posts last year and what path I thought Tom was going down, including the grey hair. I wrote a few long letters to Toms management last year explaining the same. I explained from a production point,( this is what I do ) what I thought should be changed from his tired suits to his show. I’m sure I was not the only one who submitted their constuctive criticism, but for the most part I think they listened. Why get so intense? There will always be writers and fans like me who have an opinion. I thought that was what great about you’re site. I have a hard time sugar coating, so I don’t. It’s not meant to be personnal. If I was not a fan,I would not be here.
March 7th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Nick, the show I saw this January 2010 is completely new. New set, new stage, new lighting, new band, new clothes, new engery but thank God, the same wonderful TJ and his voice.