Tom Jones International

Tom will be on BBC Radio 6 this Tuesday, June 1, sometime between 10 am and 1 pm (13:00) UK time. He was interviewed and sang a few songs. Praise and Blame. The station promo says, “Lauren Laverne with Tom Jones live in session in the 6Music studios. The legendary singer has been working with Kings Of Leon producer Ethan Johns on his new album Praise & Blame which is released on July 26th. The features reworkings of tunes from the likes of Bob Dylan, John Lee Hooker and Susan Werner and finds the great man in a reflective mood.” You can listen live here or after the show on the BBC iPlayer here. (If you are not sure of what time 10 a.m. in London is where you live, timeanddate.com is a very useful resource.)

Since Monday is Memorial Day in the USA and a bank holiday in the UK, TJI will take a wee vacation and give you a chance to catch up with anything you may have missed. So, this post will be up until Tuesday.

Hopefully by Wednesday TJI will have a link where people outside the UK can buy Praise and Blame and two other goodies…for about 20.46 USD, including shipping! Great buy and you can avail yourselves of it wherever you live! (Even in the UK because TJI doesn’t like to leave anyone out.)

On Friday night, an expanded version of Later…With Jools Holland was broadcast.

On this edition of the show, Tom — onscreen for more than 13 minutes — again explains the genesis of the CD name, Praise and Blame. And, this time out, Tom sings three songs. What Good Am I?, Burning Hell and one he performed for the first time, Strange Things Happen Everyday, There’s also some banter and a song and birthday cake for Sir Tom.

You can watch the show in the TJI.com Video Library.

Thanks, Johan

In 1997 the amazing photographer Herb Ritts gathered Tom Jones, along with models Tyra Banks, Stephanie Seymour, Helena Christensen and Karen Mulder for a 30-second commercial for Victoria’s Secret. (I do know someone who insists that “Victoria’s Secret is that no one over 30 can wear that lingerie.”

Anyway, the ad ran in the US (anywhere else? ) and was very much discussed.

If you missed it or just want to see it again, click here.

As usual, if you cannot play it, drop me a line using the “Contact TJI” link at the bottom right and I’ll email it to you.

In an interview recorded several days ago with Absolute Radio’s Hometime Show host Geoff Lloyd that touches on many subjects — from American Idol to Johnny Cash to Americans’ general ignorance of the British peerage to Tom’s dole (unemployment) records — Tom is clearly having a terrific time. He posed with Lloyd (left) and the station crew (right).

During the interview Burning Hell and Lord Help the Poor & Needy were played. Because there was a problem with the transmission, the posted interview does not include the music. And, since you’ve heard Burning Hell already, I didn’t include it in this post. But here is Lord Help the Poor & Needy. The song was composed and recorded by Mississippi blues musician Jessie Mae Hemphill.

Sadly, the very-enthusiastic-about-Sir-Tom-Jones host steps on the last few notes, but you’ll get the idea…..And this is surely another song that can be used to raise funds for charity.

You can listen to the interview by going to the TJI.com Video Library. Because it’s all audio, there’s a nice photo of Tom, also taken at the Absolute studio, fronting it.

Tom is, finally — a week after their announcement — being interviewed on Absolute Radio today between 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. We’ll have the interview you here tomorrow.

If you have an iPhone, you may be interested in the apps just released by MGM Mirage. There are four of them — MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, New York New York and Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi. There’s information about the hotels. The apps are free.

Here’s video of a three minute-nine second chat Tom and Jools had Tuesday. Again, a longer version — taped at the same time as the shorter one — will be shown Friday night. Maybe there’ll be a longer interview in that. TJI will have it all ASAP. Here Tom explains how the name for Praise and Blame was chosen.

You can see the interview (and how much Tom is enjoying it) here.

As usual, if you cannot play it, drop me a line using the “Contact TJI” link at the bottom right and I’ll email it to you.

The Tuesday night edition of Later Live With Jools Holland show was relatively brief — a half-hour —with each guest singing one song. Friday night, at 11:45 Later…With Jools Holland is longer — same guests and we’re told guests will sing three songs. in addition, there’s word that they might sing Happy Birthday that night to a knight. We’ll have to see and we’ll have it for you over the weekend.

Meanwhile, here’s Tom Jones on the show singing the beautiful, meaningful Bob Dylan song What Good Am I? The audio is kind of soft, so you may have to listen carefully. The next one will be better. (Dylan was known for this kind of serious, folkie-like music. Remember, he wrote Blowin’ In the Wind.)

As usual, if you cannot play it, drop me a line using the “Contact TJI” link at the bottom right and I’ll email it to you.

Of course, there have been many, many articles about the Norwich concert cancellation/postponement. To be expected. That seems to be about all the TJ news as of midnight, PDT, May 24. So, TJI found some odds and ends and a stash of older photos like the one at right.

Tune In Tonight; If you miss it, it’ll be broadcast again Friday night. If you miss it because you do not get BBC 2, TJI will have it posted in the next day or so.
Today, 22:00 on BBC Two (except Northern Ireland (Analogue), Wales (Analogue))

Synopsis: Joining Jools for the final show of the series are New York-based Vampire Weekend, whose second album Contra saw them top the US charts earlier this year; Leeds-born singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, with tracks from her second album The Sea; MGMT, whose new album Congratulations sees the duo explore a more psychedelic side to their sound, working with the likes of Sonic Boom; and Canadian duo Crystal Castles who are in the studio to perform a song or two from their acclaimed self-titled second album. Plus the legendary Sir Tom Jones makes an appearance on the show ahead of his 70th birthday, and, from Toronto, four piece indie rock band Metric make their UK TV debut.

In other news, at the BAFTA Cymru (British Academy of Film and Television Arts/Wales) awards, WalesOnline tells us: “Raucous comedy A Bit of Tom Jones? starring Margaret John, Eve Myles and Jonathan Owen was named as this year’s Best Film.”

Finally, I came across of review of Tom in New York a few years ago. It was written by a guy who clearly didn’t really want to be there but, he (somewhat reluctantly) concluded: “When you see a 67-year old singer earn his thrown panties instead of getting them tossed his way solely on his reputation, you’ve seen something inspiring.”

Because there’s not a lot of news around at the moment (that situation may change by morning) please email TJI with a link to anything you’d like posted. Or, send anything….This is your site, too, so please share. Thanks!

Since it’s later here in Las Vegas than it is just about anywhere else, you probably already know that Tom’s June 5 concert has been postponed by the venue because, they said, renovations to the stadium are not completed. Sadly, some fans who have made arrangements to go to Norwich and stay overnight have non-refundable rooms. Others are expressing disbelief at the reason given for the postponement. Waiting for more news and hopefully there will be a rescheduling announcement soon. The venue said they are working “with Tom and his management to explore the possibility of a rearranged date in the future.”

I’ve had this video ready to post for months and kept forgetting. I’ve finally remembered, so here it is. It’s for a very good cause.

In 1993 in the UK, a Food Records project collected various versions of the Gimme Shelter by several bands and collaborations. The money raised from the sale of the music went to the Shelter England’s “Putting Our House in Order” homeless initiative. The versions were issued in various formats, and had a live version of the song by The Rolling Stones as a common lead track to ensure chart eligibility.

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was the first track on the Rolling Stones’ 1969 album, Let It Bleed. In a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, Jagger noted that, when the song was recorded it was, “a very rough, very violent era. The Vietnam War. Violence on the screens, pillage and burning. And Vietnam was not war as we knew it in the conventional sense…That’s a kind of end-of-the-world song, really. It’s apocalypse; the whole record’s like that.

The lyrics of the song speak of seeking shelter from a coming storm, create a scene of devastation and social apocalypse while also talking of the power of love: “Oh, a storm is threat’ning, My very life today; If I don’t get some shelter, Oh yeah, I’m gonna fade away; War, children, it’s just a shot away, It’s just a shot away…Love, sister, it’s just a kiss away, It’s just a kiss away”

The Stones never released it as a single, but it was a staple of their live show and was covered by acts including John Mellencamp, Meat Loaf, Goo Goo Dolls, Grand Funk Railroad, The Stereophonics and Sheryl Crow. U2 did it on October 30, 2009 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame benefit concert at Madison Square Garden. Sharing lead vocals with Bono were Fergie and Mick Jagger. The song has been used innumerable times on film soundtracks and seems to be a favorite of Martin Scorsese, who used it in Goodfellas, Casino and The Departed. It’s been heard on The Simpsons, That 70s Show and Andy Garcia performed it on American Idol.

Thus, it’s only natural that Tom Jones covered it. The video is lots of fun and it is so nice that NMA was very excited about doing the song with Tom.

You can watch it in the TJI.com Video Library.

Here is a five-minute phone interview that Tom did in Australia on March 2 in preparation for two appearances in Melbourne. The interview was with Denis Walter on 3AW radio.

Among the topics touched upon are Tom and Engelbert having the same manager, Dusty Springfield and, of course, with 24 Hours being released in Australia at that time — and with many venues giving copies of the CD with each ticket purchase — lots of stuff we’ve heard before about how the songs were chosen for that CD and how came to be part of the package.

This is an audio file only (well, duh! it is a radio interview!). You can listen to it here.

As usual, if you cannot play it, drop me a line using the “Contact TJI” link at the bottom right and I’ll email it to you.

Thanks, Dre.

Someone emailed me to comment on those who said Tom’s voice is “too good” for the material on this new CD. She asked how Tom — a Welshman — could be so familiar with spirituals. I do not know “how” Tom became familiar with the music but I do know that they’re performed in churches worldwide along with the liturgical hymns and he has said he listened to some very famous singers who performed them. (Mahalia Jackson comes to mind.) What we call “spirituals” (or “Negro spirituals”) is the religious music that originated among the slave population in the United States. One website explains the music: “The lyrics of Negro spirituals were tightly linked with the lives of their authors: slaves. While work songs dealt only with their daily life, spirituals were inspired by the message of Jesus Christ and his Good News (Gospel) of the Bible, ‘You can be saved.’ They are different from hymns and psalms, because they were a way of sharing the hard condition of being a slave.”

A couple of years ago, a fan from the UK came to see Tom in Las Vegas. We went to one of my favorite stores, a rare book shop, and she decided to buy her favorite singer a couple of gifts. First — as if he didn’t already own a more authentic (ie: printed in the UK) copy — she chose a first American edition of A Child’s Christmas In Wales. Then she began to look around for something else. She looked and looked. As she did, I was k looking around, too, when I spotted The Book of American Negro Spirituals, a 1925 collection of these songs put together, annotated and autographed by James Weldon Johnson, a poet and writer of the Harlem Renaissance. I showed her this book, noted that spirituals are one of the roots of rock ‘n’ roll and Tom always says he loves this music. She recalled, “Oh, yes, we used to sing those songs in school.” (Yes, this person is a Brit but this music is universal.) She immediately decided to buy it. I didn’t know the price of the one I found but, later, discovered it was $1,750 plus tax. The first book cost her $650 plus tax.(FYI: The tax on these two books alone was approximately $164. And she bought another book, too. Clearly, she had lots of money and how can anyone criticize a person who spends on books?.)

Anyway, next time she was in town, she saw Tom in a restaurant, walked over and said, “May I give you a gift?” He nodded his assent (as if he’d say “Don’t you dare!!). She put the books down on the chair next to him and — literally — scurried away. She went home shortly thereafter. I had a quick opportunity to ask Tom if he liked the book of spirituals and he replied, “Yes. It’s one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten.” (I didn’t pay for the book, but I chose it. So I felt very gratified.)

From TwentyFourBit.com, a US music site comes a kind of rave review for What Good Am I?? posted May 21, 2010 10:32am, by Marc Ribot:

Tom Jones Covers Bob Dylan – What Good Am I?

Truth be told, this track has been hanging out in my queue for a spell, but I just don’t know what to make of it. Tom Jones teamed up with our favorite recording engineer, Ethan Johns, for his latest record, Praise And Blame, an album that recalls the Rick Rubin/Johnny Cash American series of yore and opens up with an uber-intimate take on Bob Dylan’s Oh Mercy song What Good Am I?

Jones’ skillful vocal performance is undeniably more controlled than Dylan’s original, but what’s missing? Dylan’s off-the-cuff delivery? Call me Carlton Banks, if you must, but this is the Tom Jones I love most.

Johns’ production is understated and gorgeous, as usual, and yet this is certainly no Call Me On Your Way Back Home. We’re torn on this one, kids, but something tells me that’s a good thing this time.

For two articles — a short one and the longer one from which the photo was taken — click here to (more…)

The brief note below was posted by The Archivist – WNEW.comStaff May 18, 2010. WNEW (“Where Rock Lives”) used to be one of the best radio stations in NYC, highly regarded by aficionados of a range of musical styles. Today, their main presence as WNEW is on the web and their webfans are passionate about how good the site is. Anyway, they posted news of Tom’s new project — the first word on it from US media. Surely there will be more to follow.

WNEW Rock News: Tom Jones to Drop New Set

Tom Jones (aka The Stud That Just Won’t Go Away) hasn’t, well, gone away. The 68-year old singer of She’s a Lady, among others, has a new album of covers coming out.

Due on the shelves on July 26th, Praise and Blame was produced by Ethans Johns, famed for his work with Kings of Leon. It’ll include covers of Dylan, John Lee Hooker and Billy Joe Shaver among others.

It will be advanced on June 7 with a seven-inch vinyl single featuring Hooker’s Burning Hell and Dylan’s What Good Am I.

In the UK, on May 17, NME.com carried news of the CD and added a list of who sang the songs on it most famously before Sir Tom. Their somewhat incomplete list says:

What Good Am I? (Bob Dylan); Lord Help (Jesse Mae Hemphill); Did Trouble Me (Susan Werner); Strange Things; Burning Hell (John Lee Hooker); If I Give My Soul(Billy Joe Shaver); Don’t Knock; Nobody’s Fault But Mine; Didn’t It Rain; Ain’t No Grave; Run On

Finally, Marvin Gaye covered one of Tom’s biggest hits. Thought I’d post it.It was on the 1990 release at left but was, of course, recorded much earlier. I looked all over for a photo of Tom and Marvin but couldn’t find one. If you have one, please send it. (How do you think Tom would do with the Gaye hit Sexual Healing?

Anyway, here’s Marvin Gaye doing a huge Tom Jones hit.