It was included on the CD called More Friends: Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.

Also on the CD are Norah Jones, Bryan Ferry, Dionne Warwick, Hhrissie Hynde, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Robert Plant, Jeff Beck, Marianne Faithfull, George Benson and Bono.

You can listen to samples and, even, buy it by clicking here.

On Holland’s 2003 New Year’s Eve Hootenanny, Tom sang the song with Jools Holland on piano, Dave Swift on bass. You can watch it in the TJI.com Video Library.

Here in Las Vegas, all is not what it seems to be. Even the name of the place.

If you want to sound like a native, you’re in Las (pronounced “loss”) Vegas, Nevada (the first “a” in Nevada is pronounced like the “a” in “caddy,” not like the “a” in “Harvard.”) It’s easy, just takes a little practice.

When a native talks about the numbered highways here (15, 215, 95, etc.), the number is always preceded by the article, “the.” Thus, you take “the 215 to Henderson;” “the 15 to California,” and “the 95″ to wherever the 95 goes.

And, be warned, just because a road seems heading toward where you want to go, don’t be too sure it will actually get there. Streets in Las Vegas often have an odd tendency to just — well — stop and then pick up elsewhere. So, when you’re exiting onto Buffalo, for example, unless you have the correct side of Buffalo you might get lost very soon. A map or GPS system is very handy here.

Speaking of roads, that brings us to the actual act of driving. Everyone here talks about how bad the drivers are. Apparently that doesn’t bother the Las Vegans as they attribute the bad driving to the fact that most bad drivers here are originally from California. So, in the end, bad drivers in Nevada have nothing to do with Nevada.

Being neither natives nor Californians, we cannot pass judgement on those beliefs. But, we can tell you to watch it. Lane changes, signals, turns — all are done casually with little or no regard to what other cars are doing. The very term “defensive driving” was invented for Las Vegas.

AND, THE BEST THING ABOUT DRIVING IN LAS VEGAS? It’s the parking. Specifically, the valet parking at hotels and casinos. Sure, there have been incidents where cars were damaged, but that can happen in any parking garage anywhere or, for that matter, on any street. The fact is that, for just a few dollars for a tip, you don’t have to schlep through a parking garage for seemingly miles until you get to your destination and you don’t have to walk through an empty garage late at night. Try it, you’ll love it!

A landscaper from New Jersey, Steve won a Tom Jones look-alike contest and since then has never looked back. He’s played Tom in venues around the globe, quite often with Las Vegas’ fabled Legends in Concert show.

The most unusual thing about Steve — yes, it is unusual — is that he has the vocal chops to attack Tom’s most difficult material. (It Looks Like )I’ll Never Fall in Love Again, Till and 200 Pounds are all part of his act at one time or another because he also keeps it current.

As Tom himself said when he brought Steve onstage at the MGM, “He’s the best I’ve ever seen…he does me better than me!” If you have the opportunity to see him, by all means do so.

The production of Phantom of the Opera that opened in June at The Venetian is aptly titled Phantom: The Las Vegas Experience. As you can see from the shot of the theater’s interior, it looks nothing like any other production. All the songs are intact, but the show has been cut to 95 minutes. The performers who opened it here are all from Broadway and include Tony-Award winner Anthony Crivello as the Phantom. Not to be missed!

For example, Ursula loves Mystére and Ellen — entranced with the sheer technology of the theater — chooses KÀ.

But, the newest show, Love, is just perfect, especially for someone not in love with all the mime, the people in body suits jumping around and the new-age Enya-like music. Love is Cirque’s interpretation of the music of the Beatles and came out of a suggestion about doing a Cirque show to this music made by George Harrison several years ago. Sir George Martin, who produced the Beatles recordings (and, not incidentally, worked with Tom on a recording of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood) recreated the music for the production directly from the original tapes. It is spectacular.

They’re all worth seeing but be warned, Zumanity is very explicit, so it is not for the faint of heart or the narrow of mind.

Photo of KÀ by Tomas Muscionico; costumes by Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt © Cirque du Soleil Inc.

As the staff of the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote in naming him the 2006 Best Singer: “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. Or you can just go down to the MGM Grand every so often to watch him do it live.”

Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Here is what we believe is the best of the best.

The Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace (right) are amazing. High-end and endlessly interesting. There’s a terrific FAO Schwarz (better than the flagship in New York City), loads of designer fashions, a Fabergé shop where you can see a cross that would put even Tom Jones’ best, brightest and bling-iest to shame. And Vosges Haute Chocolat is not to be missed.

The Shops at Via Bellagio are also fabu.They include Tiffany, Armani and Hermés, among others.

The Esplanade at Wynn is very high end. Here there is a Judith Lieber evening bag in the pattern of the hotel’s carpeting. And you must have read about the on-site Ferrari dealership. There’s also Chanel, Dolce and Gabbana and Oscar de la Renta. It’s quite the mall. (For information about the Esplanade, you can also go to the Wynn site but this involves a long introduction that just isn’t worth the effort)

The Fashion Show Mall (across from the Wynn) offers Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, the only Apple Computer store in Las Vegas and lots of other shops. As malls go, this one is great.

The District at Green Valley Ranch, in nearby Henderson — 5.3 miles from McCarren Airport — has good shops and restaurants and is very worth checking out.

The outlet shopper can choose between Las Vegas Premium Outlets downtown or the outlet center near the Strip on Las Vegas Blvd. South.

Lucky us! Las Vegas offers the only brick-and-mortar Unica Home store anywhere. If, like one of us, you are a devotee of this fun, very modern (and very expensive) style, you must visit. (In fact, there’s no pressure to buy and you can spend a lot of time just “visiting.”) They carry Alessi’s line, designs by Ron Arad, Joe Columbo, Ettore Sottsass — all of the standard-setters of today. They’re located at 7540 Dean Martin Drive (formerly S. Industrial Rd), Suite 501 in Las Vegas. You can call them at 1-888-89-UNICA or, locally, at 702-616-9280. They’re open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Owners Bonnie and Hugh invite you to call for an appointment if you’re short of time.

The best burgers on The Strip are at The Burger Bar at Mandalay Place where you can get delicious Oregon Kobe Beef burgers, all sorts of imported beer and the best sweet potato fries anywhere.

Also for great burgers and amazing bar-b-q, Lucille’s Smokeshouse Bar-B-Que in Henderson cannot be beat. The ribs are great, the barbeque chicken salad is amazing — we love everything about the place. Try to avoid weekends there but, if you have to wait, it’s worth it.

Since Tom Jones fans spend most of their time at the MGM Grand, it’s worth talking about the restaurants at the MGM.

We like Fiamma for Italian food. They advertise it by saying, “Italian food so authentic you’d swear you were in New York.” Really. They also have amazing desserts and, if it’s just dessert you want, you can sit in the comfy chairs in the bar area and really relax. For casual dining, ‘wichcraft and the Grand Wok (for sushi) are good. Of course, nothing beats the hot dogs and fries at Nathan’s in the food court. That’s as good as you can get in Coney Island. Surprisingly, most of the restaurants close fairly early, so don’t dawdle after the show unless you want to eat in the less-than-wonderful Studio Café, the MGM’s 24/7 coffee shop.

For the best crepes in the city, visit La Creperie in Paris Las Vegas.

At Caesars Palace, right between the casino and the Forum Shops is Cypress Street Marketplace where you’ll find casual and pretty inexpensive dining. There’s a nice range of choices, excellent salads and everything’s fresh. Great lunch spot.

The restaurant and adjoining club are on the 64th floor of THEhotel — the boutique hotel inside the Mandalay Bay — at the south Strip and the view is just spectacular.

The restaurant, voted the “Best in Vegas” by the readers of the Las Vegas Review Journal offers a menu by Alain Ducasse who also has Mix restaurants in New York, Paris and Monte Carlo. It’s pricey and, if you want the view but not the meal, the adjacent club (photo left) has it, along with comfy seating, a really good bar and the most spectacular restrooms anywhere — floor to ceiling windows looking south and west. Well worth a visit. Reservations strongly suggested at the restaurant. Call (702) 632-9500.

At the Mirage Hotel’s Dolphin Habitat you can participate in the Dolphin Trainer for A Day Program. It’s amazing, fascinating, fun — it’s just wonderful. The relatively new venture is not a “swim with the dolphins” adventure. Rather, participants actually work with the Habitat’s staff to train the dolphins, exercise and feed them and do anything else these amazing mammals do in the course of a day. Call 702.792.7889 for information, hours and pricing (and it’s not inexpensive). If you can afford the time and the money, it’s very worthwhile. You’ll never forget the experience.

Among the eclectic collection of items offered in the Museum’s gift shop is this Albert Einstein Action Figure. One of us bought it and it now graces her desk in the hope it will make her smarter.

The Musuem is a really interesting place and is recommended.

And, Lucy fans, there actually is a lady standing behind a conveyer belt as the candy goes by, just like Lucy and Ethel did. The “M” in Ethel M is for “Mars,” and the chocolate shop is terrific with M&Ms in colors you see nowhere else. Go. You’ll like it.