Last year I posted this audio clip and, in the spirit of the day, am reposting it for those who missed it or who want to hear it again. It’s from a 33 record sent to US disc jockeys (remember them?) to play in order to promote the release of Daughter of Darkness. It was called Just For You: For US Fans.

I am very thankful to Peter, who saw Tom in Budapest. This is one of — if not the — best-written fan reviews I’ve ever read (and I didn’t edit it at all!). I am very impressed with Peter’s command of English.

Peter wrote: The show was fantastic as always, thank God he got back to the high-energy, classical “greatest hits” setlist he used to do, only 2 songs were from Praise and Blame.

The intro was lacking the build-up and anticipation I had seen before, because all of a sudden, at 8.10 the house lights went down, the band came onstage and kicked in with Give a Little Love, and Tom just walked out without any warning or announcement. He smiled and winked at the audience while some people were still outside in the hallway or looking for their seats. I kinda missed that more grandiose stage entrance he has been known for, because my heart was not pounding as it did during the previous 4 shows I had seen him. He was there but the “orgasm” barely happened. That was my only disappointment, but believe me, I quickly got over it.

From then on it was magic and that Voice simply exploded the Arena. Hit after hit, She’s a Lady, Thunderball, What’s New Pussycat, and the rest, the setlist was the same as in Zagreb the night before. It was not the dancing and jumping kind of experience, Tom’s beyond that level of entertainment. You just sit and watch him: smiling and acknowledging, that you are looking at a legend, a last of his kind, a Las Vegas veteran, a pop icon and he still has it. Absolutely incredible. It’s not a simple concert, it’s an event, it’s a celebration of his life and cult status. Whatever he does is magical, and you just forget he’s actually 71.

Looking at some young women standing in front of the stage he noticed: “Oh, there’s some beautiful young ladies here. I wish I was two years younger…” People burst out laughing.

What a showman, what a singer, what a legend. He told the audience that when he worked as a glove salesman, he worked for Hungarians (his employer was called Pali – which is a nickname for Paul in Hungarian), and they were very nice people. The wonderful thing was to see that he still gets a kick out of performing live, and loving to do what he does. He was in top form and I will certainly go see him again because there’s no sign of him stopping anytime soon.

To Peter’s review, Sabine — who always tells TJI about the shows she sees — added additional observations (and the photo at right). Thanks to her, too. She said:

He looked fantastic and his voice was strong.

BUT 2 years ago the audience was enthusiastic there, everybody was on their feet and danced but this time it was very calm.

When he said “Now you can dance” (at the beginning of You Can Leave Your Hat On) only me and 9 other women went in front of the stage…

He was really great, joked with us and I can not understand why the others were so calm.

The Dubrovnik Times
ROCK LEGEND IN ZAGREB
Tom Jones presented with Croatian cross

Rock legend Tom Jones is well known for his love of jewelry and now he can add a specially designed Croatian pendant to his collection. After his concert in the Zagreb Arena on the 21st of November the Welsh singer was presented with a cross of white gold by the jewelers Križek.

“Our jewelry has been worn by a number of world celebrities including Morgan Freeman, Mickey Rourke, Gillian Anderson and many others, and it is a great honor for us to present our product to stars like Tom Jones” commented co-owner Viktor Križek. “I sincerely hope that every time he wears our jewelry he remembers our beautiful country and the enthusiastic Croatian audience” he concluded.

Photo: Claus Bech

STEFFEN Jungersen – Sunday 14th August 2011, 21:18 | BT.DK

Well, then came just a 71-year-old champion, and put all – as in ALL – other performers at Skanderborg in their placea.

See, I would probably normally have used the word none but this was more than first class— yes, it was an experience with huge profits and total control over musical instruments. We are out there where we have not found better. It was so good it was hard to believe it was true.

Yes, of course I’m talking about legendary Tom Jones in Skanderborg.

It a night when one of the world’s very best singers at the age of 71 years — at least out of all the times I’ve seen him — chose to outdo himself.

Oh yes, Tom Jones delivers, and always with a surplus and this is perhaps what one can expect from the Welsh champion, but the tough-ranging, swinging young band, the man is touring with these days, plays the same wayTom sings. And second, Jones in association with this totally awesome band managed to rearrange the old Vegas classics as Green Green Grass Of Home, Detroit City and Delilah ‘in the bluesy way so they fell well into place with, for example, Burning Hell from his excellent ‘back to the roots’ album’ Praise And Blame from last year.

It evolved in Skanderborg to one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen here — and you must trust my words: They will fucking say something!

With an orgiastic excess (yes, there was that word again) also offered refreshing energetic versions of Mama Told Me Not To Come, Kiss, Sex Bomb (“Turn me on girls,”as an enthusiastic libertine with a twinkle in his eye laughing in this context) and – my fragile heart – a version of Little Feat’s Dixie Chicken which, incredibly enough, surpassed the original series.

And of course THE VOICE in the front. With an empathy that only true legends can deliver. As a dear friend and colleague pointed out:

“They don’t fucking make them like this any more!”

Or as another friend accurately pointed out:

“World class with world class!”

Thanks, Tom! I would be stunned if I were not so happy …

Thanks, Dre.

Please don’t forget to answer the TJI.com Question of the Month below.

The review of Tom’s July 24 performance at the Patrimonio (Heritage) Festival in Corsica came from long-time fan and TJI friend Martine in France. She wrote, “Corsica is an island off the south coast of France and where people are reputed for their strong temperament. Either they adopt you or they kill you ! Fortunately, they loved Tom !! anyway they remain very nice and interesting people.

“I cross my fingers and hope that the “word of mouth” will work and that Europe will wake up to the new Tom Jones’ music.”

Tom Jones electrifies Patrimonio

At 71, the crooner has played class and virtuoso on the stage of Nights guitar, in Corsica.

By Sacha Reins | Posted on 27/07/2011 | Le Point

Tom Jones in a Corsican festival called “The night of the guitars” sounded kitsch, not to say totally incoherent.

There are fossilized clichés which we should get rid of once for all. Tom Jones, for instance, has been followed, for more than 30 years, by the reputation of a behind the times singer and this is in no way true today!

The director of the Heritage festival (North Corsica) came on stage a few minutes before the concert to present Tom Jones (as he always does with all the singers ) but also to explain the audience why he had invited him.

He said, “Lots of people are wondering why Tom Jones is here tonight, it would have been a nonsense to miss such an opportunity “

And indeed, the most unconvinced members of the audience got carried away and were very enthusiastic when they left the concert.

Tom Jones is completely aware of the image that has clung to him since the seventies as being a lady-killer but the Welshman has got a strong sense of humour and self-derision and he recently joked about this fact with a Los Angeles Times journalist, he said, “It’s true that I wish I had not worn those tight trousers because the audience focused on my ‘equipment’ instead of on what and how I was singing.”

Class and Elegance

At the age of 71 he no longer flaunts his “equipment”, no more provocative hip swivelings either, now he plays stylishness, he is elegant and reserved.

If there was one little thing to criticize him for, it might be about wearing this unnecessary big chain bracelet but, indeed, that would be quibbling!

His voice is still there, powerful and in tune to serve an amazing and unexpected set-list. When he starts with the aggressive guitar rhythm on Burning Hell and the goes on with Run On. I remember him at his debut in the sixties, wild and dressed in black leather roaring Little Richard’s songs.

Roger Daltry, the singer of The Who once said: “I liked this guy but we hated singing after him, as anybody would sound voiceless! “Between songs, Tom tells the nights singing with the King in his suite in Las Vegas and then focuses on a catalog even more amazing — songs by Ry Cooder, Grateful Dead, Little Feat, Bob Dylan.

The peak of the concert was his breathtaking version of Didn’t It Rain then, the only one allusion to his reputation of the past as being a sexy and tease singer was the sulphurous You Can Leave Your Hat On.

Tom left without singing Sex Bomb which didn’t come to the youngsters’ expectations as it was the only one Tom Jones’ song they knew.

Very big moment!!

Merci beaucoup, Martine!

The photo here is of the audience at Sir Tom’s July 30 show at Audley End House, one of England’s stately homes. Fitting and elegant, right? A fine review is below. On the actual newspaper site, under the review, are mixed reactions from people who were there. My favorite was from the guy who is not a fan, didn’t like the songs from Praise and Blame but did like Dixie Chicken.

Tom Jones at Audley End

By Alex Day | Hertfordshire Mercury | August 1, 2011

WHEN English Heritage decided to start staging summer evening picnic concerts at Audley End House, shows like the one put on by Tom Jones on Saturday were surely what they had in mind – the perfect marriage of star and setting.

Old, imposing and spectacular. The house was looking good, too. The pop behemoth’s huge voice, stage presence and charisma washed over the stately home’s grounds, conquering an arena which can make lesser acts seem very small indeed.

Even for those picnicking sedately from afar, there could have been no doubt as to the identity of the man on stage – one of few living performers for whom “legend” is a truly fitting label.

The Welshman opened with a volley of tracks from his latest album, last year’s Praise & Blame. The canny versatility which has proved the key to Jones’s astonishing longevity saw him take on a mixture of blues-rock and gospel, providing a superb showcase for that unique voice and warming up the crowd nicely for what many were surely waiting for.

After winding back the clock to 1964 and his debut single Chills and Fever, Jones brought out the first of his big guns with turn-of-the-century hit Sexbomb, much to the tangible delight of the sell-out crowd.

Possibly the highlight of the night was a mariachi-style rendition of Delilah. Its varying tempo and stop-start narrative had the crowd firmly under the star’s spell, singing – and laughing – along with maniacal gusto.

More recent hits – including a double-bill of covers of Randy Newman classics Mama Told Me Not to Come and You Can Leave Your Hat On – kept the party going until he closed his regular set with his first number one It’s Not Unusual, saving some of his best moves (probably nicked from old pal Elvis Presley) for last, gyrating in a way that he – and we – knew was probably inappropriate for a 71-year-old. But such self-awareness is key to his charm and knack for longevity. Long may he continue to reinvent.

You can see the photos above and many others in the TJI.com Flickr set, Sir Tom Plays Festivals & Special Events. What do you think of the masks in the photo at right?

Photo © Koen Rondelez

Ralph, a Dutch fan was at Suikerrock (the festival name comes from the sugar factory in this central Belgian city and translates as “Sugar Rock”), and kindly told TJI about the set. He said: “It was awesome!!!! There was a different setlist (from the North Sea Jazz Festival) with Sex Bomb and Chills and Fever!!! There were at least four songs I didn’t know or that he did not perform at North Sea. To me Sex Bomb was welcome back, Delilah was outstanding and Chills and Fever just amazing! I never heard it before live!!!

Many thanks to you, Ralph.

The photo at right is of Tom performing at Suikerrock. It, along with 15 more photos of Tom performing at Suikerrock are now in the TJI.com Flickr set, Sir Tom At Festivals & Special Events.

Here is a somewhat lame review of Tom at Sandown Park on July 27:
Tom Jones sets pulses racing at Sandown Park, Esher

11:14am Friday 29th July 2011 | By Louise Robertson | Elmbridge Guardian

Music legend Tom Jones showed you are never too old to swing your hips at his sellout Sandown Park concert.

His hip shaking 90-minute set had the women screaming and his hit Delilah took the sound up a few decibels, with houses a three-mile drive away able to hear the crooner and his crowd.

Songs from his latest album Praise and Blame kicked off the set after an evening’s racing, but classics such as Mama Told Me Not to Come and It’s Not Unusual came thick and fast.

Anita Whiting, from Weybridge, said: “It was such a brilliant night, I was dancing the whole time. He really got the crowd going and I had a great time.”

If you missed it the first time, check out the story about Sir Tom on CBS Sunday Morning tomorrow, July 10. If there’s anything new, TJI will have it for you here.

The photo here is one of seven from T In The Park that you’ll find in TJI’s flickr set, Sir Tom Jones at Festivals & Special Events.

Tom Jones doesn’t need to leave hat on to wow T in the Park

Review: Forget any of the young pretenders, Tom Jones landed an early knockout blow as he took to T in the Park’s Main Stage on the sunny Friday evening for a bellowing, hip-shaking set.

STV.com | Michael MacLennan | 08 July 2011 20:10 GMT

Back in black: Tom Jones charmed Scottish festival crowd Pic: © Drew Farrell

T in the Park has never seen anything like it.

Sixty thousand revellers, the majority under 25 and some of them barely in their teens, singing along at the tops of their voices to a 70-year-old Welsh balladeer whose biggest hits came more than 40 years ago….

Tom Jones delighted the packed audience with a brilliant set including top hits Delilah, Mama Told Me Not To Come, Green Green Grass Of Home and a typically funky version of Kiss, inducing the biggest Friday night singalong in the sun the main stage has ever enjoyed.

It was the perfect set on a perfect day of great music, great atmosphere and great weather.

From musicnews.com:

Fancy Dress Friday at T witnessed the now traditional phantasmagorical display of inventive costumery: a burly bloke dressed as a bride, a Slash (from Guns N’ Roses), an explosion of day-glo zinc make-up, and a chipper man who looked suspiciously like Welsh music legend Sir Tom Jones. No, wait, actually, it was Sir Tom, the sprightliest, rock’n'rollest, 71-year-old knight of the realm that Balado has ever seen. Delilah, the Welsh anthem, encouraged Friday evening’s loudest main stage singalong.

“I’d heard a lot about T in the Park, and as we were driving in I saw all the punters ‘ who looked very interesting!’ laughed the living legend ‘ clearly he’d caught sight of the chap dressed as The A Team’s Mr T pushing a woman in a wheelchair dressed as Margaret Thatcher. ‘They all looked the part anyway! For me this is fantastic ‘ I don’t play many festivals, or haven’t done in the past. But this is great ‘ you see all sorts of people. And nine times out of ten it’s a younger crowd. Last year I played Latitude, and I had the Praise & Blame album out, so all I did was songs from that album. And sometimes people could get a bit upset about that, and rightfully so ‘ they wanna hear some hits as well. This time, at T in the Park, I wasn’t gonna make that mistake!’

Well, it’s not unusual to hear hit songs from hit artists at Balado. T in the Park 2011 has lift off.

Just came across this “review.” It was posted in January but there is no clue when the concert in question took place as Tom hasn’t been in AC for quite awhile. But this concert remembrance from an Irish-American is kind of amusing:

Tom Jones Gives a ‘Commando’ Performance

This Is Your Brain On Shamrocks.com | Mike Farragher | January 29, 2011

This is the photo the blogger used.

On one particular Sunday, I played Praise and Blame, the new album from Tom Jones. Yes, the What’s New, Pussycat playboy, he of tight pants and silk shirts opened to the waist, has had his libido dipped in the blue waters of the baptismal font!

The album is a journey through the dry-rot baptist churches of the Deep South, where the humid air is thick with sin and redemption. It’s a fascinating and winning experiment and Jones is still in command of his legendary voice, making things like the Led Zeppelin chestnut Nobody’s Fault But Mine sound like a heartfelt, bluesy confession.

Listening to Tom Jones get all holy on me makes me feel even worse for the sinful, reckless, and feckless behavior I displayed at a TJ show I attended.
It was a cold evening in Atlantic City, a frigid and salty wind whipping off the ocean as I held onto the boardwalk’s handrail. I swayed with the breeze and things got fuzzy as I stumbled into the House of Blues, my big belly sloshing with beer at every step.

My friends have been raving about TJ’s shows for years but I couldn’t get past the schmaltzy images of the Seventies playboy in my mind to take him very seriously. On this tour, he was backed by Wyclef Jean of The Fugees, which peaked my interest. I finally caved, but not without numbing the senses first with alcohol in the likely chance that he sucked.

Boy, was I wrong! Wyclef brought the funk that night and TJ chewed up the scenery onstage with a booming, playful voice and an intoxicating charisma — he believed every word he sang and so did I! He so inspired the ladies in the room that one by one, thin pink y-shaped panties and the odd room key rained on the stage as TJ swiveled his hips and put the sex in sexagenarian!

The funk. The sweat. The passion. The booze! I was completely under his spell and swept up in the sexually charged magic of the night! My drunken logic inspired me to cry out loud to no one in particular: “why should the ladies have all the fun?”

In the heat of the moment, I stumbled into a bathroom stall, dropped my trousers, wiggled out of my boxer briefs, and zipped up again. Commando Mike was in the house and stumbling toward the stage, rudely plowing over everyone in my path with my considerable girth!

“Love is like candy on a shelf/ You want to taste and help yourself/ The sweetest things are there for you Help yourself take a few/That’s what I want you to do,” he sang during his campy hit, Help Yourself. Despite my valiant efforts, I was only able to get within 10 feet of him. I crumpled my underwear into a ball and vaulted it toward the microphone stand. The abundance of cloth needed to cover my distended belly and posterior broke through the confines of the round shape I put it in, my underwear transforming into a mast of a ship that billowed in the shadow of the dusty spotlight as it headed for TJ. He saw it coming, his expression frozen in panic, and he tucked his chin into his chest before diving for cover in the mike stand.

“Whooooooa!” he exclaimed, breaking character dramatically right before he shrugged his shoulders and blinded the room with a high-wattage smile. “Fans come in every shapes and sizes, and that was a big one!”

I lost a pair of underwear that night but Sir Tom Jones gained a fan for life. I now “praise” his talent and “blame” myself for being a hot, drunken mess. Will you grant me redemption, Sir Tom?

CAN YOU SOLVE THE MYSTERY? Every test should be this easy: On Tom’s official site, there is a “guess who’s singing this song” quiz regarding What’s New Pussycat. When the site visitor clicks the link to the song — big mystery — in a post titled “Listen to This Audio and Guess Which Great Artist Covered ‘What’s New Pussycat’?”up pops a page titled “Bob-Marley-and-The-Wailers-What-s-New-Pussycat.” When it came up three days ago,TJI decided not to post it because it’s not by any measure Marley’s best. You can listen here.

WORLD-FAMOUS LOVE ACTS Those with a taste for subversive R&B could choose between Big Freedia and Tom Jones. Photo © New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

Anthems and praise songs

By JON GARELICK | May 12, 2011 | The Phoenix

An accordion blasted a few bars of a two-step and then stopped. “That’s the only Cajun music you’ll hear on this stage,” said Colin Meloy. The Decemberists were making their New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival debut on the Fais Do-Do stage, which is typically reserved for Cajun, zydeco, and other indigenous Louisiana music. Meloy was appropriately humble afterward, and the band sounded good with their strummy folk rock and Jenny Conlee’s vocal harmonies against Meloy.

But the Decemberists are common currency these days, and my wife and I had a rarer bird to catch — former ’60s Vegas pop heartthrob Tom Jones. It wasn’t till the ’90s that someone tipped me off that the voice of Delilah, It’s Not Unusual, What’s New Pussycat?, and the theme from Thunderball belongs to “a great R&B singer.” He’s been pushing the heavy stuff hard in the naughts, and at JazzFest, he fronted a grunge-drenched blues-guitar trio, singing gospel numbers like rave-ups off some lost amalgam of Junior Kimbrough, Zeppelin, and the Stooges: “You may run for a long time/Run for a long time/Run for a long time/But sooner or later I’m gonna cut you down!” The big voice boomed and tore, and the consonants cut like God’s wrath.

For Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s Strange Things, Jones brought on his female backing singers, organ, and piano. Then it was time for a ballad from the old days, (It Looks like) I’ll Never Fall in Love Again. Distinguished in trim gray locks and goatee, dark blazer, and jeans, Jones, now 71 years old, measured his steps with utmost concentration, eyes closed, building and building (“I gave my heart so easily”), timing his breaths perfectly, coughing off-mic and swallowing, and then belting the big belting high note. But it was inevitable that at this moment of greatest artistic focus, the crowd would respond to the man they never knew back before they were born, the ’60s Vegas stud, and it was Caesars Palace all over again: the foot off the stage was pelted with panties.

Of such incongruities is Jazz Fest born.

Please take a few minutes and listen to the songs in the post below and, then, please answer the Question of the Month!

Tom At The Ryman Auditorium

by Lloyd Glass for TJI.com | Photos by Lloyd Glass

We were seated front row center stage These were folding chairs right up against the stage. We learned these seats were originally auctioned off by the Ryman and then some winners later resold them on Stubhub…which is how we obtained them. Just incredibly lucky. Tom’s microphone stand was 6 feet directly in front of me. He was so close I could almost reach out and touch him. I knew this would never happen to me again in my lifetime, but for an hour and a half I was in heaven!

Tom looked great. He was trim and fit. His voice was rich and powerful. From where we were I could not tell that the band was drowning out his voice any at all. Tom sang almost everything from the center stage microphone and did not move around a lot, and it is true..he did not dance around like he usually does…of course most of the songs were not the kind he would be dancing to anyway so I don’t know if there is any significance to this or not.

It seemed to me that he talked a little more between songs than usual…which we all enjoyed. I think Tom was enjoying the show as much as we were. I don’t think the band was of the same quality as in the past but then again the full band did not play during most of the show. The guitars were really good and I thought the singers were fine.

Security at the Ryman was pitiful. At the end of the next to the last song a young lady jumped up on the stage to our left and ran over and grabbed Tom in a powerful hug and the gave him a powerful kiss… and she would not let go. Security was nowhere in sight…one of Tom’s stage crew came out and grabbed the lady by the waist and pulled her off of Tom and had to forcefully drag her off the stage. Tom was surprised by this but recovered and went right into It’s Not Unusual.

Well, that’s about all I’ve got to report. I’ll stay tuned to TJI and I anxiously await the next opportunity to see Sir Tom.

Tom at the Historic Ryman: “Mother Church of Country Music”

by Chris Meier for TJI.com

We arrived at the concert with only moments to spare. We were seated in the front row, where your feet touched the stage. Amazing seats! Tom was about 10 MINUTES late in starting, for which we were grateful. The lights went down, the guitarist began a sexy, bluesy sound and then out comes Sir Tom in all his glory. He looked fabulous! He appeared to have lost a considerable amount of weight, so much so that his jeans were a bit. He looked better than ever!

He began the concert with Burning Hell, which was very well received. As the concert went on it became clear that Sir Tom was performing in a way that I’ve not experienced before; he made you feel that he was singing only for you. His set list felt stripped down and personal with so many of the songs sung with just The Voice, & the acoustic guitars. His new renditions of Green, Green Grass Of Home and Delilah were both outstanding. The only interruption of the master came when someone pitched a large bra at him, while singing and hit him on the shoulder. The timing of this was awful! So much so, I felt sorry for him as he completely ignored it and the many panties that followed while singing one his most loved classics.

It became clear, as the concert went on, that Sir Tom is indeed working to change his sexbomb image for one that is more respectable so that he’s remembered for his voice and not his hips. As always, the concert seemed to fly by, but I think it was actually close to 2 full hours of bliss. Seeing Tom perform on a stage that has held the legendary singers of our time (Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and even the Elvis) was incredibly memorable and absolutely where he belongs.. He told stories in between many of the songs; such as the one about he and Elvis singing Gospels at night in Elvis’ suite after their shows in Vegas. He danced his fancy footwork a few times, which caused loud female excitement in the audience. Although, Tom did not sing several of his classics that we all know and love (She’s a Lady, What’s New Pussycat, Sex Bomb) he was still exceptionally good, and what a special experience to see him singing at the Ryman where musical history has been being made for 119 years. If you have the opportunity to see Sir Tom I wouldn’t miss it as he’s still got it and then some!