CD Odyssey Disc 1831: Tom Jones
More than just a fancy blazer and a ruffled shirt...
As I pulled into my parking spot tonight my neighbour said with surprise and delight, “is that Tom Jones you’re playing?” Why, yes it certainly is – the skyscraper that is my musical tastes has many floors, and if you pick the right one you’ll find Mr. Jones waiting to escort you to the lounge for drinks, crooning, and whatever comes after.
Disc 1831 is…The Golden Hits
Want to read how albums are selected and what the ratings mean? Click my introductory post and learn more. Earlier reviews dating back to 2009 are at A Creative Maelstrom (my blog).
Artist: Tom Jones
Year of Release: 1986, but featuring music from 1965 - 1969
What’s up with the Cover? Feast your eyes, ladies, for it is Tom Jones, decked out in fancy blazer and ruffle-cuffed shirt, Behold the Welsh sex god, here to croon his way into your hearts, driving you to such distraction you may return home from his concert in a commando state of mind.
How I Came To Know It: My mom has been downsizing of late and recently passed along her CD collection. Some of those CDs belonged to my dearly departed stepfather, and Tom Jones is one of those (Mom’s more of a Johnny Cash kind of gal).
How It Stacks Up: This is a greatest hits record, so it can’t stack up.
Ratings: Usually there is no rating for compilations, but this one is half songs from other records, and half singles? What to do? Stay strong, L – no rating!
Back in 1986 CDs were new to the market most who bought them were audiophiles willing to invest in new equipment – often middle-aged folks. With limited selection available, what to market to this demographic? How about some hits from yesteryear, showcasing the versatility of the new system: play whatever you want! No searching! No complicated needle drops! If the music is familiar, well, sometimes better the devil you know…
Tom Jones is definitely the devil you know. His manly crooning showed that you could be a little rough around the edges and still romance the hell out of that microphone. That deep and profound baritone vocal, reverberating through your bones, makes everything more important. And when Jones wants to climb up into a high head voice he does it with the sure-footedness of a man ascending a polished marble staircase in Cuban heels; dangerously, recklessly, and absolutely certain he will not slip or stumble once.
The songs on this compilation are all early Tom, from his first few records and singles in the mid to late sixties. There’s an undercurrent of that sixties British folk revival in the production and delivery, but Tom transcends that and makes things more grandiose and theatrical, like a collection of James Bond theme songs (n.b. Tom did to the Bond movie song for 1966’s “Thunderball” which is regrettably not on this record).
There’s little not to like in this collection of Golden Hits, as even the schlocky stuff like “Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings” and “Without Love” transcend their own silliness, apparently through little more than Jones’ will to overcome. He’s one of the only artists I know that can both embrace schlock and then subsume it into genuine art. It’s a dangerous line to walk, but once again, there’s no slipping.
Jones is no songwriter but with his voice he doesn’t have to be. Can you imagine anyone else sing the jaunty “Not Responsible”? the tragic hyperbole of “Delilah”? Reader, you cannot. And while Conway Twitty and Merle Haggard both do strong versions of “Green Green Grass of Home” I gotta give the edge to Tom again.
Things aren’t perfect, however, even on a collection of Golden Hits. I know that “What’s New Pussycat” was a big hit for Tom, but this song was silly when it came out and it has aged poorly. Worst of all they refrain line of “you and your pussycat…nose” (later eyes, then lips) ends with a flat and discordant note that I can’t forgive. As the repeat listens I came to dread its arrival at Track 6.
Fortunately, the rest of the record was a lot of good, semi-clean fun. A love letter passed down many decades later to my stepfather, to my mother, and now to me.
Best tracks: Green Green Grass of Home, Not Responsible, It’s Not Unusual, Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings, Detroit City, Without Love, Delilah