Tom Jones has always held an interesting place in the universe of contemporary music. Was he a showman of the Old School Variety? A solid interpreter of (at various times), rock, pop, R&B, and country music? A pop culture phenomenon rooted in a specific time and place? All of that?
What always set Tom Jones apart from contemporaries like frenemy Engelbert Humperdinck, fellow Vegas icon Wayne Newton, or even the Jewish Elvis Neil Diamond was a deep depth of understanding for his material along with a grittiness and no holds barred masculinity about him. All delivered in a commanding, robust, and sometimes bombastic voice. Tom Jones always made everyone else back in the day seem like pubescent boys by comparison.
And the current Sir Thomas Jones Woodward OBE (so sayeth Queen Elizabeth, who also knighted him in 2006) has never stopped trying to expand his sonic palette. Especially in the past couple of decades that have seen the leather-lunged singer collaborate with a surprising array of rock and experimental acts like the Cardigans, Portishead, Mousse T., and Stereophonics. And most memorably, in 1988 with the Art of Noise on the massive comeback single, a cover of Prince’s “Kiss” (a fan favorite on this night).
Now at the age of 82 (he’ll be 83 next month) Jones’ current jaunt is titled the “Ages & Stages” tour. Mortality and legacy seem to be very much in his head, as referenced throughout the show in terms of song selection and his own remembrances.
His gait is slow and stiff, and he delivered about 1/3 of the nearly two-hour (!) concert sitting on a stool. But one thing is certain: Tom Jones’ voice remains shockingly robust, almost completely unburdened by time and full vigor and power. And in terms of material, this was no oldies revue. He featured seven of the 12 tracks on his most recent album, 2021’s covers collection (though with plenty of his own twists) Surrounded by Time. It hit No. 1 on the UK album chart.
Opening with the one-two with jazzman Bobby Cole’s deeply emotional “I’m Growing Old” and Bob Dylan’s elegiac “Not Dark Yet,” it clear that End Times are on his mind. He’d later also visit Dylan’s similarly-themed “One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)”
Surprisingly, he next knocked out his two biggest hits. Breakthrough “It’s Not Unusual” was recast from a horn-driven show tune to a uptempo zydeco romp with accordion and congas. And worked! And the movie theme song “What’s New Pussycat?” (hint: he’s not talking about felis catus). As if to say to the audience “OK, that’s out of the way, now let’s get deep.
The crowd’s juices really got going with a slowed-down version of a latter day hit, “Sex Bomb.” This was the hot sensual highlight of the evening causing probably well-behaved ladies to scream out, even though the lyrics have Jones praising a paramour rather than boast of his own physical appeal.
There were a couple of out-of-left-field choices. A cover of Todd Snider’s “Talking Reality Television Blues” amped up the winking humor about pop culture on TV from Milton Berle through MTV’s The Real World to The Apprentice. It’s not complimentary. Video clips played on the screen behind him, including footage of Donald Trump (mentioned in the lyrics) and the January 6 insurrection.
There were a few missteps. A cover of Cat Steven’s “Pop Star” may have had Jones’ poking a bit of fun at himself, but it felt limp and the band (otherwise stellar throughout the night, especially the guitarist) sounded like Muzak Devo.
A talk-sung number, Terry Collier’s “Lazarus Man” also fell flat. But the cool psychedelic light show seemed to have galaxies sprouting out of Jones’ frizzy gray hair (similarly used on the trippy “The Windmills of Your Mind”).
In fact, I’ve rarely seen a show use video screens to such great effect, buoying the action on stage instead of supplanting it with inventive graphics (best shown in the sexy silhouette discotheque of Randy Newman’s “You Can Leave Your Hat On”) and showcasing of multiple images. Much of it was just Jones’ live visage in various guises, but it worked to see his highly-emotive face in a way only the first 10 rows would have experienced otherwise.
That was amped up even more earlier with “I Won’t Crumble with You If You Fall.” Last year, Jones performed an impromptu version while a judge on the UK’s version of The Voice, bringing his fellow judges to tears.
Like “It’s Not Unusual,” Jones and band recast the crime of passion tale “Delilah”, this time in a zydeco/samba groove. Unfortunately, it utterly drained the murderous story of tension and drama—though the audience sang heartily to the “My, My My” and “Why Why Why” parts. A recent rewatch of the movie American Hustle, which used the original version effectively, made me yearn for that take.
Barreling toward show’s end, Jones—proving he’s still a vital artist—offered up a new tune, “One Hell of a Life,” which Jones said “sums up my life, and yours.” It was a powerful bookend to the earlier “Green, Green Grass of Home” in terms of learning and yearning.
The finale ended really with where it all began—for him and rock and roll—a cover of early hero Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” He told of story of palling with Elvis Presley in Las Vegas, who asked Jones if he’d like to catch a Chuck Berry show down the road. Upon arriving—and Jones swears this is true—Presley pointed to Berry and said “That’s the real king of rock and roll.”
And while Tom Jones is not a country boy from Louisiana, he was from the tough Wales mining town of Kingsland Terrace. And his career ascension from such humble beginnings is no less impressive than Johnny’s.
Introducing his band at the end (Paddy Milner on keyboards, Scott McKeon on guitar, Dave Bronze on bass, and Gary Wallis on drums), Jones said he hoped for “many more trips around the world” with them.
Whether that’s the case or not, who knows. Last week, Jones performed at both nights of Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday tribute shows in Los Angeles, covering The Red Headed Stranger’s “Across the Borderline” at one of them. And as he said doing the same tune tonight, if Willie’s still out there playing as a nonagenarian, then he himself still has plenty of time left. And in 2023, the Welsh Wailer certainly still has the pipes is near-perfect working order.
Set List
I’m Growing Old
Not Dark Yet
It’s Not Unusual
What’s New, Pussycat?
The Windmills of Your Mind
Sex Bomb
Popstar
One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)
Across the Borderline
Green, Green Grass of Home
Talking Reality Television Blues
I Won’t Crumble with You If You Fall
Tower of Song
Delilah
Lazarus Man
You Can Leave Your Hat On
If I Only Knew
Kiss
One Hell of a Life
Strange Things Happening Every Day
Johnny B. Goode
Editor’s Note: In case you’re wondering why we don’t have photos from last night’s concert with this review, it’s because Tom Jones’ representatives stipulated for online publications only: “NO posting of photos to the internet or social media outlets, including personal social media accounts unless first approved by Artist Management.” Just as the Houston Press does not allow prior to publication review of its stories, it does not allow it for the photos it takes.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
