Anyway, this particular T.J. record is of a Vegas show recorded at The Flamingo. You can just picture all the middle aged women sweating in the front row, throwing their girdles and panties at Tom. Or maybe you wouldn't want to. I mean, I really didn't...it just sort of happened. That's the sort of thing that pops into one's head when one thinks of Tom Jones. That and lots of chest hair. Oh! And the "Carlton Dance" from "The Fresh Prince" (yes, I was a teenager in the early 90's. :-P)
Side One:
Turn On Your Love Light
Bright Lights and You Girl
I Can't Stop Loving You
Hard to Handle
Delilah
Danny Boy
I'll Never Fall In Love Again
Side Two:
Help Yourself
Yesterday
Hey Jude
Love Me Tonight
It's Not Unusual
Twist and Shout
I have to admit, the guy is enthusiastic. I found myself tapping my foot just a little to "Turn On Your Love Light" and "It's Not Unusual", but the ballads like "Danny Boy" and his tribute to Lennon and McCartney with "Yesterday" and "Hey Jude" I could live without ever hearing.
Tom Jones is Welsh, and for the longest time, I never knew it. He is one of those performers who lose their accent when they sing. That's not good nor bad, but I'm sure there's gotta be people out there like me that had no idea he wasn't American.
The show ends with a version of "Twist and Shout" that weaves in and out of "Land of 1000 Dances". I found myself chuckling when Tom started going on about how he "needs a woman", and for women to let their hair down and "if you can't let it down, take it off!" (I wonder how many times he's said that throughout his career...)
All in all, Tom Jones Live in Vegas will not be a record I'll go out of my way to play again, but let's hear what John has to say, shall we??
Where did you buy this record and when?
"I didn't buy it. It was given to me by my friend Don Organ around late 1991. He moved away and I woke up one morning and he had left it at my back porch door. It had been in his basement and we used to pull it out and laugh once and awhile."
Do you own it in any other format?
"No."
What is your over-all impression of this album?
"It's really not bad, I mean, there's some schmaltz, but the band is strong and you have to admit, he's a great singer. On the rock tunes and the R&B tunes, he's really, really good. It's fun."
Favorite Track?
"The ending medley."
How many stars out of five?
"Because of the schmaltz, I'd give it three and a half"
Hey...I thought it was funny!
Oh! And if you've made it this far, I just wanted to let you know how I picked this record. There are 16 cubes in this big record shelving unit. I randomly picked a number from 1-16 (12), and another number from 1-75 (42). This record was in cube 12, number 42.
So, the first person that comments with a number from 1 to 16, and a number from 1 to 75, I'll use those numbers to randomly pick the next record that I'll blog. ;-)
