If you are a regular visitor to our other blog — AM, Then FM — you know we dig Tom Jones.
Tom Jones has a new record coming out — his first in the U.S. in 15 years — and we’re looking forward to it. “24 Hours” is due out on Nov. 25 on S-Curve Records. It is reported to be full of retro soul. “The fire is still in me,” he says. We’ve seen him live. We believe it.
And then today, our friend DJ Prestige over at Flea Market Funk serves up a vintage Tom Jones tune that rocks.
We’re just going with the flow. Tonight on The Midnight Tracker, we also have some vintage Tom Jones for you, and it also rocks.
Digging for old Tom Jones records is a bit of a crapshoot. There usually are a couple of gems on each album from the ’60s or the early ’70s. And, yes, there usually are a couple of unlistenable tunes on each album.
TJ did his best to appeal to all of his audiences — from the girls who wanted to bed him to the guys who wanted to hang with him to the little old ladies who wanted to mother him.
Because I know (and have) all the hits, I’m more often looking for interesting covers when I go crate digging for Tom Jones albums. Tonight’s side offers a little bit of both — some hits and some interesting covers. The latter includes Charlie Rich’s “Dance of Love” and Sam and Dave’s “Soul Man.”
It’s a pretty good representation of what you get with Tom Jones. You may not dig all of it — a cover of “Cabaret” may not be for all tastes — but there’s sure to be something you’ll like.
All that, and it’s live! So you get the added bonus of a powerful Vegas show band and Tom Jones’ stage patter with the ladies. Life is good.
“Dance of Love,” “Cabaret,” “Soul Man,” “I (Who Have Nothing)” and “Delilah,” Tom Jones, from “Tom Jones Live at Caesars Palace Las Vegas,” 1971. It’s Side 1 of four sides. It runs 16:26.
Johnnie Spence conducts that big band, which features Jim Sullivan on lead guitar, John Rostill on bass, Bobby Shew on lead trumpet, Kenny Clare on drums and the Blossoms on backup vocals.
The Midnight Tracker 