Tom Jones "Live in Las Vegas" 1968

        This is the first live album I have reviewed, and what a doozy it is.  Tom Jones is absolutely electric in a live setting, and based on what I hear on this record, the show must have been absolutely wonderful.  Everything on this record is absolutely epic.  The horns blare, the guitar blazes, and the drums beat with sweaty fury.  This is the sound of musicians giving everything they have to the audience.  And to top it all off you get the explosive, bombastic, grandiose, and decisively manly Tom Jones assuredly singing his guts out.

                Tom was at a great place in his career when this was recorded.  He had a nice string of hits, a television show, and lucrative touring schedule.  Playing is Las Vegas must have seemed like the natural thing for him to do at this point.  Some artists feel that playing the Vegas circuit is a little stale.  If Tom did feel this way, you certainly don’t get any sense of it at all.  He gives everything he has to the audience, and they in turn give it back to him.  There are women screaming on the record and Tom just eats it up.  Women screaming at Tom Jones are akin to spraying Aqua Net on a fire.  The things he says to the women in the audience are classic:

“Has anyone got a handkerchief or something?  There you are.”  Then, as someone runs up quickly, “Oh…Oh…Everything all right?  You’re a fast runner, aren’t you?  You don’t run away that fast though, do you?”

One thing I like about this album is the eclectic song selection.  There are some hits, but the covers/classics he sings make this album even more interesting.  I have never in my life heard a version of “Danny Boy” that sounded like it was meant for someone like me to hear.  It’s one of those songs that makes me feel a generation gap.  On the other hand, Tom makes this version feel like a smoky R&B number.  Between the tiny guitar drips and loud brass flashes, Tom makes it easy to forget what song you are listening to.  It just feels right, and I’m impressed he was able to make such a stuffy old song sound so big, powerful, and full of emotion. 

“Hard to Handle” also gets down right funky.  The wah wah guitars are what really do it for me.  They have a bit of a bird chirping quality that contrasts so well with the volume swells of the horn section.  I also have to confess that I have always had trouble deciphering what was being said during the hook of both the Otis Redding and Black Crowes version.  However, Tom is able to inject maximum power and emotion into the immaculately articulated lyrics.  I actually heard the Crowes version a few days ago and realized how good both versions are, for completely different reasons. 

There are also some hits on here that Tom just burns up.  “Delilah,” “It’s Not Unusual,” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” are great compliments to their studio versions.  Tom also sings each with so much gusto and bravado that you could never tell he’s sung them time and time again.  He sounds like he’s having a ball.  I have heard some people call Tom Jones’ singing melodramatic, but that seems silly to me.  That is like saying an elephant lumbers, or a cheetah slinks, or a toad sits, or a butterfly floats.  Yes, all these things are true, but an elephant is just being an elephant.  A cheetah is just being a cheetah.  A toad is just being a toad, and a butterfly is just being a butterfly.  Tom, my friends, is just being Tom. 

There is not a dud on this album.  “Bright Lights and You Girl” allows Tom to growl out a few nice lines.  The two Beatles songs, “Hey Jude” and “Yesterday” are handled exactly the way you would assume Tom would handle them: Big.  And the closing on the album is an almost seven minute version of “Twist and “Shout.”  I can get enough of old rock and roll numbers played by late 60’s and 70’s artists, but Tom keeps it happening the whole time.  It has as much, if not more energy than the early versions, if for no other reasons than the fast tempo and vivacious singing.    

Tones:  People don’t do big notes like this anymore.  Now, people get all swoony when they hear men sing big notes.  American Idol has made sure of that.  This is different.  There are so many amazingly sung notes on this record that it is practically a rain storm of colossal strength.  This is Freddie Mercury, Roy Orbison, Rufus Wainwright territory.   

Cover Note:  Tom is really workin’ it.  He looks sweaty and determined: a winning combination.  I haven’t seen too much video of Tom performing, but it looks like he’s got some moves too. 

Price Paid:  I got this for 25 cents at the library bookstore.  I thought they were kidding.  I didn’t even like Tom Jones at the time, but it just looked so cool.  It had no inner sleeve, but it played (and plays) great.  Normally, not having an inner sleeve is a bad sign, but sometimes you can get away with it. 

Bottom Line:  My wife and I saw Tom perform on his “Praise and Blame” tour several years ago.  It was amazing.  He played a lot from that album, but he chose his “hits” carefully.  Interestingly enough, he played “Delilah,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” and “It’s Not Unusual,” which he did on this album.  His voice has deepened over the years, and the keys he sings the songs in have dropped about 5 notes, but his tone was as rich and sweet as anything on this or his other records.  His hair was fully grey, as well as his goatee, but he was still making jokes about “Hot Cross Buns” that got the ladies screaming.  If you feel like my description makes him sound old, please know he seemed anything but.  Whether it’s 2012 or 1968, Tom Jones knows what he is doing on stage.  Get this one.