To borrow a phrase, if you haven't seen Tom Jones lately, you haven't seen Tom Jones. Not content to slide on his well-known Vegas persona, Tom Jones has taken a hugely successful leap, collaborating musically with some of the hottest, most current, musical acts in the business. Much of the music Jones performed Sunday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena is on the "Tom Jones Reloaded" album. There are two versions of this CD available. If you have the chance to choose between the version available domestically or the import version; choose the import. After a brief, introductory music video, Jones opened Sunday night's show at the Arena with "Tom Jones International" which has a heavy, pounding baseline. The song is a collaboration between Jones and Wyclef Jean and it was the audience's first clue that this show was going to be different than a Tom Jones show of ten years ago.
Sporting a goatee and looking athletic and fit at 65 years old, Jones came out in a purple suit with a black sequin shirt opened a few buttons down (not everything has changed), that was quickly drench in sweat. He and his three back up singers and six-piece band, moved right into "Momma Told Me Not to Come", also from his "Reloaded" album. "Momma" is a raw, funky, bluesy song that lends itself to Jones' strong, loud voice. Back on familiar territory for the audience, next up was "Delilah", but with a new arrangement and a picked up tempo and heavy electric guitar. Following that was "Just Help Yourself". Tom danced, jumped, slid and shook his way through this and all of the songs in his show. The mere suggestion of a hip swivel or gyration or thrust sent the audience into ecstasy. During both "She's a Lady" and "What's New Pussycat" there was the legendary tossing of panties onto the stage. This ritual was updated as well. A pair of men's boxer briefs joined the mix of undergarments on stage. Jones took it all in stride. For me, "What's New Pussycat" was a full-circle moment, having seen it performed the evening before, by its writer, Burt Bacharach.
Slowing things down a bit, Jones covered "We've Got Tonight" (Sheena Easton and Kenny Rogers had the hit with it). Jones' version had a reggae beat replacing the country twang in the well-known original. Slowing it down even further, Jones sang "Love Letters". His version was stripped down with grand sweeping notes that swept up and down the scale.
"Sex Bomb" was a huge, international hit for Jones, just a couple of years back. It topped the chart in the U.K. and Europe and made an appearance on the dance charts here in the U.S. The success of that song, was, I believe the impetus for Jones to update his act. It is fun and simple, with a catchy hook. On Sunday night, Tom tore it up. It was during this song that the newer fans were distinguished from Jones' seasoned fan base. For the newer fans, it was the song that they were waiting to hear.
The song that the long-time Tom Jones fans came to hear was "It's Not Unusual", which followed "Sex Bomb". It is almost unbelievable to me that it was recorded nearly (more than?) forty years ago. Jones sang it with his signature verve. Perfect. Not missing a proverbial beat in the last forty years. And exit.
Two encores followed, ending with his cover of Prince's "Kiss", a recording that breathed new life into his career a generation ago. The crowd was one its feet, dancing and bobbing and swaying. "Kiss" closed the fan generation gap. I mean, who doesn't love Tom Jones' version of "Kiss"?
If you haven't seen Tom Jones in a while, it is time to see him again. Also, I think, you should see him in a casino setting if you can, it just adds to the vibe. If you were thinking about seeing him this go 'round and didn't, make sure you do do next time.
Tom Jones showed a wide range at Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie on Thursday night. GRAND PRAIRIE -- If you want to think of Tom Jones primarily as the guy in tight pants who sang cheesy songs amid a blizzard of female undergarments, that's fine. But I don't. True, last night, Jones, 66, trotted out the old bump and grind to a large, mainly female audience at Nokia Theatre. And true, the women still went crazy when he swiveled his hips and sang pap like Delilah. But now that Jones is a little rounder in the middle and thinner on top than in his heyday, it's easier than ever to appreciate his ability as a singer and his wide musical palette. Following the blueprint of his career, Jones' show included a laudable array of styles from the straight-ahead country of Charlie Rich's Who Will the Next Fool Be? to a funky take on Randy Newman's Mama Told Me (Not to Come). Clad in a purple suit and with a mustache and goatee, Jones hit the stage just after 9 p.m. with Tom Jones International, a canny slice of modern dance pop.
Backed by a 10-person band that included a four-man horn section, Jones sang everything well, and, unlike many aging singers, performed full versions of old nuggets such as Delilah, She's a Lady and Help Yourself instead of shoehorning the standbys into medleys. Jones also offered up recent dance-oriented favorites including If I Only Knew and his current European hit, Stoned in Love. Tower of Power opened the evening with an excellent 45-minute set that drew almost exclusively from records released in the '70s that defined the band's horn-powered, jazz/R&B/soul sound. The band, currently with 10 members, powered through classics such What Is Hip? and You're Still a Young Man.
With Stoned in Love sitting high at no. 8 in the charts, the reaction to the single has been fantastic - here are a few reviews to give you an idea what the press are saying:
Single of the Week - The Sun
"Performing with a crossover dance act will do nothing for Tom Jones's reputation in the valleys and some production trickery makes him sound like he's never sounded before - but the result is a four-to-the-floor banging tune! In a chat with SFTW Sir Tom says: "My manager put me on to Chicane. I had always been aware of the music but had never known Nick (aka Chicane) personally. I was looking for a new challenge and this tune got me fired up. "I heard the track, thought it was a really powerful song and went for it. You've got to do something new to keep the excitement running. I like to surprise people." 5/5
Neil Diamond, 65, has a bigger catalog of hits and more songwriting acumen. Wayne Newton, 64, has larger-than-life charisma and more flash and flair in his show. But Jones, 65, has the shtick, the voice, the arrangements and the self-deprecating humor. His 85-minute show Thursday night at Mystic Lake Casino was an absolute hoot. You could laugh with him and at him -- he didn't care as long as you were having a good time. Thanks to his humor, his hits, his hipster/camp cachet, his heartfelt interpretations of some unexpected tunes and the audience's interaction with this hammy icon, it was a wonderfully memorable night. Jones -- actually Sir Tom Jones now, after being knighted last month by Queen Elizabeth -- was a bit of a parody of himself, with his bug-eyed mugging, ageless bump-and-grinding, mincing gestures and timeless look of tight curly brown hair, diamond pinkie ring and open shirt, revealing a giant gold cross and hairy chest.
He still has that stentorian baritone, which he unleashed most effectively on country-blues-soul tunes, including Charlie Rich's "Who Will the Next Fool Be," Howlin' Wolf's "Three Hundred Pounds of Joy" ("200" in Jones' version), the oldie "What Am I Living For" and his 1969 hit "I'll Never Fall in Love Again."
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. - Singer Tom Jones wore a huge grin Saturday night through most of his show in the Fallsview Casino's Avalon Ballroom, and let's face it, the man has plenty to smile about. Just last month, he was christened a knight by the queen of England. He's a proud husband, father and grandpa who has been married to the same woman since 1957. And, at age 65, he's still such a hot performer that women of all ages go wild in their seats and throw their undergarments at him. Let the record show that the first undergarment hit the stage at 9:03 p.m., 18 minutes into Jones' show, during a spirited, somewhat suggestive version of one of his hits from the '60s, "Help Yourself."
Jones, who has a big and enthusiastic following among women in this region, gave them plenty to scream about in a soulful, high-energy show that lasted about 90 minutes.
Calling all budding music reviewers! We're looking for fans to contribute to the Rave Page section of the new site where we'll be uploading fan reviews of Tom Jones gigs. If you've been to a show recently and would like to write a review for the site make sure you include your name, location and send your review (no longer than 500 words) to 
Frank Sinatra was The Voice. Elvis Presley was The King. Jackie Wilson was Mr. Excitement. They're all gone now, but it seems as though Tom Jones is ready to take on each of their titles -- even at the age of 65.At the Palace Theatre on Friday night, the powerhouse Welsh singer uncorked a flat-out blockbuster performance. Despite the fact that you won't find Jones anywhere on the pop record charts these days, the man certainly knows how to deliver the goods live. For the record, the first item of women's unmentionables hit the stage at 9:05 p.m. in the middle of the towering ballad, "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," and by my count, the final underwear total was four -- with three more launched during the prowling oom-pah of "What's New, Pussycat?"