Tom Jones Album: “The Best of Tom Jones [Remaster]”

Times change - and what goes in and out of style is often very subjective to the period of time we are in. While Tom did always maintain a core legion of fans - if you go back to the late 1970s and early 1980s and mention the name of Tom Jones, you probably would be laughed at. However if you went back to the 1960s, Tom Jones had an extremely devoted following. At the same time, it also seems that Tom Jones has somehow gone through a renaissance in the 2000s. People are now getting into Tom Jones again. It's not like there has been this great 1960s cultural renewal - it's just that Tom Jones music is suddenly come in today. Although this is a shot in the dark, one reason why I think that there is renewed interest in Tom Jones is because of the success that the "Austin Powers" movies had. Whatever it is, when I hear the sounds and music of Austin Powers - it immediately reminds me of Tom's music. One collection that a has a snapshot of Tom's work in the late 1960s and early 1970s is the collection, "The Best of Tom Jones".

I think there are several reasons for why Tom Jones can still have appeal in the 21st century. The main reason is Tom's unique baritone voice. Tom's vocals are some of the strongest in the music business. Whether its pop, dance - or even country and techno, Tom has always found the ability to adapt his style to many different music variants. Tom's music also has some very interesting sounds. One reason I can think of "Austin Powers" is because Tom's music and that movie's music have almost a psychedelic "pop sound". Finally, I think Tom's strength as a live performer has really helped to solidify his appeal. Tom's somewhat gregarious style on stage has made him one of the most frequent recipients of women's undergarments on stage - even today.

"The Best of Tom Jones" does a pretty good job at the content of the collection. It includes 21 classic tracks from 1965 through 1974 and also includes Tom's 1989 remake of Prince's "Kiss". I prefer my greatest hits collections to be in chronological order - this allows me to see how the artist has progressed over time. For the most part (with a few exceptions), "The Best of Tom Jones" comes pretty close to going in chronological order. One example of this is "Puppet Man" was released on the "She's a Lady" album, yet it is included after songs like "Letter to Lucille" and "The Young New Mexican Puppeteer" that were released after "Puppet Man". But for the most part, you can get a sense for how Tom progressed.

As far as Tom Jones collections go, there are most certainly no shortage of greatest hits collections. Here are some of the more popular ones:

- "20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Tom Jones": This only contains 12 tracks. All twelve of these tracks are included on "The Best of Tom Jones". This is not in chronological order.

- "Gold": This is a more comprehensive collection of Tom's hits. This is a two-CD collection containing 42 songs. It doesn't include the remake of "Kiss". It also is missing "Chills and Fever" and "Somethin Bout You Baby I Like".

- "Reloaded: Greatest Hits": A collection of 19 of Tom's hits that include duets with contemporary artists.

- "The Definitive Tom Jones 1964-2002": This is the most comprehensive Tom Jones collection out there. This is a Boxed Set that includes 93 tracks. This contains all of the songs from "The Best of Tom Jones" with the exception of "Somethin Bout You Baby I Like".

- "The Complete Tom Jones": This older collection contains 20 tracks. All of the songs on this collection with the exception of "Move Closer" are included on "The Best of Tom Jones".

Overall, while I still know there are more comprehensive collections than "The Best of Tom Jones", for the most part I was pleased. The collection offers some classic Tom Jones' tunes such as "It's Not Unusual" and "She's a Lady" (the latter is my favorite Tom song). This collection is one of the few to feature the song "Somethin Bout You Baby I Like". Although Tom did some "country" albums in the 1980s, this particular song demonstrated that Tom could actually adapt to a Country-Music style. I was also pleased by the inclusion of "The Young New Mexican Puppeteer" - for a guy from Wales, this song sure had a terrific Tex-Mex flair to it. Despite the inclusion of "Kiss", I'm a bit disappointed that some more of Tom's covers are not included - and most notably, I would have liked to see a few of Tom's live cuts included.

The liner notes for this collection are a mixed bag. On the positive side, there is a terrific 2-panel write-up that is listed as "An Extract from the Legend of Tom Jones Volume 1" This write-up basically chronicles the early part of Tom's career. I found this very informative. On the negative side, there is little in the way of credits. You aren't told when the songs were released, you aren't told about the studio musicians, the songwriting credits, and what albums the songs are from. There are also no lyrics - but with greatest hits collections, it is typical that they are not included. Overall, I'd look to see what the best value you can get for your money in terms of selecting a Tom Jones compilation. Based on this, you still may want to look at "Gold" or "The Definite Tom Jones" boxed set. However, this collection still stands solid on its own as being a Tom Jones compilation. It does a great job at capturing Tom's peak period - Highly Recommended.