brendan halpin

Here’s something you might not expect about Tom Jones: he is not a nostalgia act.

I mean, yes, he’s gonna do “It’s Not Unusual,” “Delilah,” and “The Green Green Grass of Home,” but the man is not coasting on 60-year-old hits. (which, by the way, would also be fine. It’s just not what he does.)

The bulk of the show was given over to his most recent (2021, I believe) album. And it was fantastic! Because Tom Jones is not now, nor has he ever been, a songwriter. He is an interpreter of songs. I feel like almost nobody is doing this anymore, and, what’s more, most people in pop music simply don’t take care of their voices. Lookin’ at you, Springsteen, Dylan, Steve Nicks, Mellencamp, David Lee Roth, Ozzy, and pretty much every other 60+ rocker.

But Tom Jones has evidently taken fantastic care of his voice because he sounds fantastic. Now, does he sound like Tom Jones of 50 years ago? No—the old songs have been transposed into lower keys, the arrangements don’t lean on belting anymore, but my God can this man sell a song.

And here’s the thing—most singer songwriters just seem to lose their songwriting mojo at some point. Quick—name the last good song Dylan wrote. “Not Dark Yet,” maybe, which Tom Jones performed. He also did “One More Cup of Coffee,” which was also fantastic. And I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather hear a gifted singer with a mellifluous voice perform a Dylan song than hear Dylan perform a Dylan song at this point.

But, while you might run out of good songs to write, you will never run out of good songs to sing. And so, by not doing what more “authentic” artists were supposed to do and writing his own music, Tom Jones remains a vital artistic force.

Tom Jones can perform a number of different styles credibly, and he did, ranging from the gospel of “I Won’t Crumble With You” to the dance pop of “Sexbomb” and the funk of “Kiss.” (And the I-don’t-know-how-to-characterize-it-but-it-was-mesmerizing “Lazarus Man.”).

And the guy has plenty of money. He doesn’t need to perform, so I assume he does it because he loves it. And it shows. Tom is still a magnetic performer, telling funny anecdotes between songs and generally seeming to delight in the attention of the audience.

Tom Jones is 84 years old. He says he’s got no plans to retire from touring, but he’s not going to live forever. I strongly urge you to catch this legend in concert if you can. I guarantee you’ll have a great time. Also—the show started at 7:20 and ended at 9PM, which made the two hour drive home far less painful than it might have been!

I had never been to Mohegan Sun Arena before, and the sightlines, the sound, and the video were all flawless. Too bad you have to drive to the middle of nowhere and spend at least 10 minutes threading your way through the casino to get to the arena. (I’ve never been to a real casino before—do they all feel like airports, or is that just Mohegan Sun?).