Best of Tom Jones
Despite the killing hokiness of some of his material--"The Young New Mexican Puppeteer," anyone? Anyone?--Tom Jones has always had an ear for songs and the hefty voice to apply to them; Prince's "Kiss," with its line about watchingDynasty, was made for Jones. This umpteenth collection of his hits, otherwise concentrating on his '60s and '70s work for the British Decca label, definitively pulls together the Welshman's strong supper-club musical instincts and playful campiness. ("What's New Pussycat?" is here, of course, and on the back cover, he seems to be posing with the Golddiggers.) You want over-the-top? Over-the-top is his home, as the massively un-PC "Delilah" and "Not Responsible" remind us. One unfortunate omission: the Bacharach-David movie theme "Promise Her Anything."--Rickey Wright