To be honest, it's all a wee bit predictable, even for those of us who have never seen Tom Jones before; the Welsh man who has had more knickers thrown at him than are stocked in your average branch of La Senza, comes on stage as the epitome of cool, and regales with a ninety minute set of genre straddling finery.
Proof then, that predictable is sometimes perfect.
Tom Jones is finishing what Dizzee Rascal started – a weekend of music and merriment in Bedford Park.
The weather is nice, the audience on song and Jones? Delicious.
Tom is a pro, he's old school; been there, sung that and wowed all over.
Tonight is what we imagine to be a typically taut turn from the treasure with the voice that Elvis Presley once declared to be “… my favorite singer. He's one of the greatest performers I've ever seen, and the greatest voice.”
Hit or Miss, his version of the Odetta soul track comes early in the set, and Mama Told Me Not to Come has the sunny crowd nice and warmed up before the gospel side gets us shuffling with Didn't It Rain.
As you'd expect, Sex Bomb sizzles with a jazzier take being revealed by Tom, who tonight is looking smart-casual in a checked-jacket.
“Every time I'd record an album I'd take a copy home and play it to my late wife,” Tom reveals, making a poignant reference to his significant other, who passed away this year.
“...she would say what she liked, and on the last album it was a song by Lonnie Johnson,” he says before breaking into the beautifully simple Tomorrow Night.
His audience feel it too, responding warmly.
“Here's a happy song...” he says, following that with 'Raise a Ruckus Tonight'.
All around, the people are cutting loose their best moves, with smiles beaming, and an atmosphere united in sweet sounds.
Take My Love (I Want To Give It) is a perfect jive inducer, but we're not long over that when the stage is bathed in crimson and the knives are out – Delilah is back!
A Soul of a Man is dedicated to Elvis Presley.
“I knew Elvis very well, and he was a great man, and I wanted to pay tribute, and that's my tribute to Elvis,” he shares.
But though Jones engages us with talk every now and then, there is no quick wit, and even less of those anecdotes he is famous for – people have paid their money and want their songs, and there are lots still in the offing – Green, Green Grass of Home, It's Not Unusual, You Can Leave Your Hat On, If I Only Knew (which again let's his tremendous band spread their wings with nice results), and then we 'Bond' some more over Thunderball...
A little nod to Prince, some more boogie-woogie and Strange Things Happen Everyday and quicker than you could whip off your smalls and toss 'em his way, Tom is off, though not before thanking his audience.
Addressing the response afforded him and his musical cohorts, he tells his crowd “We realise why we do what we do,” when faced with such warmth.
“We've had a ball tonight and hope you have too...” he says before leaving 'em wanting more.
Jones is such an ordinary name, but Tom, now a ridiculously young 76, is an extraordinary talent.
Forget TV show nonsense, Sir Tom is The Voice!
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