Tom Jones
Those who do not learn from histrionics are doomed to repeat them. At 41, Tom still seems willing to risk voice, shirt buttons and a possible double hernia in his exertions to sell a song. He comes from Pontypridd, a mining town in Wales, so it's not so incongruous that this is an all-country, all-Nashville production. Jones belts out such old standbys as Lady Lay Down and What in the World's Come Over You, as well as the newer, and amusing, Dime Queen of Nevada. They're given standard TJ treatment. The energy of his performance doesn't translate much on records, though, and things get a little tedious. However, One Night seems to approach self-parody. Jones sounds as if he's straining every seam in his leather pants while Elvis' old backup group, the Jordanaires, bom-bom-bom, doowah-doowah and buh-buh-buh-buh behind him. It's along the lines of Andy Kaufman's imitation of the King, only funnier.
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