Tom Jones - This Is Tom Jones, Volume 3 (1969)

Here's another volume of Tom Jones singing on his TV show "This Is Tom Jones." For the previous two volumes, I suggested that the duets he did were a highlight. For this volume, that was kicked up a notch or two: ten out of 14 songs here are with other artists.

There are a lot of big names here: Bobby Darin, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Wilson Pickett, the Moody Blues, "Mama" Cass Elliot, Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash, and Little Richard. (I must confess I'm not that familiar with Diahann Carroll, but she won Tony, Globe Globe and Emmy awards.) 

The one I want to draw attention to is Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY). How weird is it that those guys did a duet with Tom friggin' Jones?! Jones sang lead on David Crosby's "Long Time Gone." What's even more interesting is how good it is. You can find a YouTube video of the performance, which has over 2 million views as I write this (in March 2022). There are thousands of comments, and nearly all of them are full of praise. One I particularly liked said, "Am I crazy or is this one of the greatest live rock and roll performances of all time?" In :Shakey," a biography of Neil Young, Young's manager Elliott Roberts said CSNY was embarrassed about appearing with Jones, who was the epitome of cheesy at the time. Roberts said that Young ripped him about it for years afterwards. But if you watch the video, it looks obvious to me that CSNY were smiling widely and having a good time. Stills in particular seemed inspired by the competition and sang his vocal part an octave higher than he usually did.

Of course, Jones was the epitome of cheesy - as "show-biz" as it gets. But he also was a damn good singer. And look at the list of classic songs here, and the legends he sang with. There's lots of good music here.

This album is 45 minutes long.

01 You Keep Me Hangin' On - More Today than Yesterday (Tom Jones & Diahann Carroll)
02 Let It Be Me (Tom Jones)
03 Worried Man Blues - Aquarius-Let the Sunshine In (Tom Jones & Bobby Darin)
04 Fly Me to the Moon (Tom Jones)
05 Long Time Gone (Tom Jones & Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
06 Hi-Heeled Sneakers (Tom Jones)
07 Lodi (Tom Jones)
08 Barefootin' - In the Midnight Hour - Hey Jude (Tom Jones & Wilson Pickett)
09 It's a Hang Up Baby (Tom Jones with the Moody Blues)
10 When This Battle Is Over (Tom Jones & Cass Elliot)
11 Walk the Line (Tom Jones, Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash)
12 Working in the Coal Mine- Dark as a Dungeon - Sixteen Tons - John Henry (Tom Jones & Johnny Cash)
13 Rip It Up (Tom Jones & Little Richard)
14 Send Me Some Lovin' - Good Golly, Miss Molly (Tom Jones & Little Richard)

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For the cover, I wanted to get a good picture of CSNY with Jones. Unfortunately, CSNY were scattered all over the stage, and it was rare to get more than a couple of them in the frame at any one time. So I went with one of Crosby staring at Jones.