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TOM JONES<\/h1>\nTOM JONES<\/h1>\nThe legendary Welsh heartthrob strips down (musically) for his new set<\/b><\/p>\n
Tom Jones ready to call it quits? Not a chance. \u201cThe fire has not gone out,\u201d he says, \u201cand to keep that fire burning, I have to sing new songs.\u201d Jones, 73, established himself in the 1960s and \u201970s as a swinging sex symbol with hits like \u201cWhat\u2019s New Pussycat?\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s Not Unusual\u201d before returning to the charts with his version of Prince\u2019s \u201cKiss\u201d in the \u201980s and \u201cSex Bomb\u201d a decade later. His new album, Spirit in the Room<\/i>, finds him covering songwriters from Paul McCartney and Paul Simon to\u00a0Bob Dylan and Tom Waits.<\/p>\n
What prompted this record?<\/b><\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know what kind of album I wanted to do, so when I met with my producer, Ethan Johns, he said, \u201cI\u2019d like to do something different. I\u2019d like to get you stripped down. Tell me what songs you want to do and we\u2019ll just have a couple of musicians.\u201d It sounded great. When I started in Wales, I had a rhythm section and I would sing in pubs and clubs with just a few musicians.<\/p>\n
Was it scary being laid bare?<\/b><\/p>\n
No, it was refreshing. When I first started recording, you\u2019d find the song, set the key, do an arrangement, and then go into the studio. And that was it. Once the arrangement was done, there wasn\u2019t much you could do to change it. We did three songs in three hours because that\u2019s what you had to do. Nowadays, you can rent the studio and use it for as long as you like. It\u2019s a lot easier, a lot looser. And it\u2019s exciting because you don\u2019t know what to expect.<\/p>\n
How were the songs selected?<\/b><\/p>\n
Ethan said, \u201cTell me songwriters you really like, those who are interesting to you.\u201d So I started talking about my favorites, like Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney and Paul Simon. Then there\u2019s Blind Willie Johnson, which is the blues side of it. So we picked \u201cSoul of a Man\u201d from him. And I always liked Tom Waits and Richard Thompson. We also talked about Odetta. We didn\u2019t know much about Odetta, but I liked a song called \u201cHit or Miss\u201d that she had done live.<\/p>\n
What still drives you?<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s the same thing that drove me from day one. I want to sing everything that\u2019s inside me. I want to continually express myself, but don\u2019t want to repeat myself.<\/p>\n
How do you stay current?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I watch talent shows. I\u2019m doing The Voice<\/i> now in England, because I love to listen to new talent. I\u2019ve been around so long and worked with so many people, I do have advice to offer, and The Voice <\/i>is\u00a0a good vehicle that allows me to do\u00a0that. And I always want to do new things myself. I don\u2019t think you can share experience with somebody if you\u00a0can\u2019t do it yourself.<\/p>\n
How do you keep your voice in shape? \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
If I feel anything isn\u2019t going properly,\u00a0I\u2019ll head straight to the ear, nose and throat doctor. And I\u2019ve learned over the years\u00a0to do things that help: Stay hydrated.\u00a0Drink plenty of water. I carry a humidity gauge with me\u2014dry air is a killer for a singer.\u00a0God gave me a voice that\u2019s very adaptable. I can sing many different kinds of songs\u00a0that many singers can\u2019t or don\u2019t want to do. Some singers don\u2019t want to break out because they think, \u201cIf I try something different, people won\u2019t like it.\u201d But I\u00a0don\u2019t feel that way. If I want to try something different, I\u2019ll do it.<\/p>\n
\u2013Lee Zimmerman<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TOM JONES The legendary Welsh heartthrob strips down (musically) for his new set Tom Jones ready to call it quits? Not a chance. \u201cThe fire has not gone out,\u201d he says, \u201cand to keep that fire burning, I have to sing new songs.\u201d Jones, 73, established himself in the 1960s and \u201970s as a swinging […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[6978,2292],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10760"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10760"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10763,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10760\/revisions\/10763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}