Tom Jones Interview

[Merry]

This is what I wrote about the matter on FECC (For Elvis CD Collectors) :



Now, in all of that, and all my subsequent responses on FECC, it's not that I dislike Tom Jones' music, per se (though I don't think much about the man -- for all above and other reasons).

It is rather churlish to deride a random snatch of lyrics from a single song. One of Tom Jones' early singles, "Delilah", has some very pointed lyrics. Consider: "She stood there laughing / I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more" So dark! The song is about a tormented man who murders his lover. And it was a very surprising hit (in some ways) for the mid-60's. That's lyrics.

Jones also pioneered a seminal kind of rock-country-gospel-pop hybrid, best heard in his smash "Green, Green Grass Of Home", which Elvis became obsessed with and covered himself. For a later example of magic, Jones injected serious new energy into Prince's "Kiss" when he covered it in the 1980's. I also like his duet with The Cardigans on "Burning Down The House". And "Help Yourself", from back in the day, is one of my favourite pop records. That's sound.

Then there is Jones' muscular delivery, which really has no equal. Tom Jones does have a greater range than Elvis, although the difference is small. The lowest and highest notes Elvis was able to hit with chest voice were Low E and High C respectively, while Jones has hit Low D and High D in his time. (Not including fasletto for either man, of course). But that's pretty silly, to me. I have seen a bunch of videos where Jones actually shies away from notes that Elvis routinely hit (as in a performance of "An American Trilogy", where Jones stays away from the High A ending, finishing a couple of notes lower, if memory serves). That's kinda funny, since it was one of Elvis' signature stage tunes, and live singing (in Jones' own words) is the real test, yet it's actually Elvis that comes out on top. But whatever. Jones style of delivery, his assured power, has no equal. He belts even tamer notes out with astonishing energy. And his sound is recognisable in seconds. That's voice.

Still, for all his talent, Jones is not one of the greats -- and, deep down, I'm sure he knows it. His jealousy issues with Elvis are very sad. Jones is clearly not a very deep man, either. He's never witty in interviews, his vocabulary seems extremely limited (count the number of times he uses the word "great" in place of ANY OTHER adjective), he can neither dress TRULY flashy (though he has a style) nor give of himself in ways Elvis could and did, and he can't, to the best of my knowledge, play any instruments, make lyric changes or breathe stylistic changes into the music as Elvis frequently could and did. Nor has Tom Jones changed popular culture and the political landscape as we know it. Nor is he a tenth as good looking and mysterious as Elvis was. Nor -- last, but not least -- does he have Elvis' unreal, unearthly voice, capable of multitudinous moods, an exultant litheness, a solemn heaviness and a hundred things in between; authentic, unvarnished intimacy; a deep sense of longing; a beauty and subtlety beyond words ... and an all-encompassing unknowable quality that keeps us wanting more.

When Jones compares himself to Elvis, or rather, Elvis to Tom Jones, it's like a street artist comparing themselves to Picasso. Let's squirm at the little man's idiocy and move on.

Beautifully stated, as per normal, Cyrogenic. Thank you for the time spent in sharing your thoughts with us.

Notice Tom Jones' failed attempt at copying Elvis' very natural, and always classy, movement to music? On one particular occasion, and I'm far from a prude (unfortunately, or fortunately, lol I can't find the vision again on You Tube), Tom was being lewd.

I flinched, as Tom seemed to forget, while grinding and literally appearing to make love to his audience, that he was in public, and there is a time, and a place ..... Not a pretty sight, I was embarrassed ....

[Debra]

Tom Jones' voice is very SIMPLE and only style he could sing is dance style. You can feel power in Tom's voice but nothing else, but Elvis' voice was UNIQUE and consist of tenderness and power, he has love tone in his voice. Jerry Scheff once said:" Elvis was a true vocalist, a true musician and when he sang the lyrics went through his mind and through his heart and then came out his mouth"

[KPM]

"Elvis Presley has been described variously as a baritone and a tenor. An extraordinary compass- the so-called register-, and a very wide range of vocal color have something to do with this divergence of opinion. The voice covers two octaves and a third, from the baritone low-G to the tenor high B, with an upward extension in falsetto to at least a D flat. Presley's best octave is in the middle, D-flat to D-flat, granting an extra full step up or down. Call him a high baritone. In "It's'now or never", (1960), he ends it in a full voice cadence (A, G, F), that has nothing to do with the vocal devices of R&B and Country. That A-note is hit right on the nose, and it is rendered less astonishing only by the number of tracks where he lands easy and accurate B-flats. Moreover, he has not been confined to one type of vocal production. In ballads and country songs he belts out full-voiced high G's and A's that an opera baritone might envy. He is a naturally assimilative stylist with a multiplicity of voices - in fact, Elvis' is an extraordinary voice, or many voices"
Henry Pleasants, in his book "The Great American Popular Singers" (1974)

[KPM]

Another take on Elvis's voice:
"I suppose you'd had to call him a lyric baritone, although with exceptional high notes and unexpectedly rich low ones. But what is more important about Elvis Presley is not his vocal range, nor how high or low it extends, but where its center of gravity is. By that measure, Elvis was all at once a tenor, a baritone and a bass, the most unusual voice I've ever heard"
Gregory Sandows, Music Professor at Columbia University, published in "The Village Voice".

[KPM]

Another nice description of Elvis's voice:
"Presley's voice was remarkable in the sense that, through it, he touched people in a way only great artists can do. (In fact), the people he touched are as diverse as humanity itself and, because of that his popularity has transcended race, class, national boundaries, and culture. There is no simple answer about why that is so, all I can say is he had that magic. When Elvis Presley was first popular, many people said that he did not have a good voice. Almost everyone, today, knows that he did, but more people today should see him not simply as a performer, but as an artist with a great soul.
John Bakke, professor emeritus of the University of Memphis, in an interview with the US State Department, transcripted by UNUSINFO on July 18, 2006 on the legacy of Elvis Presley

[KPM]

Still one more examination of Elvis's vocal abilities:
"Elvis' lowest effective note was a low-G, as heard on "He'll Have To Go" (1976); on "King Creole" (1958), he growls some low-F's; going up, his highest full-voiced notes were the high-B's in "Surrender" (1961) and "Merry Christmas Baby" (1971), the high-G at the end of "My Way" (1976 live version), and the high-A of "An American Trilogy" (1972); using falsetto, Elvis could reach at least a high-E, e.g, as in "Unchained Melody" (1977), so, it was very nearly a three-octave range, although more practically two-and-a-half"
George Barbel, as a follow up to a question on what was Elvis' range, as published in All Experts.com, on 20th May, 2007.

[epmoodyblue]

Tom Jones' vocal range is very big, but never is bigger than Elvisin conclusion to all these elaborate explanations above....in plain english and straight to the point....tom jones sucksaaaaaaaaa

[Brian]

I'm going to disagree with the people on FECC and Tcb-world who say Tom Jones had a bigger range than Elvis.

I think Tom Jones didn't have a bigger range than Elvis he just might have showed his off more often.


I think Tom Jones is a good singer and performer who should be proud of his accomplishments.

I think Elvis is a better singer than Tom just compare their versions of the song Without love. I think Elvis did a better job though Tom had a hit with it.

[Getlo]

Still, for all his talent, Jones is not one of the greats

Un-freakin'-believeable!

100 million-plus sales can't be wrong.

I'm going to disagree with the people on FECC and Tcb-world who say Tom Jones had a bigger range than Elvis.

Careful listening to Jones' more obscure works of the sixties proves his vocal range was bigger than Elvis'.

Now, for those who can't keep up, that's not to say I think Jones' voice itself was better. But his vocal range clearly was.

And Elvis would have been the first to admit that.

[jon_burrows]

Now, for those who can't keep up, that's not to say I think Jones' voice itself was better. But his vocal range clearly was.

And Elvis would have been the first to admit that.

Elvis would have been the first to admit it because he was more respectful and appreciative than some people.

I still don't believe TJ had a bigger vocal range than Elvis. I also think that Elvis projected his voice in a more effective way.

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

I think it would be disingenuous to say Tom Jones wasn't one of the greats. He clearly was/is. There are not many who can claim Vegas as he did, yes Elvis conquered Vegas but lets be honest towards the latter part of his stint there, it was purely down to the fame rather than the music.

It is also commented that Elvis copied Tom's stage show in the early years (by Tom), there is no denying that Elvis admired Tom, so that in it's self means something from someone who we admire.

Tom's self aggrandising is two parts showmanship and one part jealousy. for those who live outside the UK the British sense of humour is sometimes hard to understand,Tom is anything but dull in interviews, granted he is not everyone's cup of tea but some miss the twinkle in his eye.

It's not what you can do with your voice, it's how you do it, Elvis is more milk and honey whereas Tom is more grunt and grind. Both had power although it is more associated with Tom because most of his popular hits have him booming on the top of his lungs. Elvis for the most part seemed more controlled and saved himself for the power ballad.

IMO the two are like chalk and cheese, so it's difficult to compare the two. You have to give Tom credit in that he has had hits over 5 decades (45 years) and that is a fantastic achievement.

All this from someone who doesn't particularly like Tom Jones lol

[Diane]

I've found that the one thing that Elvis has always had over others singers is that his voice could change from song to song but was always recognizable as being Elvis.

Tom Jones and every other singer sound the same song after song.....

Diane

[Cryogenic]

Still, for all his talent, Jones is not one of the greats

Un-freakin'-believeable!

100 million-plus sales can't be wrong.

It's called an OPINION.

In your own words ... "live with it".

[SleepyJack]

Some very nice posts here about Elvis` voice..enjoyed reading them. I don`t normally think too much about notes,vocal range etc....for me it`s basically a case of the magic being there or not....and nobody has ever made me feel the way I do when I`m listening to Elvis... I would be the first to applaud a great voice when I hear it..but,so far at least,Elvis is the best I`ve heard...

[Brian]

Un-freakin'-believeable!

100 million-plus sales can't be wrong.



Careful listening to Jones' more obscure works of the sixties proves his vocal range was bigger than Elvis'.

Now, for those who can't keep up, that's not to say I think Jones' voice itself was better. But his vocal range clearly was.

And Elvis would have been the first to admit that.

don't agree with that

[Sonny]

Having almost all Tom Jones recordings, also the sixties obscure ones mentioned, I can honestly say, that Jones his voice is awesome, his range was, like said in previous posts, almost equal to Elvis'.

Elvis' voice was smoother in a way.

Then again, Tom Jones did some earlier tracks in which he really shines. And it's too bad Jones is mostly remembered for his standard work.

If this question would be asked on a Tom Jones forum the outcome would be the other way around. Since fans to a singer see it diffrent.
We are Elvis fans, and proud of it.

But saying Tom Jones has/had a weaker voice, or less range is cutting it too short.

[buttonhead]

I love both Elvis and Tom Jones, I got mixed feelings toward the whole voice range thing , BUT i knew for fact that TJ has awesome voice too just like Elvis , .. just listen to his earlier career such as : 'Thunderball' , ' I ( Who ) Have Nothing ', 'Till' ...

IMO,This TJ and Elvis thing will always be on and on and on, the good and the bad , TJ should give it a rest to whatever happened in the past, the man is no longer with us to speak his own opinion.

[elvia7]

I like tom jones but there was no way his range outshone elvis!!
elvislady

[hounddog]

I have a lot of Tom Jones records and i would say that Elvis' and Toms range is very similar. Elvis i think could have got a few extra lower notes and Tom a couple of notes higher.

I would have loved to hear Elvis do some of Tom's songs like Two Brothers, With These Hands, Sixteen Tons.

Tom like Elvis has become known for his hits which are usually belter style songs. He has a beautiful verison of You're My World a song i wished Elvis had have sung.

I think Elvis' smoothness in his voice especially during the early to mid sixties was unequaled. Songs like Anything that part of You are like listening to liquid gold it's so smooth.

[epmoodyblue]

lets forget the range vocal thingy...okay so hes says some stupid.things sometimes so whati will get serious this time.. yeah i have seen tom in concert only 1 time..it happened on august 1 1981 it was a 10pm show. in MONTREAL PLACE DE ARTS....it was in a similar to hilton about 2.500 capacity..tickets sold out real quick.i got balcony seats ..as you can see on my ticket stb which i kept as a souvenier..it reads in french balcon--that means balconywhat can i do i live in a french city..no matter the showroom was small so i got agreat view of tom all seats were good ..and as you can see by my ticket the dope head at door tore most of the ticket..i told him to take it easy ..jackass. tore too much of the ticket..anyways u can see on the ticket the s letter s ..just the S letter was saved... ..to cut this short..i was blown away by the concert it was awesome sound was perfect.the band was great...tom was perfect.it remains one of my favorite concerts that i have seen... .heres my ticket..i got to see tom for only 10 bucks