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From the Vault...
07/11/2021
#1786 |
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info
Tom Jones
"Stop Breaking My Heart"
© Deram Records
Year of Release: 1989
Rating:
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track listing
Stop Breaking My Heart
Before
Once In A While
Triple Cross
Shake
If I Had You
It Ain't Gonna
Be That Way
How Do You Say
Goodbye
Things I Wanna Do
For The First Time
In My Life
Tupelo Mississippi Flash
The Lonely One
Smile
Day By Day
Out In The Cold Again
An Unfinished Song
The Man Who Knows
Too Much
A Minute Of Your Time
With One Exception
It's Not Unusual
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Tom Jones
"Stop Breaking My Heart"
Tom Jones -- It's amazing hs is still with us, and better yet, he is still recording and performing. He was a coach on the British The Voice. He is still
in great shape, and his voice is still as strong as it was when he first emerged int the late 1960s. Many years ago, I was at the downtown Chicago Tower Records,
and in their music/cds section was a bunch of Tom Jones CDs -- Imported CDs. They consisted of his original recordings of his 1960s music. Obviously, I had to
have them. Stop Breaking Mhy Heart is a compilation, from the 1960s, B-sides, rarities and more. Growing up, I had very few 45s of his hit songs, on the
Parrot label. Remembering those few 45s of A and B sides, I has thrilled to see that these few singles I had were located on these import cds. From Stop
Breaking My Heart, one of the 45s B-sides was on there, "Tupelo Mississippi Flash." (Jerry Reed wrote and recorded this song, but Tom Jones' version was
much better, as it was a song I had always enjoyed, and remembered. Jerry Reed had written this song as a tribute to Elvis Presley.) The A-side, was "Daughter
Of Darkness." That A-side was not on this compilation, however, another 45 I had, was one of his most famous hits - "It's Not Unusual." That A-side was
also part of this compilation. I believe I only had TWO 45s of Tom Jones, yet my mother had collected quite a few of his original albums, being a huge fan. And yes,
some of those original albums were part of the import CDs at Tower Records. And being a Tom Jones fan, you just know that this compilation - Stop Breaking My
Heart is going to be a great collection of Tom Jones' great music, from the peak of his career.
And what makes this compilation even better, is that there are songs here, that were not released on his original albums. Such as the title of this compilation,
Stop Breaking My Heart was a single relasae only, in 1966. "Before" and "Once In A While" both "debut" here on this compilation, being two
songs also recorded in 1966. "Triple Cross" was from a movie soundtrack of the same name, starring Christopher Plummer, Yul Brynner, Trevor Howard and
Ronny Schneider. The movie was based on Frank Owen's tome The Eddie Chapman Story, the true story of Chapman, a small-time crook held captive on the island
of New Jersey at the beginning of World War II, who offered to spy for the Nazis but reported to the English.
Sam Cooke's "Shake" was recorded by Tom Jones in 1967, (also recorded by Otis Redding). But Tom Jones' version never really "found a home." A live
version did appear on his Tom Jones Live At The Talk Of The Town (1967), and Tom Jones Live. "If I Had You" and "It Ain't Gonna Be That
Way" were from the Green Green Grass Of Home period -- Both songs were not from his original 1967 album.
1967 also saw another non-album track, "How Do You Say Goodbye," a song written by David Gates, who would become famous as part of the band Bread.
"Things I Wanna Do" is also from 1967, "For The First Time In My Life" was recorded in the Summer of 1967. If you like his other hit, "(It Looks
Like) I'll Never Fall In Love Again," you'll like this one.
They called it "the one that got away" -- Jerry Reed's tribute to Elvis, "Tupelo Mississippi Flash" (1967). Having the 45 of this song when I was younger,
it was one of those "I must have that one on CD, if I can find it..." It made sense for Jerry Reed to write and record it, being a guitar player. More of the
B-sides, from Tom Jones' albums Delilah and Help Yourself (1968): "The Lonely One," "Smile," "Day By Day." And, also from 1968, two other
unissued tracks, "Out In The Cold Again," and "An Unfinished Song." In late 1968, "The Man Who Knew Too Much" would be the B-side to another
hit, "Without Love."
"A Minute Of Your Time" was a fine and well-formed song, and it was most likely meant to be an album track for one of his albums at the time, but fell
short of that, as it's U.S. chart appearance did not do as well as his other songs on the chart.
Not only did Tom Jones record for the Pop chart (I must admit, he had his "own sound" for his hits, as they were climbing the charts.) He ventured into
Country music. One song in particular that was a huge "Country hit for Tom Jones," was "Green Green Grass Of Home." From that period (1967), was "With
One Exception," which country star David Houston had recorded.
And ending this compilation, is the famous, famous Tom Jones classic -- "It's Not Unusual." It was UNUSUAL, that this song did not reach #1 on the Pop
charts, back in 1965. In fact, Tom Jones never had a #1 Pop hit. Yet he did hit #1 Country, with "Say You'll Stay Until Tomorrow." (Some would argue,
that his "Country" songs did not really "sound" country - compared to the many REAL country artists at the time.) "It's Not Unusual" is highly regarded as
a signature tune for Tom Jones, and also to mention, that the lead guitarist on that record would be a future Rock guitar legend -- Jimmy Page.
As mentioned, many songs on Stop Breaking My Heart were non-album tracks; mostly B-sides to his memorable hits. So for any Tom Jones fan, this collection
is a must to have. Especially for those (like myself), who had some of the 45s in which the B-sides appear on this compilation. "Tupelo Mississippi Flash"
was one of those B-sides, and I absolutely enjoyed his version of it. The other tracks are just as great. It's Tom Jones, and his music has always been enjoyed,
even throughout the many decades after these songs were recorded. From entering the 21st Century, he has had much success. You could probably say, he is more
popular now, then he was when first emerged in the late 1960s. His version of Prince's "Kiss" is a classic. He has recorded many new studio albums, since
1999. He was a coach on the UK Voice. He is currently touring in England. His most recent album was released in 2021, Surrounded By Time. He has numerous
awards, including being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, as Sir Tom Jones. Is he in the Rock Hall of Fame? Surprisingly, no. He has been eligible since 1991.
And at age 81, he is still going incredibly strong.
Tom Jones is no doubt, a music legend. A Rock legend? Absolutely. He should be in the Rock Hall of Fame. Still going strong today, he has always been a fan
favorite, especially for the women. During his peak years when he started, women were throwing their undergarments on his stage. I'm sure some included their phone
numbers. And I'm sure all of that is STILL happening during his present stage performances. LOL. A great performer, a great singer. A pure legend. Tom Jones.
I always enjoyed his music, and glad to be a fan, and still enjoying his music, decades after he first emerged on the music scene.
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Deram Records
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