It’s Not Usual: A Tepid Night of Tom Jones

Ever gracious, trim and handsome at age 55, Tom Jones shows no visible signs of wearing down. Thirty-two years after his breakthrough single “It’s Not Unusual” reached No. 1 on the pop charts, the sex symbol from Wales struts on, showing off that stellar tenor of his and still teasing audiences with his campy pelvic thrusts and grinds.

Lately, though, he has downplayed the Vegas-style shtick, has emphasized his interpretations of songs and has released some new material that ain’t bad: Much to his credit, he has been collaborating with a host of today’s shakers, including R&B; star Teddy Riley, pop goddess Tori Amos and Brit rock bands Art of Noise and Wolfgang Press.

So the anticipation was high Friday night as Jones--in his trademark black boots, double-breasted suit and collarless white shirt--strode confidently toward the in-the-round stage at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. The pieces definitely seemed in place for an evening of grand entertainment. But as the two-hour show continued, despite a few memorable moments, things never really caught fire.

It’s hard to imagine a Tom Jones concert being void of electricity and sexual tension, but Friday, the mood remained polite to the point of being downright uninteresting. True, there were sightings of flying panties, but it seemed obligatory and uninspired.

Part of the problem was a horrendous sound mix. A distracting, tinny sound from a three-piece horn section frequently overpowered Jones’ vocals (no easy task, to be sure). And even without the bleating horn intrusion, Jones’ voice was amplified only minimally.

In any event, and technical glitches aside, heat and involvement are two-way streets, and this audience, though near capacity, seemed emotionally disengaged to begin with, sitting as passively as if watching reruns on TV. The encores--a stylish rendering of Prince’s “Kiss” and a hard rockin’, stripped-down version of Lenny Kravitz’s “Are You Gonna Go My Way”--struck this listener as particularly invigorating but met with only tepid responses from the crowd.

Still, much of the stuff in Jones’ musically mixed bag was lukewarm. On the plus side was such newer material as the lovely, acoustic-centered “Fly Away,” the urban, contemporary “If I Only Knew” and covers of Al Green’s “Take Me to the River” and Marc Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis.”

But Jones, his eight-man band and three female backup singers also felt compelled to do such schmaltzy ballads as “(It Looks Like) I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “Sing a Simple Song” and “The Green Green Grass of Home” for the zillionth time. Between the lush orchestrations and Jones’ tendency to oversing in search of the big crescendo, these songs made Gary Puckett sound restrained. Meanwhile, two of Jones’ biggest hits, “It’s Not Unusual” and “What’s New Pussycat?,” were dismissed in a dismayingly cursory manner.

Jones also played the Cerritos Center Saturday night.