Track Listing

1. Life's Too Short
2. 200lbs Of Heavenly Joy
3. Good Morning Blues / One O'Clock Jump
4. It'll Be Me
5. Who Will The Next Fool Be
6. Linda Lu
7. St. James' Infirmary Blues
8. Odd Man Out
9. Roberta
10. Baptism By Fire
11. Think
12. Hanging Up My Heart For You
13. Mess Of Blues
14. Sally Suzas
15. My Babe
16. Slow Down
17. Glory Of Love
18. Mam & Dad's Waltz
19. End Of The Road

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11033 in Music
• Released on: 2004-09-27
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Blandly, if wholly accurately, entitled Tom Jones & Jools Holland, this buoyant rhythm 'n' blues / rock 'n' roll hook-up between England's entertaining piano-plonking proponent and the bellowing Boyo from the Valleys may have been better served by sticking with the abandoned album titles of "Rough & Ready" and "Tom Sings, Jools Swings". Not that the contents, fine as they are, will come as any surprise to those acquainted with the nature of these particular beasts. Conjoined by a mutual interest in rock 'n' roll roots, Jones and Holland blast through an array of old-time jewels (Jerry Lee Lewis, Howlin' Wolf, Charlie Rich, Count Basie) steadily maintaining that all-important equilibrium between sophistication and spit 'n' sawdust and barely pausing for breath before the mellower farewells of Big Bill Broonzy's "Glory Of Love" and the country sentimentality of Lefty Frizzell's "Mom And Dad's Waltz". Some of the self-penned numbers sound formulaic but then, when you! think about it, they need to be. All in all, possibly the most fun you can have at a Teddy Boy's Wedding Reception this side of Wizzard's Introducing Eddy And The Falcons LP. --Kevin Maidment

From the Label
The collaboration of the year touches down when Tom 'the voice' Jones and Jools 'the piano' Holland release their joint foray of musical delight, Tom Jones & Jools Holland. A roots rock 'n' roll album, it will have exactly the same effect on you as it did on them; make you remember why you loved music in the first place.

Already sharing a love of rhythm and blues, country and rock n roll, Tom Jones & Jools Holland is a collection of some of the greatest songs the genres have to offer mixed with some brand new tracks, all performed with the exuberant power and spontaneous enthusiasm that only a pairing of this kind could produce. 'Tom Jones & Jools Holland is a barrage of timeless tracks, with Howlin' Wolf's "200lbs Of Heavenly Joy" kick starting a campaign of classics. "Good Morning Blues/One O'Clock Jump", "My Babe", "Who Will The Next Fool Be" and the classic "Hanging My Heart Up For You" add to the mix and offer the most intimate insight into the influences that have formed two of the UK's greatest ever performers.

Tom Jones & Jools Holland also harbours some future classics in the form of new, joint-Jools-and-Jones records written especially for the album. The opening track, the splendidly titled "Life's Too Short", is the first fruit of the Jones / Jools tree.

CD Description
Two giants of easy-listening pop team up for this larger than life collaboration. Deftly fusing Jones's bluster with Holland's sophistication, they rattle through a collection of old-school rock 'n' roll, rhythm & blues and country classics, as well as several originals.

Customer Reviews

A superb album
This album is a collaboration of two incredibly talented musicians. It focuses more on the rock 'n' roll aspect of jools' playing, and there is no doubt that tom jones' voice suits the job perfectly. This album has a complete contrast of upbeat songs such as "200 lbs of heavenly joy", and some of the more laid back tracks such as "Glory of love". Then theres the "st james infirmary blues", which begins in a jungle jazz style, then becomes more bluesy, including a fantastic trumpet solo. This is an incredibly diverse album from two great musicians, not to mention the Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.

Odes To the Joy of LIfe
What an amazing album! Tom Jones and Jools Holland don't - on paper - go together but in the recording studio they certainly sparked off each other to produce an album that captures the fun they had making it. And that's the key - the unpretentious joy of it all. These Las Vegas stage-style interpretations won't thrill the purists and music snobs, but it will excite those who, say, can recall the original Jerry Lee Lewis version of 'It'll Be Me' done here by Tom with lots of love and a big 'thank you' to the Killer implicit in the joy he brings to this version of the song, with Jools pumping his piano perhaps better than Lewis. Just listen to the fun in their own composition - 'Odd Man Out', and their great attack on the old Presley hit 'Mess of Blues' is simply superb. At last - some happiness in a bad old world!

The Best Tom Jones Album yet?
where to start? first off im 22, and while that may seem young to many TJ fans i must say this is his best work in my opinion. After hearing snippets of it during his summer tour i knew that this would be good album,but was astonished by how rich and lively it sounded.
The opening number "Life's too short",and tracks like "Good Morning Blues", "Sally Suzas",and "Think" set the scene for an album which is livelly,energetic, and fun. Despite it being an album of mostly covers, it is very fresh sounding, with a 50s theme and sound strong through all the songs,including the ones Holland and Jones have written themselves for this album, a wellcome change in today's "pop idol/stars" sounding music market.
If you like your old rock n' roll, or rhythm and blues this album is a must, Holland's amazing piano skill and Jones' powerfull voice compliment every track on this album, and its a pleasure to listen to over and over again, (its even put my new paul weller and embrace albums on the backburner!)
If you have never bought a Tom Jones or Jools Holland album, then start by getting this one, i guarantee you will be toe tapping away at more than a few songs on this album, and unlike the wycliff jean produced "Mr Jones" and one or two songs from "Reload" this album has a longevity, and style of sound that will never feel dated.
This is a must for any Music lover