Tom Jones - The Great Love Songs (1996)

Released to coincide with Tom Jones' first concert tour of Great Britain in many years, this 16-track British budget compilation draws from the singer's recordings from 1965 to 1969 for Decca (Parrot in the U.S.). During that period, he scored 18 singles chart entries in the U.K., six of which are here: "With These Hands," "Once Upon a Time," "I'm Coming Home," "Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings," "Green, Green Grass of Home," and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again." (Five of these songs also made the U.S. charts, albeit at lower positions.) Although he is perhaps most accomplished as a bluesy rhythm singer, Jones also has a facility for ballads, which he renders with his customary expressiveness. He is always involved, never backing off from the sometimes mawkish material, yet performs songs like "Little Green Apples" with a conviction that almost overcomes their sentimentality. Some of these pieces are not actually love songs ("I Believe," "Green, Green Grass of Home"), but they are all ballads, and Jones gives them his all.