Tom Jones: "What's New Pussycat?"

August 2. 1965 (1 week)

I spent the bulk of my childhood happily unaware of Tom Jones. Then, I became aware of him and there was simply no getting rid of the man. He scored a big hit with synth experimentalists The Art of Noise with a cover of the Prince single "Kiss" and then began popping up on The Simpsons and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Liverpool indie rockers Space along with Welsh singer Cerys Matthews had a hit with "The Ballad of Tom Jones" which seemed to cement his improbable hipster cred. The nineties came to a close with the album Reload which everyone seemed to love except me. (I will admit, however, that it was better than that vile William Shatner album from around the same time) The Generation X fondness for Sir Thomas Jones Woodward eventually subsided but he remains a beloved figure. It's just such a pity he's not all that great.

I am prepared to acknowledge that from everything I hear, Tom Jones puts on one hell of a show. I've never been to Vegas nor has the thought crossed my mind over going to see him but I'm sure that's where he's in his element. It's obvious that the man is dripping in charisma even if I'm with Tom Ewing when he says that "I still come away from his records feeling like I have spit all over my face".

"What's New Pussycat?" is one of the signature Tom Jones numbers, topped only by "It's Not Unusual" (though fans of "Delilah" will no doubt disagree: the fact that I have no idea off the top of my head how it goes says it all in my book), yet its familiarity is strangely down to very little beyond that chorus. A chorus, mind you, that is nothing more than Jones' imploring cries of "what's new pussycat?" along with those hollers of "whoa-whoa!". The verses are just trite little nursery rhymes that I had either forgotten about entirely or I was never aware of to begin with.

This is the second straight Burt Bachrach-Hal David composition to top the Canadian charts. Like "What the World Needs Now Is Love", "What's New Pussycat?" represents a considerable drop in quality from the likes of "Baby, It's You", "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance" and "Don't Make Me Over". Yet, here they were, enjoying some of their biggest commercial successes with some of their weakest material. Luckily, this creative slump wasn't permanent as "Make It Easy on Yourself", "Alfie", and "The Look of Love" would prove over the next few months and years. That is an Imperial phase for you: even when you're doing subpar work, everything still manages to work out for those at their peak.

In spite of what I have to say above, Tom Jones is easily the best thing about "What's New Pussycat?". A consummate pro, he brought his 'A' game in the studio just as reliably as he did on stage (or so I hear). The only reason anyone remembers anything about it at all is because of all that gusto he puts into the chorus. Otherwise, there's not much else to say here but to finish up by commending Jones for taking a crummy song and making it just about bearable, which is a skill of sorts.

Score: 4