Tom Jones Set Collects Early Hits

I’d be the last to laud Tom Jones’s recent Vegas-styled concoctions, but I don’t hesitate to go on record as one who believes that such efforts barely hint at his potential. Witness The Golden Hits, an affecting collection of unadorned early pop successes, which includes full-bodied readings of “It’s Not Unusual,” “Green, Green Grass of Home,” and Mickey Newbury’s “Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings.” Happily, by the way, Jones’s sexist “She’s a Lady” is not on the bill.