Welsh Wednesday #25

#25: Evil by Tom Jones

Yeah, I hear you. How predictable, what a cliche... a Welsh music series that includes Tom Jones. Yawn. Well, whether you like it or not, Tom Jones is probably the most famous Welshman in the world (only Gareth Bale and Anthony Hopkins come close). Whatever you think of him, you can't ignore him.

This post could easily be linked to two of my other series': Blues Monday and The Genius Of... Jack White. Evil was written by Willie Dixon and originally recorded by Howlin' Wolf. In 2012, Jack White called in the great Sir Tom to record a version of this blues classic as part of his program of 7" single releases on White's Third Man label. On first listen it's quite clear who's behind it, and it's even clearer who's out front. It's an energetic and powerful rendition that proved even aged 70-plus, Pontypridd's most famous son still had it.

Evil, backed by a cover of Wayne Shanklin's Jezebel, was released in March 2012. It was pressed on tri-colour vinyl. Only 150 copies were made, 50 of which White sold through his label's mail-order service. The other 100 were sold in just one store - the oldest record shop in the world, Spillers in Cardiff. Fans from around the world queued overnight to get their hands on what would be one of the rarest and most collectable of Sir Tom's releases. It's certainly one of the best things he's released in a few decades.