the cooles version of st. james infirmary blues

[krzynka1]

Awaiting for a disco version...

[lu4y4pants]

Haters gonna hate. I like this version! Sure it may not be as slow and solemn as other versions, but it's good to hear something different.

[nacholimalynch]

Are you fucking kidding me ???? It´s a SAD song !!! what the hell is this ???

[123must]

Great !

Thanks

[crhed]

In my opinion, the best version of St. James Infirmary is performed by the Delta Rhythm Boys

[SomethingOnMars]

I don't know that it's as bad as some people are saying, that said it's certainly not better than the classics. I'm not sure that I'm a fan of his changes to the lyrics, but they've been being changed for a long time. If you want to listen to a FANTASTIC contemporary version, listen to to Hugh Laurie's. That man really knows the blues!

[Roper99]

sounds like this is from a Vegas lounge act...sad...

[CEMuSiC1]

This is a joke of a version. If you listen to the lyrics, it is about death......

All he can do is make this song a joke.

All he does is smile while talking about death.......

Thumbs down...

P.S. HOW DARE YOU CHOSE THIS OVER Michael Buble, Eric Clapton & Dr. John, AND MOST OF ALL, Louis Armstrong

[EatTheRich138]

@CEMuSiC1

you forgot to mention john cocuzzi and james booker's versions.

[Amiaworld]

Cab Calloway did it best.

[Cricemusic137]

He's an act? Music is an act. welcome to the music business folks. i like this song. shut up and enjoy the music.

[loflyerz7]

this is crap.....listen to james booker, allen toussaint and doug duffys 1991 traditonal versions.

[muddack]

this is the bleached white bread version. I will never be able to be considered a bluesman because I am white. thanks for the help TOM!! Listeners: *please do not take this chump seriously, he is an act*

[50fabulous1]

No, no, no! Worst version I've ever heard! I like Tom Jones, but he should have left this song alone.

[FowaDeLuz]

0:41 ... That piano. Goddamn! Soooo need to learn to do that on my guitar. :D

[JaZzure79]

I think I just heard Cab Calloway roll over in his grave. This is as close to blues as disco was to funk. Which is to say, a million miles away.

[banny998]

Why is everyone hating on this video so much? 2 great musicians have come together to cover a great song and result is, in my opinion, pretty awesome, ok so it's not in the same mood as the original, but it sounds great, and they've made the song their own. Frankly I love this version!

[Nickofaballooni]

Hollands piano playing is so bad... he always plays the same riffs... aweful.

[GaertnerJan]

This sucks , I mean it's a nice song to listen to, but hasn't got any soul at all. It's about a guy whose girl dies, and this version doesn't reflect that in any way. So nice, but wrong. Could be called jazz, but this is not the blues, not even close.

[decunamus2]

This version sucks bigtime. Theyre raping a beautiful sensitive song about mourning.

[JayDJPennington]

I do like both Jools and Tom...but this is not really the best interpretation. For me St. James is a New Orleans dixieland/blues mixture. One version I really like that is why I got here was looking for the SNL version from the 70's with the All Nurse band.

[StavrosPapadatos]

guys lets dont forget what blues is all about. improvisation. And Tom just maded, on his own unique way. He gave to that piece of rare blues a new air. i love it. Thats blues also.

[markse84]

the devil makes three has a much better version, check it out.

[enakrium]

Watch my version

[CarlSchwamberger]

Guess I've mellowed. Taking it in this arrignement is not the end of the world. One thing that helped is Mac Redenbec's lecture on the nature of the blues & funk genre in New Orleans. While the blues represent pain and suffering they also represent hope rebirth and recovery. The use of upbeat licks signals that grief is fading & the story in the music becomes one of taking hold of life again. I think the right singer could make this work as a gospel or spiritual song

[ODcush]

lol tom jones shouldn't you be having sex with any middle aged woman you want?

[mackdaddie222]

I love Tom Jones, but this is simply somebody trying too hard to do too much with a great song. This is a traditional blues song, a dirge. To make it some campy big band swing crap is a travesty. There's not an ounce of blues in this song, and to top it off, the trumpet player butches his lick at the end.

Embarrassing pros actually cut this.

[dwh0689]

wow....Tom Jones is an effn douche bag!!!

[imnotallen]

ol' satchmo still holds my heart on this song. but its pretty swingin :D i never really did like cab calloway's version because it was a little more upbeat and peppy but this one turned that around. great song.

[sjoerdgietem]

Really an amazing arrangement of a classic!

[EChoney]

I love this song! so far the best one has been on the movie "double jeopardy"

[Blindianboy]

no where near, i repeat, no where near as good as cab or louie...

but I can't stop tapping my feet.

[rouedesign]

this song is not supposed to be "hip" or "cool". It's about mourning. This version of it is a cheap and arrogant bastardization of the true sentiment of the original. Tom Jones is a lounge lizard who has no right to improvise on the lyrics. Show some respect

[celticsaga]

@rouedesign calm down, mate. there's nothing wrong with simply enjoying the music.

[iHarmonicDissonance]

@celticsaga couldn't agree more. If people had done what they were "supposed to", this song wouldn't exist, nor would all jazz, blues, etc.

But I'm also a believer that everyone can have their own opinion.

[RobbingMonkeys]

@celticsaga You are an idiot... @Rouedesign Nicely said dude



[ciapaci]

I agree, rubbish version

[ultimatebeatles]

@rouedesign if everyone showed "respect" the way you want them to... there wouldn't be any new music.

anyway, he can improvise on this all he likes. no-one knows who wrote this track, so he can do whatever he likes. he could do that even if it was done by a definitive artist.

[OceanAndSilence]

@rouedesign agreed. this is ludicrous.

[thedarkpresence]

@rouedesign I agree, while it's fantastic musically it's like hearing a happy version of Strange Fruit, it's just not right

[VercingetorixXIII]

@rouedesign supposed to be a dirge, he fails... flunks, get a big fat FFFFFFFFF

[drowsynumbness]

@rouedesign That is highly inaacurate. Firstly, it's a folk song - meaning it can be what you make of it. Secondly, even the earliest versions are full of ambiguity. The idea is that you don't know whether to think of the narrator as a drunkard or a mourner. That's where all the appeal of the song comes from. It's okay to interpret as a song about mourning, but that is by no means the only interpretation. The only obnoxious interpretation here is yours.

[VercingetorixXIII]

@rouedesign they are all cheap bastardizations,,, I gotta go, catch up with me later... oh wow, this is gross, really gotta go...

[wolfeline]

@rouedesign I agree mostly with what you say. The title is bad. The music is agreable if people let alone lyrics. I am portuguese and I regret anglophones can't interpret their own language.

I won't speak about Tom Jones. I guess the adaption is lousy according to what I have said. I have heard Louis Armstrong laughing during this song... so? Anyway, this kind of bluesy music and lyrics associated are for black people not for whites. Rural blues (not this case) it's JUST for black.

[wolfeline]

@rouedesign DON'T GET ME WRONG! I LOVE THE BLUES but I FEEL rural blues only functions when black people do it. It's their heritage. White can play it but i guess the feeling is not the same. / If you speak about rythmin' blues the question is different, but in the case of rural blues... That's for simple people who play and sing according to their mood. It's an healing process. Not for sale. This is what i feel and think.

Have you heard anyone sing FADO beside Portuguese? It's almost the same.

[Odin029]

@rouedesign Which words did he impovise? I heard lines from Satchmo's version, from Josh White's version, and from Cab Calloway's version, and maybe one other version, but I'd heard every line before.

[PaulMazz25]

@rouedesign

I agree. What a lame, tacky, and over-the-top bastardization of this song.... Tom Jones wouldn't know the blues if it slapped him upside the head.

[hermest99]

@rouedesign It's still the version that sounds best, mourning or not.

[MrFlyingMonkeyMan]

@rouedesign stop being a pompous elitist little fuck, tom jones has spent his whole life singing songs he hated and now he can sing the songs he likes, and this is one of the best versions of this song so enjoy it or don't watch, its easy :)

[bradzilaaaa]

@rouedesign shame he will have more money and respect than you or i will ever have :(

[revpgesq]

@rouedesign i am not informed enough to know if your criticism has merit or no, but if it does, that would be the exception for Tom and not the rule. i think you will find he is respected by the great majority of singers from all styles of music

[coconutsbar]

@rouedesign you are an idiot mate this is sang with compassion and such a voice tom is king.

[Internetpolice666]

@rouedesign Yep. Tom's lack of melancholy is horrific. It looks like he was trying to make  "great god....she's lying there dead" sound sexy.

[precaryus]

@rouedesign , Sing it to the tune...."Who knows what who or who is, obviously you don't know what the purpose of the Blues is. Hidey hidey hidey ho! "

[celticircle]

@rouedesign so right...it's a dirge...

[sthugh]

@rouedesign Actually, Hot Lips Page had the best version of this song by far, and his was very upbeat too.

[Seele1]

@rouedesign Blues musicians altered and improved lyrics frequently. As for this song, it's called a "cover." You know, adapting a song and altering its style. Relax, man. If it was a bigger band, I'd be all over this song.

[sharkweekcrockpot]

@rouedesign oh christ, it's a folk song that has constantly mutated for 400 years. it's been everything from yes, a tearjerking mourning ballad to a raunchy joke song. Check out Danny Barker's version.

[SonicBoomC98]

This is nowhere near the best version of this song. I would take any Louis, Cab, or Bobby Blue Bland version. I like all the different instruments, but you just gotta love the Big Band or Southern Blues versions

[rkc010]

Cab Calloway has several different versions that are better than this.But I do like it.

[catchersmitt0]

This version is pretty cool too youtube.com/watch?v=DBk3jwNSte­o

[enakrium]

have a listen to my version if you like this, granted the quality and professionalism is nothing to compare.

...just listen.

[onein7twist]

Apart from messing up some lyrics, a good version, great band, NOT the best ever, but certainly good.

[tonedeafmunkey]

Nice... but cant beat the atmosphere and mood of Armstongs version

[DrK0ng]

@tonedeafmunkey So right! And i find the atmosphere here confusing, it is by far too cheery: "Yay! My wife is dead! Celebrate!"

[DrK0ng]

But Tom Jones is a genious anyway!

[doctorkazoo]

clumsy

[tonnysjordaan]

Its amazing, Tom ,Jools and ofcourse the trumpetplayer, RESPECT.

[IdrisDragon1]

album version > than this performance, which is something I am surprised at. I think it's the weak drumkit...

[MoPapparani]

reminds me of Oogie Boogie from Nightmare Before Christmas lol

[bradzilaaaa]

There is so much talent floating around on that stage im sure a few people would have creamed their jeans.

[eagle600silver]

why it is the coolest ! In simple , when such VOICE and SUCH PAINSIT and such band come all at once ..I leave that for every one to say

BTW thank you very much for uploading it i have been looking for it like ages !!!

[celticsaga]

PAINSIT? you mean PIANIST? :)

glad you've finally found it then :)

[jacietsehai]

It is fanastic I agree but I wouldn't say the best, there are so many versions in so many different genres I couldn't pick one!

There's another fabulous piano one here somewhere and I've come across a version that's acoustic guitar and vocals only with greensleves woven in as a break and it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard, if anyone knows who it is I'd love to find out!

[bennyboy360]

This is a good version, but i much prefer the original, its so haunting!

[xarissof]

one of the best version ever made of this song

don't have words to thank you enough for uploading it again i was searching it for long time

[sdfcg45]

og were doing this at school....its so boring so i jus go n a keyboard and play difrnt songs and take no ntc lol.....some blues are pretty godtg...ihave to be honest :D

[nomissimo]

there is no feeling, no blues in it. it's too happy and people love to clap there hands to it. :s not my favourite version indeed not.

[BOOTLEGDAVIDBOWIE]

Ther are many versions of this song over decades but this one is the best, best ever. Everybody should go out and buy the album "Tom Jones and Jools Hollland" its brilliant.

[celticsaga]

i agree. i've listened versions by michael buble, eric clapton & dr. john, even louis armstrong but nothing gets the blues like tom jones and jools holland's

[dauphont]

same here, it is an amazing version, even better, dare i say it, than louis armstrongs version

[ihatesignons]

@celticsaga you should check out the Dave van ronk version search Dave van ronk gamblers blues/st james infirmary 1959) stunning version truer to the original sentiment musically. and it doesn't have 15 bottles of hairdye involved!

[beastyboy68]

@celticsaga i prefer the version by the standells, by baba blues, by louis armstrong, by the bobby blue band . it sounds like justin bieber covering acdc

[peter0paul]

@BOOTLEGDAVIDBOWIE > The best ?! Oh please !! no, not at all, clearly..

[myteli]

@BOOTLEGDAVIDBOWIE i've heard various versions and this would simply be at the top of the list of ''thee worst ever''! it lost every quality the traditional ever had, that is only one man's opinion.