Reloaded differs from the slew of Tom Jones compilations available by including songs from his later career, a time he was messing about with contemporary pop artists. The fact that 1999's pop guest star-filled Reload failed to raise an eyebrow in America is a marketing faux pas of monolithic proportions, since it was so ultra-fantastic and ultra-fun. A good portion of it shows up here, and it makes for a whiplash-inducing listen when going from the jaunty chestnut "It's Not Unusual" into the so-2000 dance thump of "Sexbomb." Buy it for Grandma and she might be asking about guest stars the Art of Noise, Portishead, or the Stereophonics. All the pop guests work well with the swaggering one, and it's a relief to laugh with him rather than at him. A glance at the track list will tell you that most of required standards are here, but one wishes they would have included the great "Detroit City" to show his more soulful side. Avoid it if you don't want the later years when the innuendo and volume were turned up a tad, but it's the best way to get a quick overview of his hedonistic sly wink of a career. ~ David Jeffries

This hits package is essentially intended to bring the U.S. audience up to date with the huge success of Tom Jones' 1999 U.K. release RELOAD, which paired Jones with several contemporary artists. Accordingly, RELOADED is a mix of classics such as "It's Not Unusual" and "What's New Pussycat" (with marvelously remastered fidelity) and newer collaborations.

You probably already know how great the old material is. As far as the new stuff goes, the Stereophonics lend a slight, oddly appropriate Britrock feel to the Randy Newman-penned "Mama Told Me Not to Come." Jones and Catatonia singer Cerys Matthews' take on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" won't make anybody forget Ray Charles and Betty Carter, but it's mostly played for laughs anyway. A duet with Van Morrison on VM's own "Sometimes We Cry" is a soulful, natural-sounding affair. Tom ventures into trip-hop with a Portishead-assisted "Motherless Child" and gets electro-funk alongside the Cardigans on the Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House." All these new accoutrements make RELOADED a greatest-hits album with a difference--and a fresh perspective.