Tom Jones

It's a scientific fact — if Tom Jones was plugged into the Welsh national grid, he could power the entire country with just a few bars of "Delilah". After cutting his teeth with beat group Tommy Scott and the Senators on the working men's pub circuit of South Wales, Thomas John Woodward was rechristened Tom Jones by manager Gordon Mills and shot to fame with "It's Not Unusual" in 1965. These tracks are enough to turn anyone's valley green, and there's more in Next Steps.

Tom Jones has said that having his tonsils removed early in his career actually improved his monumental voice, despite fears that it might have been permanently damaged — and age has only gilded the legendary Jones tones, as he proved with a series of collaborations on 2000's Reload, the best-selling album of his career. His hook-up with Cerys Matthews from Catatonia is a match made in Welsh duet heaven. Vegas Tom, clubby Tom, gospel Tom — you'll find all of him in Deep Cuts.

Can the man who shows his country side on "Behind Closed Doors" be the same fella who partners up with Tina Turner for a cover of Rod Stewart's rock-boogie classic "Hot Legs"? Or the very same chap who hits divine heights with Sounds of Blackness on "The Vaults of Heaven"? You'd better believe it — because you are listening to Tom Jones, and Tom Jones can sing anything.

If you want to know how Tom Jones made it from the pubs of Wales to the spotlights of Vegas (where he became a great friend of Elvis Presley), and why a career that began in the mid-'60s continued stronger than ever past the year 2000, the answer is right here in the jaw-dropping range of these Essentials. Jones possesses a voice that can hit any note in any style at any time. He can fill country full of soul ("Detroit City", "Green, Green Grass of Home") and — well past the full flush of youth — boost the raw sex levels of an already steamy Prince classic (his 1988 version of "Kiss", in collaboration with the Art of Noise). Superman did not come from the planet Krypton: he came from a village called Trefforest near Pontypridd.