[Captain Humble]

Thursday night Jimmy Vaughn and Eric Johnson skipped the Grammy's to catch Tommy's show in Austin.

The ad for Tommy's show in Fort Worth said something to the affect that Eric Clapton said Tommy was the greatest guitar player he has ever seen. Chet Atkins is on record with a similar statement.

Six of us attended Tommy's 9:30 show in Fort Worth Friday night. He performed by himself and played nothing but box guitars.  It has taken this long to post my thoughts because he was so much better than anyone I've ever heard I'm left speachless.  We all were.

Tommy is a native of Australia who now resides in Nashville.  He plays virtually every style of music.  Classical, jazz, rock, blues, country, bluegrass and new age.  He even did a tune that sounded like Pink Floyd had taken the stage.  He uses every part of the guitar and produces sounds I've never heard from the instrument. Fast, slow, clean, intricate and amazing. He is also a drummer and uses those skills in some songs to produce percussion from slapping the guitar while playing with the other hand.

After the show he sat at a table and signed autographs.  He even signed guitars for people.

He is simply the greatest guitar player I've ever seen, not by a little bit but head and shoulders above the rest.  God willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be at every show he performs within 200 miles of Dallas.

If the chance presents itself do yourself a favor and
SEE TOMMY EMMANUEL.

Here's his website:

http://www.tommyemmanuel.com/

[Brian]

Hi

Can you recommend some of his albums?

I have never heard of him, but from you write, he sound to be one that every true guitar-lover should hear.

Brian

[JAMn Joe]

Hi Brian,

I've been listening to Tommy for several years now after hearing him here in Chicago. An absolutely amazing guitarist extrordinare!

Try these alblums:

Midnight Drive and Only

Both highly recommended. I know there are several others out there but I haven't been able to find them locally. You should be able to get them on Amazon.

[chadh]

When I was still living at home in Australia, I had the pleasure of seeing Tommy Emmanuel live three times.  Once he was supporting Clapton on Clapton's tour promoting Journeyman.  The other two times were in much smaller, intimate, club performances.  Each time he was simply fantastic - but much better in the small venues.

If my memory serves me correctly, he was raised in an orphanage in the Northern Territory (i.e. the middle of nowehere).  Most of the community was Aboriginal, and this has obviously influenced his work.  One tune I heard him perform each time was called Corroboree (an Aboriginal word for ceremonial dance).  Here he uses the guitar in a mindboggling range of percussive ways to create just an amazing driving rhythm underneath the harmonies that is reminscent of Aboriginal tribal music: it is so totally involving you can't help but get lost in it.

After I heard him the first time I raced out to buy an album.  To be honest, I was disappointed.  It had none of the soul or the life of the live performance.  I bought another and it had the same sort of feel - lacklustre, and slightly commercial (I'm almost tempted to say "boring", in the same sense I always found Joe Satriani boring).  I wish I could remember which albums they were (although one certainly included the studio version of Coroboree, and it bore absolutely no resemblance to the live performance).

I don't think I've ever come across a case where the live and the recorded experiences were so overwhelmingly different.

The live performance, apart from the breathtaking guitar work, is a really interesting experience.  After growing up in the orphanage, where he learned to play, Tommy would do local tours with something that must have been like a vaudeville troupe.  When I saw him, there was always a hint of that low brow showmanship to his presentation, and this was echoed in his commitment to play in as many styles as he possibly could (as though he felt the need to satisfy absolutely ANYBODY who might happen to walk in and hear him).  The amazing thing was, he could actually do it - everyone left extremely pleased.

What's more, he always managed to come across as an unbelievably nice guy.  He clearly loves his music, and loves to perform, and loves the fact that people can (and do) enjoy his music.  It's interesting that Chet Atkins spoke so highly of him.  I remember Tommy spending quite some time during his small venue shows raving about Chet Atkins as the greatest player ever.  It was obviously one of the thrills of his life to have recorded with him.

I'd also heartily recommend a visit to hear him play.  You won't be disappointed.

Chad

[chadh]

I just checked Tommy's CD selection -

The discs I heard way-back-when were "Up From Downunder" and "Dare to be Different."  I think these were his first two releases.  Later releases, like the ones mentioned above ("Midnight Drive" and "Only") may well capture more of the live magic.

And the mind-blowingly amazing tune to which I referred previously was not "Corroboree", but is called "Initiation" (and the studio version is on "Up From Downunder.")  But this rose by any other name would still sound sweet!

Chad

[lonewolfny42]

Glad it was a great show Captain !!!

As for cd's....I own "Only" and "Endless Road"....both very good. Here's a link to Amazon...checkout the cd's, and have a

listen........ [/list:u]

[mihilli]

"If my memory serves me correctly, he was raised in an orphanage in the Northern Territory (i.e. the middle of nowehere). Most of the community was Aboriginal, and this has obviously influenced his work."

Uhh, sorry nice story but Tommy had a momma, poppa and older brother Phil.  He started playing guitar and performing with the family band when he was about 4 years old (goes some way to explaining why he's so DAMN good).  His brother Phil is a pretty good guitarist as well but he plays mainly electric, Tommy has been quoted as saying that Phil is a better guitar player then he is.

A great dvd is Live at Sheldon Concert Hall, Tommy doing a solo gig.  Great stuff, available here:

http://www.guitarvideos.com/tommy/index.html

[chadh]

Ha!  I wonder how I managed to make that story up!

Chad

[Greg Marberry]

Tommy is fantastic!

I really dig "Only."  The release after that called "Endless Road" is also good but does not get me like "Only" does.  He signed with Steve Vai's record label called Favored Nations.  AFIK, they don't have nearly as wide a distribution as most large labels but you can buy direct from them and support not only a good company (any company that's not a big record label is good here) but also ensure that the artists get more $ from your purchase.  

[Captain Humble]

Hi

Can you recommend some of his albums?

I have never heard of him, but from you write, he sound to be one that every true guitar-lover should hear.

Brian

I had two Tommy Emmanuel CDs, "ENDLESS ROAD" and "ONLY", prior to attending his concert.  Though they are both excellent CDs, they in no way prepared our party for the live experience we had at a small venue called McNair Rehearsal Studio.

I agree with Chad. The recordings are excellent but there’s PURE MAGIC in his live show that is unrivaled in my experience.  The “MAGIC” isn’t exacerbated with the help of an elaborate light show or mind blowing arrangements augmented with other musicians.  The live show I saw was simply a man and his guitar with no distractions other than a talent so pure that we were all left speechless.

Brian, he’s playing 10 shows in the Netherlands next month.  Please check out this link:
http://www.tommyemmanuel.com/tour-dates/

If any of these venues are close enough for you to make the trip, please see him.  If you don’t agree he is one of the most amazing musicians you’ve ever seen I’ll reimburse you for your ticket.

On the way out I picked up every recording on the merchandise table.  It turns out his manager was sitting there and asked me if I knew what I was doing.  I said sure “I need everything Tommy has ever recorded.”  She laughed and offered to help.  Apparently most of his early work is represented on a 3 disc box set called “THE GREAT TOMMY EMMANUEL”.  I highly recommend this one.  He’s backed by other musicians on this one and though it features a variety of styles it is for the most part smooth jazz.  I don’t see it listed on his merchandise page so I’d email them and specifically ask for it.
Merchandise page:
http://www.certifiedguitarplayer.com/

I also picked up “TOMMY EMMANUEL CGP LIVEONE”.  This one is listed on the merchandise page above.  It’s a two disc box set, live and solo.  Highly recommended.

The closest thing to the live performance is his DVD entitled “TOMMY EMMANUEL LIVE AT SHELDON HALL".  This one is also available on his site.  The copyright is 2002 and it isn’t DTS or even Dolby Digital but I guess it’s no big deal since it’s just a solo guitar.  Most enjoyable.

So, those are my recommendations.  Sorry it took so long, but I wanted to wait until I had a chance to watch the video.
Jeff

[ctviggen]

I've experienced something similar (though not perhaps to the same extent as you) with Stevie Ray Vaughn.  His concerts were so much better than were his CDs, in my opinion.

[ctviggen]

Dang!  He's leaving Italy right before I get there.

[Captain Humble]

Dang! He's leaving Italy right before I get there.

That's a shame.
I'll bet he plays a mean mandolin as well.

[Jumpin]

Planning to go June 19, Beach Haven , NJ
Thanks for the tip.

Regards,
Mark