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Written by Derek Lauer Monday, 28 August 2006 03:19

This is music that is just perfect for enjoying the outdoors.

 

 

Here is your chance to get an up close look at the flat-picking guitar mastery of Tommy Emmanuel. The commentary between each piece of music gives an open and honest view of his inspirations and portrays a real sense of the humility of the man behind the amazing playing.

The disc begins with a raucous version of "Tall Fiddler," a blistering fast bluegrass strumming tune with melodies weaved between the fast-paced rhythm. Throughout, Emmanuel's playing combines elements of folk and Appalachian mountain music with an approach to walking bass lines and voicings derived from jazz chord-solos from guys like Chet Atkins or Joe Pass. (If you want to learn more about this sort of thing, check out the books that William Leavitt did on "Drop 2" voicings published by the Berklee Press.) Emmanuel has an amazing right hand and finger picks as well as he flat picks-often both at the same time. It's a similar technique to the one Monte Montgomery has been developing, but a bit more traditional.

Emmanuel's writing has a depth of emotion beyond the fretboard, as evidenced by the song, "Antonella's Birthday." In his introduction to the piece, he reveals his mood when he wrote the song; his sensitive performance successfully conveys the feeling of having the warm sun on your face for the first time in a while.

Emmanuel delivers a soulful rendition of the old mining tune "Nine Pound Hammer," keeping a constant pulse with his thumb on the low notes while playing and singing. It really demonstrates the authority with which he controls the guitar. His version of the "Cannonball Rag" is reminiscent of "The Clap" by Yes' Steve Howe.

The performance also includes an amazing version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," which finds Emannuel using two-handed chordal harmonics first pioneered by Lenny Breau. His free-form opening riffs-before jumping into the classic "Heartbreak Hotel"—have the same energy and feel of Roy Clark's signature sound.

Emmanuel is joined on stage by his fiancée, Elizabeth Watkins, who has a tender and expressive voice, and they display an obvious chemistry on stage. "Lewis and Clark" is a ready favorite, reminding me a bit of the way Michael Hedges used to write. This is music that is just perfect for enjoying the outdoors.

Tommy Emmanuel is a great guitar player, but more than that, he writes beautifully and performs a wide range music that brings the audience along with him for the ride.