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Posts: 5567
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Here is a new song from his upcoming album...again...wow! New Tommy Emmanuel
Blessings and enjoy... |
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Posts: 5567
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | OK, my bad...last album...but still a gas! |
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March 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Better yet... Top This...
I dare ya...
Blessings... |
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July 2007
Posts: 325
Location: Texas | That was great - now why can't I play like that - could it be that I won't practice. Thanks MusicMishka - loved it!! |
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October 2004
Posts: 256
Location: chicago | Few players can express the honesty and joy that Tommy sincerely portrays.Has anyone ever seen him play anything half assed?He is always having fun and thats what its all about!
Jeff
www.guitarsoffire.com |
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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 972
Location: PDX | Originally posted by TenFootfingrz:
Few players can express the honesty and joy that Tommy sincerely portrays......
Jeff True that.
Ed Gerhard has an arrangement of the Water is Wide that has a strong emotional element.
TE always looks like he's having fun, doesn't he.
_____
gh1 |
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November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | Ok, I'm going to really stick my foot in my mouth here, but here goes: Does anyone listen to TE besides other guitar players?
Personally, I like listening to stuff like this in small doses. A song or two here and there is about all I can take. Sure, it is technically impressive, but ultimately the guitar is limited as a solo instrument. It just can't generate the power of traditional orchestral instruments.
Sometimes when I listen to Mozart, I wonder if he was just f*cking with people. Listen to "The Magic Flute", and you know he must have been pissed off at some diva and just wanted her to suffer. Then listen to Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and you know he was thinking "I just wrote the most beautiful melody anyone will ever hear. I think I'll give it a throw-away name so people won't think I was even trying". And the truth is, he probably wasn't. For a genius like that, knocking off a simple string quartet piece would be child's play compared to writing a full opera.
Years ago, I spent months working up a convincing solo fingerstyle guitar version of Ave Maria for a wedding. Very, very tough, but I finally got it nailed down to where I could play it in my sleep. But by the time I was done, I realized it was dead as fried chicken. A guitar player would appreciate how busy I was maintaining a rolling counterpoint to the melody, but to the casual listener, it was just a lifeless version of the song. I recruited a flute player, gave her the melody while I took the counterpoint, and it killed.
I guess I'm still bitter that we never had money for violin lessons when I was a kid. :) |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | T'be honest, I've NEVER heard him . . .
I've seen little bits on TV and YouTube & such, but never went and sought-out one of his CD's.
I appreciate his talent & ability, but solo instrumental guitar albums tend t'become "background music" t'me after a while . . . after 2-3 tunes, I start looking for something else. |
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Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Me too.
I can appreciate and envy the talent it takes. I just can't stick with it very long. |
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October 2005
Posts: 5332
Location: Bluffton, SC | It's all ice cream... |
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August 2005
Posts: 22
Location: Ky | TE is much more impressive in concert than listening to his albums would lead one to believe. I have a DVD by him that is simply mind-blowing. In person his personality combines with his considerable virtuosity to create an entertaining experience. Then it's all propelled by his exuberant enthusiasm. You can't help but get caught up in it. Listening to his albums, though, can induce sleep -even if you are blown away by what you are hearing. Also, although he has written some beautiful music, much of what he writes is "forgettable". His strongest stuff is covers of other great stuff -not his own stuff.
I'd sure love to try out one of those Maton guitars, though. |
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October 2006
Posts: 5575
Location: big island | from everything i have read about maton guitars, and our ofc friends down under can attest to this, they are rather unimpressive. tommy sets his up with an innovative pickup system employing an individual piezo for each string. acoustically, his guitars do not sound so wonderful, but like most ovation models, sound excellent plugged in. |
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March 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | After spending much of my life playing in clubs/bars/restaurants/stage and now in church, and having have learned and played well over 1500 songs (I lost count after that...my 4 gig books each have over 250 and I have a 2 boxes of lyrics of probably 500 more) I fancied myself a good player but certainly not great...adequate! Enough to make a living; stay working, and have a good time doing it. I too had never heard of TE until several months ago: and he blew me away! He has such a good time with the music and as for the guitar not being a solo instrument, WHAT? Tell that to Clapton, Beck, Hendrix (difficult to do because he's dead) etc. I think the problem people have with guitarists like TE (and there are few in his league) is that they cannot copy them...artistically they are too advanced (BTW, its a gift!)...so they get frustrated and cop out. Hey, I can't play like him either, but I can certainly appreciate his genius and be entertained his talent! I have ordered several of his albums and a DVD, and I’m looking forward to them. Of course to each his or her own, sure...but for me, TE is incredible: simply one of the finest guitarists I have ever heard or seen! It works for me and apparently for quite a few others! He makes me wish I had taken the instrument and the gift seriously and not treated it as just a hobby/party favor/chick magnet/etc. I do enjoy using the gift I have now for a better purpose and getting satisfaction of messages that are positive. TE and his solo guitar (and some of Doyle Dykes, and Will Ackerman, etc.) are personally very entertaining and even relaxing (esp. after a long hard day dealing with people).
Your opinions may differ, that’s cool!
As to the Maton guitar, any guitar in the hands of a master player will sound really good!
Practice, Practice, Practice!
Blessings.... |
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December 2004
Posts: 2150
Location: Orlando, FL | Tommy is not just a great guitarist. He is an entertainer, if you watch videos of his live performances, he is just fun to watch. He has great stage presence, interacts with the audience and just brings the joy out in his performance.
A lot of solo guitar music is like listening to other forms of instrumental music - it can be background or you can LISTEN to it. Either way fits the right mood. |
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Posts: 651
Location: Australia | You're right, he is a great entertainer.
Although he doesn't spend much time here anymore, he is still a household name.
His albums would chart pretty high and he'd be a regular on every major TV show.
I miss his electric stuff. He used to tour with a band and play some blistering guitar. He sure can spank a mean Telecaster.
I've had the pleasure of meeting him many times and he's a real gentleman. |
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January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | I would place Tommy in the same category as Kaki King. Extremely talented musicians that are brilliant at what they do. But I just don't enjoy listening to them after the first 30 seconds. Dave |
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June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | Originally posted by MusicMishka:
Practice, Practice, Practice!
Blessings.... That is the bottom line, Mike. |
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December 2004
Posts: 2150
Location: Orlando, FL | OK, I get it, not everyone's bowl of ice cream...
But I do think the Kaki King reference is a bit off. Kaki is a great talent and I enjoy a lot of her stuff, but her music is not as accessible as TE's. Tommy covers a lot of pop music. Mona Lisa, Somewhere over the rainbow, Lady Madonna, etc. It's easier for the general music listening public to enjoy a recognizable alternative of something familiar and popular.
But again, I get it, ice cream. I'm just trying to sell thr flavor I like! |
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November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | Originally posted by MusicMishka:
Aas for the guitar not being a solo instrument, WHAT? Tell that to Clapton, Beck, Hendrix Interesting that you reference three electric players. That kindof makes my point. Compared, for example to the violin, the solo acoustic guitar has no power. How could it? A bowed instrument is always going to have vastly greater dynamics. All the neo-classical shredders (eg, Yngwie, etal) play electric. |
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March 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | TE and his solo guitar (and some of Doyle Dykes, and Will Ackerman, etc.) Alex de Grassi; Michael Hedges; Tuck and Patti; etc. etc.
These are acoustic solo players and each takes the acoustic guitar to a different place; we're not talking about apples and oranges here but entirely different instruments played in different ways to get the expression out of them: finger picked violin does little for most folks eother: of course itneeds to be bowed. Acoustic Guitar can be figer picked, played with a plectrum; bowed, eBowed, tapped, etc. I don't think that a blanket statement against the validity of acoustic solo guitar carries any weight, sorry.
Blessings... |
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March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | I have a CD of Spanish guitar songs by people I never heard of. Although a couple of the songs sound similar, I could listen to it all day. I have many other CDs by more well known artists, including those mentioned by Mike, that are great for listening or background, as DZ suggested. I don't see that as being any different from any other orchestra, band or vocal group. I also have a bunch of piano solo stuff. I don't agree that solo guitar has any inadequacies.
On the other hand, I've never been much for concerts. I prefer to listen rather than watch and most concerts have way too much noise. Like the 7 women who sat behind us in the last concert I went to. Preston Reed, however, puts on a nice show for a small venue and I didn't appreciate what he can do with a guitar until I saw him. I expect Kaki King or Tommy would be similar. |
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Posts: 2246
Location: Yucaipa, California | Omaha wrote: Compared, for example to the violin, the solo acoustic guitar has no power. How could it? ....take the time to listen to this....
Strings and Classical Guitar |
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February 2004
Posts: 2487
| A DVD is something I should look into. I find (along the lines of what Cliff said earlier) acoustic guitar music, as much as I love it, is not my choice of music to just pop in and listen to.
But a DVD....... well I have to say it is watching and listening that gets me with this guy.
He is so dam good that I find myself grinning from ear to ear from amazment as he fly's through one song or another. He goes so fast on some songs I openly laugh at him. He has non-human speed and it's just to funny to see an older guy (like us) playing a steel string, acoustic guitar faster than a Joe Satrioni.
I'd love to catch him in a tour if he'd ever consider coming to the northeast. He is really something! I discovered him through other members posting his music in here as well and I say; he deserves a larger spotlight than he has. His acoustic guitar work is second to none. I'm curious to see his electric guitar work if he has any......
Randy |
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November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | That guy can really play, that's for sure. But did you notice that of seven instruments on stage, only one was mic'd? That is part of my point: Acoustic guitar is an inherently weak instrument. compared to any of the classical orchestral instruments, the guitar simply can't compare.
And as for speed, yes, TE is fast. No doubt. But that's by guitar standards. Here's a nice piece by Itzhak Perlman . The audio quality is horrible, but you will still see the point: That is a fairly routine piece in the classical repertoire, but if a guitar player played that fast we'd all be prepared to canonize him. Obviously, Perlman is exceptional ( here he is at age 13! ), but not that much.
Here's a really old video of Jascha Heifetz playing Paganini . Stunning. And, while its not a fair comparison, here is the same piece played by Li Jie on acoustic guitar . That's as well played on guitar as you will ever find, but it is flat and lifeless compared to the violin version. In this case, the comparison isn't fair for two reasons: First, Heifetz was accompanied. Second, Heifetz is Heifetz. One of the greatest ever. Jie is wonderful, but she's not Heifetz (at least not yet).
The guitar is great. I play one for hours every day. But as a solo instrument, I just don't think it stands up to orchestral instruments. |
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October 2006
Posts: 5575
Location: big island | i've posted this before but here it goes again for those interested in seeing tommy playing electric.
this man's talent and passion are so evident. not that i have the time, but if i did, i could enjoy watching and listening to tommy play for a straight few hours every couple days or so.
tommy on electric |
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New Tommy E
