Tommy Emmanuel Albums (9)
'Center Stage'
Release Date 4/29/2008
Tracks 24
Label Favored Nations
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'Emmanuel Labor'
Release Date 1/1/2008
Tracks 16
Label Mel Bay Publications
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What The Critics Say
Tommy Emmanuel has earned a reputation in his native Australia as a master guitarist who dabbles in many different musical styles. Utilizing a number of acoustic and electric instruments, sometimes overdubbed on a single track, it is easy to appreciate his formidable technique, though his original compositions don't leave much of a lasting impression. Virtuosity for its own sake can grow tiresome, much like excessive multi-tracking, so Emmanuel is best appreciated when he is holding back just a little, as in "Lewis & Clark" and the touching ballad "Footprints." The one vocal track features Emmanuel sharing duties with Elizabeth Watkins, sounding like the contemporary country made popular on music video channels. This is a pleasant, well-engineered CD, with obvious comparisons in spots to the late Nashville guitar master Chet Atkins. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
'Endless Road'
Release Date 1/1/2004
Tracks 19
Label Favored Nations Acoustic
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What The Critics Say
Originally released in 2002 in Tommy Emmanuel's native Australia (where he's a jazz and folk guitar legend) but not available in the States until 2005, Endless Road is a solo acoustic album that in its revamped form adds a pair of unimpressive vocal numbers. Emmanuel's fingerpicking style is heavily influenced by Chet Atkins, who appears here on a genial but melodically flimsy duet called "Chet's Ramble" that, truth be told, sounds like it was probably an outtake from their 1997 duet album, The Day Finger Pickers Took Over the World. Emmanuel fares much better on his own, but he's at his best when he's working with songs that have stronger melodies than his own competent but unexciting tunes. For example, on the increasingly moldy standard "Over the Rainbow," Emmanuel offers a hint of John Fahey's diffused, abstract style in its intro before moving into a more traditional iteration of the familiar melody. Even better is Emmanuel's flashy but effective reworking of the nearly as hoary "Mona Lisa," which Emmanuel turns into a shimmering, kaleidoscopic version of itself. Not all of the recastings are quite so effective: Emmanuel simply is a far better guitar player than he is a singer, and the a cappella take on Jerry Reed's "Today Is Mine" does neither singer nor song any favors. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Australian guitar legend's early-'90s albums on EMI and Sony were worldwide hits, but his first real splash onto the American smooth jazz charts was 1997's Midnight Drive on Higher Octave (released internationally as Can't Get Enough). It was one of the year's more popular discs, but rather than follow up with something similar, he continued on with the musically eclectic journey that has always marked his career, doing a Grammy-nominated fingerpicking album with mentor Chet Atkins. While those who only know him through his one smooth hit may be disappointed with the austere simplicity of this first-ever solo guitar project, fans of good picking and straight-from-the-heart sentiment will rejoice. His acoustic style is so rustic that listeners even "hear the wood," so to speak, almost as harmony accents to his melodies. The untrained ear might think there's too much sameness from track to track, but closer listens reveal some interesting mood swings -- from the dark and hauntingly romantic "Those Who Wait" and "Questions" to more upbeat, folky ramblers like "Timberlake Road" and the truly locomotive "Train to Dusseldorf." ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
'Midnight Drive'
Release Date 1/21/1997
Tracks 10
Label Higher Octave
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What The Critics Say
Though he has shown a mastery and affinity for both electric and acoustic axes, Tommy Emmanuel's Higher Octave debut, Midnight Drive, finds him focusing almost exclusively on warm yet frequently aggressive acoustic melodies, complemented here and there by the raw, plugged-in energy of Robben Ford and Larry Carlton. The overall mix is the kind that smooth jazz lovers find easy to swallow, but offers more bite and adventure than most like-minded releases in the genre. Smooth jazz radio may find an easy mark with a laid-back take of Sting's "Fields of Gold," but Emmanuel's other tracks dig deeper, showing off a stylistic chameleon drawing from the many phases of his career. His soft pop side comes out on power ballads "No More Goodbyes" and "Stay Close to Me," the latter reminding us why guest saxman Warren Hill's biggest hit to date was called "The Passion Theme." Emmanuel's more aggressive blues-rock side (honed no doubt by a few years in the progressive mid-'80s ensemble Dragon) emerges with Carlton's help on "Can't Get Enough." The striking contrast between the pastoral, folksy roads of "Drivetime" and the disc's best track, "Villa de Martin" best reflects the gamut of Emmanuel's approaches. "Drivetime" is simple and sparse, while "Villa de Martin" is multi-faceted, opening calmly before exploding into a wild flamenco jam, then quickly shifting back to a lower gear. He darts in a lot of directions, and that willingness, while not yet making him any sort of innovator on our shores, sets him apart from those who make their marks just playing the same old lines. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
