Tommy Emmanuel - Center Stage 2xCD set

A Tommy Emmanuel concert is such an enthralling experience, any studio effort is almost doomed to suffer by comparison. Hes such a commanding performer bursting with energy but completely at ease; throwing in Victor Borge/Chico Marx tricks; projecting to and connecting with every member of the audience the fact that hes one of the greatest pickers in history is only part of the bargain.

The question becomes, Why should he record anything but live albums? And other than the possibility of dueting with another instrumental giant or engaging in technological experiments, its hard to come up with an answer. Its not like hes going to make a mistake, after all.

This two-CD set was captured at the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, California, and the excellent, crackling sound quality puts you front and center. The repertoire is mostly familiar to Emmanuel fans standards like Georgia On My Mind, some Merle Travis, his melodic Mombasa (with drum solo courtesy Tommy beating on his well-worn Maton acoustic), the Knopfler-esque Old Town, his famous Beatles medley (where he plays lead, rhythm, and bass parts simultaneously) with four new originals thrown in.

As a vocalist, Emmanuel isnt going to put Merle Haggard out of work, but hes got an unassuming, personable delivery that adds to the intimacy of his show. However, the addition of Bob Littells harmonica on four songs is at least two (maybe three) songs too many.

The highlight is the eerie Initiation, in which Emmanuel seemingly summons thunder and lightning in telling (instrumentally) the story of an Aborigine boys passage into manhood. Its as visual as it is musical, but just hearing it on CD is still mesmerizing.823475514021

FNA5140-2

Favored Nations Acoustic, 2008

Country: USA

Good condition

C15