Audio CD review:
Tommy Emmanuel - The Very Best of Tommy Emmanuel

Tommy Emmanuel - The Very Best of Tommy Emmanuel

Band: Tommy Emmanuel Title: The Very Best of Tommy Emmanuel Rating: Release Date: 10 August, 2001 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Don't Hold Me Back [Electric] 2: Journey [Electric] 3: Fear of Rain [Electric] 4: Who Dares Wins [Electric] 5: Big Brother [Electric] 6: Stevie's Blues [Electric] 7: Hearts Grow Fonder [Electric] 8: Guitar Boogie [Electric] 9: When You Come Home [Electric] 10: Determination [Electric] 11: Don't Argue [Electric] 12: From the Hip [Electric] 13: Tailin' the Invisible Man [Electric] 14: Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt [Electric] 15: Amanda's Room [Acoustic] 16: Classical Gas [Acoustic] 17: Hellos and Goodbyes [Acoustic] 18: Countrywide [Acoustic] 19: Up from Down Under [Acoustic] 20: Villa de Martin [Acoustic] 21: Fiesta [Acoustic] 22: Midnight Drive [Acoustic] 23: Since We Met [Acoustic] 24: Mountain of Truth [Acoustic] 25: Initiation [Acoustic] 26: Last Time I Saw You [Acoustic] 27: Blue Moon [Acoustic] 28: Change for Good [Acoustic]

Customer Reviews Not the Tommy I know I was blown away. I first heard Tommy performing on TV a while back. I never heard anyone play acoustic guitar like him. . . ever! I then heard him live and was just so impressed - what a fresh new way of interpretting the acoustic guitar. No one plays harmonics like Tommy. So I ordered this CD and was devistated from the start. This wasn't the Tommy I knew and loved. It was watered down Tommy and doesn't serve justice to how good he really is. This is why I am being so critial. You will never know his true talent by listening to these CD's. The music is poorly produced and poorly mixed. Much of the time the accompanyment sounds like the main feature with Tommy playing somewhere in the background. In fact, sometimes it sounds like he is playing at the far end of the room, away from everyone else, or even in a differnt room altogether. Tommy's guitar playing is meek, not very expressive and is shrouded in effects. I mean how much reverb does one need. The drums sound like they come from a track machine with reverb. The orchestration is cheesy synthesizer tracks. I am not sure what went wrong here. I am still disspointed whenever I listen to it. Check out Johnny A for an example of how it should really be done. Not Enough of Tommy (Too Much Orchestration) Buy the CD named "The Day Finger Pickers Took Over the World" to really hear Tommy (and Chet Atkins) play guitars. I truly admire the guitar skills of Tommy but they are well hidden on this two CD set. I wish there were a way to return CDs that you don't like. . . next time I'll take the time to sample the tracks!. The Many Facets of Tommy Emmanuel He currently tours performing solo guitar concerts that are stunning but he has even more to offer. Tommy Emmanuel is one of the greatest guitarists I have ever heard. Disk one of this 2-CD set reveals a guitarist that is reminiscent of Larry Carlton on some tracks and Stevie Ray Vaughan on others. His fusion and blues playing is flawless but then you get to disk two which has such accoustic Tommy tunes as Amanda's Room and Blue Moon. The effect of disk 2 is to demonstrate that Tommy Emmanuel is a capable solo guitarist in the mold of Chet Atkins. So here it is, the most Tommy for your entertainment dollar. If you are new to Tommy Emmanuel this is a great starting point and if you are familiar with his work this CD is a great way to have a wide spectrum of his work in one place. If you love great guitar playing give it a try. . You can see a complete list of all Tommy Emmanuel discography, or go back to the Tommy Emmanuel tabs