{"id":142835,"date":"2023-12-17T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-17T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=142835"},"modified":"2023-12-15T10:44:37","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T18:44:37","slug":"tommy-emmanuel-shines-with-a-team-of-top-acoustic-players-on-accomplice-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/tommy-emmanuel-shines-with-a-team-of-top-acoustic-players-on-accomplice-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Tommy Emmanuel Shines with a Team of Top Acoustic Players on \u2018Accomplice Two\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I was growing up in Australia in the 1990s, Tommy Emmanuel<\/a> was a household name\u2014and not just to guitar players. He was as synonymous with the instrument as legends like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix and Slash. Early Emmanuel albums like Dare to Be Different<\/a> <\/em>(1990) and Determination<\/a> <\/em>(1991) were textbooks on guitar styles, melody, tone, and quality. They were predominately electric guitar outings with a band, but usually included one or two solo acoustic pieces, like \u201cBlue Moon\u201d and \u201cInitiation,\u201d that made me wonder if one person was really playing all that music or if studio tricks were at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Emmanuel appeared on our late-night, breakfast, and variety television shows almost weekly, it seemed. He could be seen playing songs from his latest albums or featured as the guest guitar player for a famous Australian pop star on his trusty Telecaster, or ever increasingly on a Maton acoustic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time I was opening shows and touring with Emmanuel in Australia in the early 2000s, he was playing solo acoustic exclusively. These sets were absolutely annihilating, with Emmanuel delivering the impact (and almost the volume) of a full rock band with just one acoustic guitar. We would perform a couple of duets a night, usually \u201cDetermination\u201d and \u201cWorking Man\u2019s Blues.\u201d Playing on stage with Emmanuel was\u2014and still is\u2014unbelievably daunting, but he is incredibly supportive and generous, with the focus always being about delivering the song to the audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no surprise that Emmanuel has turned his hand again to collaboration with his Accomplice<\/a><\/em> series of releases, bringing some of the finest acoustic musicians in the world\u2014among them, David Grisman, Sierra Hull, Billy Strings, and Molly Tuttle\u2014into the studio and making the songs the focus. Not long ago, I caught up with Emmanuel via Zoom and chatted about this exciting and collaborative phase of his long career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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