Was YouTube surfing tonight and and ran across this little gem. It’s Muriel Anderson performing “Day Tripper” by the Beatles. Only knew of Tommy Emmanuel’s version so I was excited to see someone else’s take on this song. In the middle of her performance, she demonstrates a different baseline that is in the original song but Tommy left out. Not saying this is better or worse than Tommy’s version but I love seeing how two different guitarists attack an arrangement for the same song.
I asked in my last post if the statement, “This is acoustic music in your face”, was a warning or a prediction. Still not sure which one it was but CD 2 was in my face and Tommy got a little bit of help from Bob Littell on Harmonica.
Highlights:
The mix: I know I said this in the last post but it’s so good and really makes the CD’s an experience to listen to.
Working Man’s Blues: Good old fashioned blues with Littell on the harmonica. They played off each other well and had a nice little jam going at one point. I’m not a huge fan of the harmonica but this was truly impressive.
Morning Aire: Beautiful song. I don’t know if there is more I can say.
Initiation: Tommy Does a long version of this where he’s really working the delay but in the end there’s a point where you could tell he just releases and lets the music take over. “Primal Guitar” as Michael Hedges used to say.
Questions: Last track on the CD and all I would write down in my notes was, “Wow!”
Any “lowlights?” For me, I would say too much harmonica. The first four tracks felt like they were Tommy featuring Littell. There was great guitar in those tracks but the harmonica seemed to butt in like a third wheel at times. My thoughts were, “I bought this CD for Tommy Emmanuel, not the harmonica.” As I said before, I’m not the biggest fan of the instrument. Great playing and I have a great respect for Littell’s playing but it was too much for me.
Final Thought:
Once again, if you don’t have it get it! If you are still wondering and waiting, get it anyway. You won’t be disappointed. Can’t wait for the DVD!
“This is acoustic music, in your face…” is the introduction on the first track on Tommy Emmanuel’s “Live, Center Stage” CD1. Was that a prediction or a warning? Either way, Tommy didn’t disappoint with his 2nd live double CD set in three years.
Highlights:
The Mix: Every song on CD1 was engineered to perfection. From Tommy’s playing to the just the right mix of crow noise makes you feel like your there at times.
Nine Pound Hammer: Great improv solo much like Guitar Boogie. At one point, Tommy is playing guitar with one hand a moving baseline on the other. Oh yeah, he’s singing on top of all that.
And So it Goes: Beautiful arrangement of a timeless Billy Joel song. This performance just might bring a tear to ones eye.
I Go to Rio: Just love that he plays this. It’s partially because I performed this in Jr. High choir and he does an awesome job with it.
Beatles Medley: Not the best one that I’ve heard but it’s still worth mentioning. He does like to mix it up so this version had “Here Comes the Sun”, “When I’m Sixty Four”, “Day Tripper” and “Lady Madonna.”
No “lowlights” that I could find. Some of the Tommy detractors might not enjoy some of the rhythmic montages that Tommy has been known to get into. I believe he goes into a three or so minute rhythmic trance during Mombasa. If you don’t already have it, get it. If you’re still wondering and waiting, my thoughts on CD2 will posted soon.
Now that I have found tab that will point me in the right direction in learning Tommy Emmanuel’s Borsalino, it’s time to get practicing. What I usually is listen the hell out of a song and watch any videos I have to observe technique. I had a great version of Tommy performing Borsalino from the Sierra Nevada Center Stage show that aired on PBS. It was on my DVR for quite a while and knew it would always be there. At least I thought it would be. Turns out my Tommy show got recorded over because I failed to protect it so needless to say, I was crushed and pissed.
Technology taketh away and technology giveth back! Did a quick search on YouTube and found the performance that I once had. Not to big of a find since YouTube has tons of videos available at anytime but I didn’t want to visit YouTube everytime I need to look at the video. I want to be able to watch it on my iTouch any time I felt like it. Thankfully, many have addressed this need with programs and services that assist me in getting YouTube videos on my iTouch. It’s called “YouTube to iPod Converter” from dvdvideosoft.com. It’s a simple little program where you enter the URL of the video, specify where you want the .mp4 video to save and click on the “convert” button and you are set. I now have my Tommy video back and can reference it any time I like.
This is yet another great resource for musicians who need to reference music on they fly when they are practicing. This video conversion method isn’t relagated to just iPods. You can do conversions for your PSP, Zune, Windows Media or any other kind of media player.
If only this software could transcribe the song for me and then I would be set. : )
If You have read some of my previous Tommy posts, you will know I’m on a quest for an accurate Borsalino transcription. I think I found one that when combined with the other transcription that I found, I get a pretty good idea on how to play it. The thing that makes this so hard is that Tommy plays the song differently depending on when he played it. So there cold possibly be many versions of tab out there. Anyway, this site has many different transcriptions for you to try out. (I lost count after 20) They are in PDF format so you don’t have to worry about having Guitar Pro or Power Tab.
I have sampled two two transcriptions; Borsalino and Bye Bye Blackbird(Up Close DVD). Borsalino is fairly accurate but it’s hard to say because in the performance notes for the transcription, it says, “As seen in concert…” What concert would that be? Who knows but it fills some holes the other left. Bye Bye Blackbird is OK as far as the notes and fingering but the rhythm was not as accurate as I had hoped. In the “Up Close” DVD, Tommy did a lot of syncopation which wasn’t represented in the music.
Of course, a sample of two tabs doesn’t represent the whole of the transcriptions available. Please check it out and leave a comment with your findings/recommendatons. I am excited to see what others think.
or Power Tab.
