Once again, thank you for visiting my site. 

Larry McDowell

(5.28.08: survey is closed.  Thanks to all for your responses)

Tommy will be on the top rated National morning radio program BOB AND TOM at
somewhere around 8:30 am EDT on May 20th – from Indianapolis, Indiana.
It is LIVE in 150 cities.
Some cities delay it (Pacific & Mountain time) so they can air as
their morning drive show.
Here is their affiliate list:
http://www.bobandtom.com/gen3/affiliates.htm
Also, here is a pass to their VIP website so you can listen to the show on your computer if Bob and Tom is not broadcast in your city.
Just go to www. bobandtom.com .. and select VIP top right tab.
USER NAME: airheads05
PASSWORD: airheads05
This is a great opportunity to expose Tommy and his music to America. Please pass this information on to others, and if you can…Listen in!
Regards,
Linda

So set your  calendars and alarms so you can wake up in time for a listen.

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!

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.

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.  : )

Links of Interest:

YouTube to iPod Converter

Another YouTube Converter (Online)

Tommy’s YouTube Video

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.

Keep Playing!

http://tommyemmanuel.wordpress.com/gitar-tabok/

Certified Guitar Player is pre-selling “Center Stage” for $15.95.  I’ve already placed my order, have you?

• Songster has a great Tab of “You Needed Me”.
  • *I like that Songster will many times, have the YouTube Video to play along with. If you upgrade to Songster Plus, you can then loop a section, slow down the music, print the tab, ect.. The free version is enough as well. If there is a Songster option, that is my goto and this particular tab for “You Needed Me” is pretty good.
• Freight Train/Trambone:  Pretty good transcription from, what seems to me, the “Up Close” DVD.  Very similar to the “Note for Note” transcription which was based off of that DVD as well.  Choose the acoustic power link and you will need Power Tab to read it.
• Dixie McGuire:  Another transcription that is close to the “Note for Note” one.  I used the Power Tab version from the Ultimate Guitar Archive.  It is worth noting that the “Note for Note” version was a great help filling in a couple of fingering holes that the other missed. The same goes for Blue Moon.
• Those Who Wait:  Great transcription and pretty accurate to the “Only” CD version.  I then used that to adapt it to the “Live One” CD and the PBS Sierra Nevada version.  He really never does it the same way twice, it seems.  Anyway, choose the Ultimate Guitar Archive link and the Guitar Pro and Power Tab versions are both good versions.
• Borsalino:  Currently working on this myself an it’s  the best version I can find and is accurate enough.  A few of the fingerings are wrong and the transcription is incomplete but if you have a video version of Tommy playing this live, you’ll be able to figure it out.  Used the the Guitar Pro version from the Ultimate Guitar Archive.
• Angelina:  My first Tommy E. that I learned.  I didn’t use this tab myself, I used the transcription that was in December 2005 issue of Acoustic Guitar Magazine, which is the best Angelina transcprition out there.    I would use the Guitar Pro tab but there is a high rated ASCII version of the tab but I’m not a big fan of that kind of transcription. Hint: If your trying to figure it out yourself, it’s in drop D tuning with the capo on the 2nd fret.
• Blue Moon:  Once again this is very similar to the “Note for Note” songbook. I used the Guitar Pro transcription that could be found at Ultimate Guitar Archive.  Still struggling with this song, got the notes down but the feel is lacking.

That’s a short list on the Tommy E songs I have been working on.  Of those, I could probably perform Dixie, Angelina and Those Who Wait without too much trouble.  I would still say they need some polishing.  So if you need to Tommy E songs to work on, I hope this helps.  If you can afford it, I would strongly recommend getting the “Note for Note.”  Not only for the great transcriptions but there is some useful information on Tommy’s playing and his influences.  Like it says in the book, you need to learn about what influenced him if you really want to play like him.  Anyway, I hope this helps and if you find any good transcriptions, please leave a comment.

Keep Playin’

More Tommy E song books here.

The links are below: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kEBr_xiRiM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZz7zRHoONg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52eLzA66tso&feature=related

Song List Includes:

• Amy
• Blue Moon
• Cascading Harmonics
• Countrywide
• Day Tripper
• Dixie McGuire
• Freight Train
• Lady Madonna
• Limehouse Blues
• Since We Met
• A Taste Of Honey
• Tom’s Thumb
• Trambone
• Up From Down Under
• Windy And Warm

I was hoping Borsalino would have been on it but no such luck.  If anyone who might read this, if you find a good/complete transcription of this piece, please let me know.  I’ll be anxiously awaiting this in the mail in the coming days and it’s guarenteed that my familiy won’t be seeing me much once I get it.

http://www.certifiedguitarplayer.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=4

 Other Tommy tabs can be found here: Most are pretty decent but some shouldn’t even be up there.