# Tommy Emmanuel is a \[guitar\] god **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223 "2013-12-26T18:05:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/1 "2013-12-26T18:05:01Z")
Watching his t.v. special and the man is a god. That is all. Slee ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/2 "2013-12-26T18:08:44Z")
Oh yeah. If you hang out on acoustic guitar boards, he is pretty much held up as the best out there. His brother is a great player, too. Here’s a mobile link to him and Frank Vignola messing around backstage: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PvNuigQrFM8/hqdefault.jpg "Tommy Emmanuel & Frank Vignola - Swing #42 - Backstage: Tennessee Shines") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvNuigQrFM8) ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/3 "2013-12-27T00:38:34Z")
Yes he is. I hate to sound critial when discussing a god, but a little (more) soul and that man would be unstoppable. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/4 "2013-12-27T01:48:30Z")
Here he is channeling Lenny Breau in perhaps the single most moving version of [“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpGE-h2roIo) that I have heard. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/5 "2013-12-27T03:22:36Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > Watching his t.v. special and the man is a god. > > That is all. > > Slee TV special? When? Where? ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/6 "2013-12-27T03:47:25Z")
It was on PBS and I recorded it. On a totally unrelated side note, that is the first time I have watched or recorded a PBS show since I was about 9. [Link](http://www.tommyemmanuel.com/2013/11/pbs-nov-dec/) Slee ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/7 "2013-12-27T03:51:46Z")
This thread is nothing but a bunch of nodding heads! ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/8 "2013-12-27T08:27:55Z")
Okay, I’m going to be that guy. He doesn’t do it for me. Great technique for sure, but if we’re going to throw the word god around, I’d like a _little_ bit more soul, like **bobot** said, but mostly I’d like a voice. If you tell me Django, Son House, Baden Powell, Joe Pass, Jimi, or Jeff Beck, I immediately hear a sound, a voice. With Emmanuel… I just hear guitar. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/9 "2013-12-27T09:23:38Z")
I’ll be seeing Tommy Emmanuel for the second time in about six weeks! Here he is doing [Initiation](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x346VoDX3pA), and here he is doing [The Trails](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHY1Km1Eia0). ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/10 "2013-12-27T09:54:43Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Yes he is. I hate to sound critial when discussing a god, but a little (more) soul and that man would be unstoppable. I’m with you. Great technician and all but I don’t think he is very involving. And I defy anyone to hum, or even remember the tune of anything he plays that isn’t a cover. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/11 "2013-12-27T10:14:02Z")
I’ve sat a couple of metres away from the Emmanuel brothers, watching them jamming. _Very_ impressive on a technical level, but it was all sizzle and no sausage. I enjoyed watching them play, but in the same way I like watching gymnasts; musically it was pretty dull. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/12 "2013-12-27T11:20:13Z")
This isn’t my musical heritage but I think Tonino Baliardo is the exact opposite of Tommy Emmanuel. I don’t understand where it comes from but it is totally involving: [Gipsy Kings Rumba Tech](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KKXfw2hZVg) [Duende](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5tRogsKzPE) [Gipsy Kings Live](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxwEN2crTe8) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/13 "2013-12-27T14:49:40Z")
> [@jovan](#): > > Okay, I’m going to be that guy. > > He doesn’t do it for me. Great technique for sure, but if we’re going to throw the word god around, I’d like a _little_ bit more soul, like **bobot** said, but mostly I’d like a voice. If you tell me Django, Son House, Baden Powell, Joe Pass, Jimi, or Jeff Beck, I immediately hear a sound, a voice. With Emmanuel… I just hear guitar. Knowing how **sleestak** is a shredder, I’m not surprised at his respect for Tommy - both approaches value precise technique. Tommy is a guitarist’s guitarist - he makes me shake my head at some of the stuff he can do. I’ve gone on record here countless times stating that Johnny Ramone is one of my favorite guitarists and that his influence is far huger than most other players out there. I have a lot more Ramones in my collection than I have of Tommy Emanuel - but I sure as heck respect his technique and will see if I can catch a song or two off the PBS special. It’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/14 "2013-12-27T15:53:03Z")
I’d have to be one of those people who say he’s missing something intangible. Maybe it’s not something he needs to preform the way he wants, but it’s something that I need in a performer. I wasn’t aware of him before this thread, but the skill in his hands and brain are undeniable. He seems very much like Jeff Beck, he can play any song you throw at him, and make it more than you thought it was. However, his original songs linked here aren’t memorable for me except for the amazing technique, a crime I also often accuse Beck of. There’s a few interesting chord changes in the middle of them, but it didn’t seem to build to them in a way that made them really pay off. He’s the kind of guy I’d hire to play on someone else’s record in a second, but I’d have to think long and hard about buying a solo record of his - if that makes any sense. (I began writing a much more detailed critique of his originals, but deleted it. The guy’s damn good, and his songwriting and tone not being my thing doesn’t really diminish his skill as a guitarist.) ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tommy-emmanuel-is-a-guitar-god/677223/15 "2013-12-27T18:30:52Z")
Finally found a couple of his originals - [Drivetime](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_UZpxPWaaA) [The Tall Fiddler](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW9rmaGaaG4)