Review: Tommy Emmanuel ‘Live At The Sydney Opera House’
By Charlie Steffens
Dubbed the world’s greatest acoustic guitarist by critics and contemporaries, Tommy Emmanuel has enjoyed a career that spans six decades. Widely recognized as extraordinarily talented, Tommy’s breadth of musical influences runs from jazz, bluegrass, pop, rock n’ roll, and surprisingly, even polka. Not limited solely to a command of hollow-body wooden six-stringed instruments, Tommy will plug in a Telecaster from time to time and join a fellow virtuoso such as Joe Satriani onstage as they collectively blow away the audience.
Tommy’s artistry shines as a self-contained musical force. Onstage, his guitar becomes an orchestra, blending rhythm and melody to draw crowds across continents. The realization of a childhood ambition came on May 21, 2023, when he recorded “Live at The Sydney Opera House” in his beloved Sydney, Australia. Stepping onto that legendary stage marked the culmination of a journey that began with a young boy and his first guitar.
Tommy draws immediate excitement from the crowd by beginning the set with “Countrywide,” a song from his ‘Dare to Be Different’ album released in 1990. After this opener, he plays “El Vaquero,” a brisk homage to his guitar hero Chet Atkins. Interesting side note: Chet Atkins identified Tommy, along with four other guitarists (John Knowles, Jerry Reed, Steve Wariner, and Paul Yandell) as a Certified Guitar Player” (C.G.P.), a title that the legendary guitarist bestowed upon a select few guitarists he deeply admired, as a mark of his personal recognition of exceptional skill and contribution to guitar playing.
The track listing no doubt pays respect to the musicians that have influenced Tommy throughout his career. Treating the crowd to his arrangement of “Deep River Blues,” Tommy takes the mic and does the late guitarist and songwriter Doc Watson proud.
His Beatles medley, “She’s a Woman,” “Please Please Me,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Day Tripper,” and “Lady Madonna,” connects Tommy to the audience even more, as Beatles songs’ innovation, emotional resonance, and cultural impact are like musical balm. And then a blistering version of “Classical Gas” follows.
“Mombasa” showcases Tommy’s skills as a one-man band. The tones he makes—the raking of his strings over his guitar bridge and headstock, the bongo thwacks on the body of a well-worked wooden instrument—create a rich and diverse sound.
Renowned Australian vocalist/music artist Anthony Snape joins Tommy onstage to perform “April Sun in Cuba,” a song by Dragon. Having co-written songs for Tommy’s chartbusting ‘Accomplice One’ album, Anthony is literally right at home with this song, belting out the words to the catchy rock classic. It is notable that two musicians can pull a mid-70s song out of relative obscurity and pump it up with a vitality that respects its progenitor.
The introduction with his trademark cascading harmonics on “Secret Love” serves as a dreamy respite to listen in awe to a guitarist that never ceases to inspire and amaze.
Tommy unceasingly keeps his audience entertained throughout this memorable 15-track live performance. He is certainly not the type of instrumental guitarist who keeps his head down, relying on an array of flashy, yet ultimately soulless guitar pyrotechnics. The warmth, excitement, and energy between Tommy and the audience is all here.
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