Here’s the latest single from guitar virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel, released to coincide with his latest album. Widely known for his acoustic guitar talents, Emmanuel actually plays bass, percussion and electric guitar on ‘Maxine’, as well as delivering smooth, pure lead vocals. The song builds on compelling, urgent rhythms, beginning with Emmanuel beating it out with his hands on the back of his acoustic guitar. Halfway through, Emmanuel produces a searing solo on his electric guitar, brief but burning brightly. He says of ‘Maxine’: “This song was a big hit in Australia in the 80s. It’s the story of a young prostitute who is playing with fire in her life. The storyteller wants to understand and help her. The composer, Sharon O’Neil, is an old friend with a gift for storytelling.” Directed, edited and produced by Neilson Hubbard and Joshua Britt for Neighborhoods Apart, the accompanying video presents the many instrumental sides of Tommy Emmanuel.
Emmanuel has just released “Living in the Light“, his first solo album for ten years. Recorded and mixed with Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton), there’s a bit of everything in this collection – jazz, roots music, acoustic pop – all threaded through with the brilliant guitar-work of Tommy Emmanuel, rightly revered as one of the finest players around. He shares: “There are elements of rockabilly, blues, even traditional African music all woven into the music. I’m a world traveler, and I’ve absorbed so much music along the way. It all gets synthesized through a kind of osmosis into my psyche and my soul and then comes out in my own unique style.” After many decades in the music business, Emmanuel is still finding adventure in exploring new things: “As I get older, I find myself taking a lot more risks, and having a lot more fun in the process. When young people come to my shows and have this awakening that it’s okay to be different, that the possibilities of music and self-expression are limitless, that’s what it’s all about for me.” Beautifully put – music understood as limitless possibility. Lovely stuff.
