I remember seeing Tommy and Phil play every month or so at my local pub in Sydney Australia in the late 80s. It was in the outdoor beer garden with about 100 people at most. So relaxing and entertaining. And they were just like everyone else there. Down to earth Aussies
At 5:10 notice where his left thumb is, and how it stays stationary at the 7th fret as the other fingers move up and down to make the chord changes. Try it sometime.
Tommy is the most talented and amazingly entertaining acoustic guitarist on the planet. IMHO He can play any style. He loves to bring a country element for entertainment into his performances. Average people can relate to it more than strictly classical style. Tommy takes songs that people know and adds his flamboyant style. It is not music focused. It is entertainment.
He played the song, Walk Don't Run by the Venturs in the middle, and also it sounded like Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting by Elton John after that.
Tommy and his brother Phil learned to play by listening to records, not having any idea how many instruments were being used, they tried to play averything on one, bass, treble and percussion. They toured together, until Phil sadly passed away. Tommy is notoriously hard on guitars, he uses sandpaper to get the effects he wants. Listen to his initiation. He gives old guitars away.
I would say with Tommy condition isn't exactly a primary concern. He definitely puts those Maton guitars a workout. A song like Mombasa he definitely puts his guitar through the paces - but I also admire the fact that he's been loyal to the Australian guitar maker pretty much most of his playing career.
@@jamesrawlins735You may have already seen it, but if not, for you and other readers here I recommend “Tommy Emmanuel “Windy & Warm/Classical Gas” from 2017 on Music City Roots channel. The first half is obviously an homage to Chet Atkins then he shows his percussion skills in “Classical Gas”, There aren’t many videos that show why his Maton guitars get such a workout but this one sure does…. He was a percussionist for John Farnham’s band in his youth as well. There’s also a YT video from 1994 where Tommy plays guitar while John sings “Burn For You”. Back then John was a very supportive influence on Tommy to successfully conquer his addiction to certain substances. We have him to thank for bringing Tommy back from that and enabling him to develop into the great success he’s become. Tommy was one of the narrators for the Logie winning documentary “John Farnham: Finding The Voice”. It’s on UA-cam now.
Thanks for the great reaction. You should check out Australian band Cold Chisel “bow river” live 2003 one of the lead singers Ian Moss is also a phenomenal guitarist. This performance is insane all around
LOL, I'd wager that David Russell has a much better claim to title of best guitarist ever. I don't think Tommy could touch him. ua-cam.com/video/muFcUtlLufQ/v-deo.html no competition.
My favorite song by him is a collaboration with Chet Atkins that he plays solo in honor of Chet. Its called "Rocky Mountain Lullaby". The best version in my opinion is the live one from the Balboa Theatre. Please give it a listen.
The sound quality is slightly lacking but playing Les Paul's arrangement, in front of him, is extra touching. ua-cam.com/video/IoBbt5GrFuM/v-deo.htmlsi=fEkKX3jWdAOMZu3M He also plays at a Les Paul tribute but I couldn’t find a good video of it anymore.
The underlying theme was the riff from "Unforgiven" by Metallica. He added Elton Johns "Saturday nights alright for fighting" in there too. A true virtuoso, Tommy has been around playing on TV since I was a kid and I'm 55 now. He makes his living playing live gigs. ps. He's from Australia, as am I.
It sounds like 2 guitars because when he taught himself to play he just listened to songs on the radio. He didn't realise that what he was listening to was 2 guitars, so he just replicated it with 1
The riff from Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting by Elton John appears in the middle of this one. It's the section where you highlight the downpicking.
Great reaction. Anyway, can i request your reaction to superb band from japan? The band is call "Lovebites" They all The Beautiful Queens Metal band right now in the earth. They are really really World class musicians. Phenomenal. And they have a lot die hard fans too. The song is "We are the Resurrection" Hope you check out, and can enjoy it too. Big thanks🙏
It's difficult to put into words Tommy's playing but you do a good job. You are humble about your capabilities but sure you technique is more disappointed. A good subject to analyse would be Joe Bonamassa playing "just got paid " at the Royal Albert Hall.
Sorry, even though he kicks this song out of the ballpark with a mind-blowing virtuoso repertoire of guitar techniques and styles rolled up into a blistering rendition of a classic song, you've got to remember that Tommy is pretty average by comparison - after all, he didn't make it on to Rolling Stone magazine's Top 250 Guitar Players List from 2023. Heck, they had Neil Young at #30, so imagine how crappy a guitarist Rolling Stone thinks Tommy is...... LOL
I never get more upset than reading the Rolling Stones greatest lists. Of course they ignore pretty much any non-rock musician (other than someone like B.B. King). We all know that only rock guitarists (and drummers, for that matter) have any true "greatness". Classical, flamenco, bluegrass, blues, gypsy, country and other styles of music, please move to the end of the line - and then get out of the room. (At least with their greatest drummer list they admitted that they were rock centered so they intentionally left out most great jazz drummers (although they did list Buddy Rich as no. 15 - because there were - somehow - 14 greater drummers than Buddy Rich.)
You know who else didn't read music? Paco de Lucia - and he was one of the greatest flamenco and classical players of all time. Both Tommy and Paco are just mindboggling. It also explains why they spend so much time practicing to learn each number.
Killer reaction......so you have to.... no excuses.....this is compulsory.......please.........While My Guitar Gently Weeps .....Jake Shimabukuro.......ua-cam.com/video/qw6YL_l2YxA/v-deo.html
He is a great guitarist but he kind of destroyed the song by adding way too many flourishes and additions. I think only about 50% was the original song.
He was just having some fun for his fans. They expect it. He could have played it as Mason Williams played it, but where's the fun in that. Just listen to the original if that's what you want.
Only half of the original song is guitar. The other half is orchestral. It wouldn’t sound good - or like the original - if he just played those orchestral parts on an acoustic. He has talked about how long he worked on this song because he loves it, and Mason Williams is a friend of his, and he wanted to play it in his shows. But he realized early on that he needed to add other things into it to turn it into a solo performance piece.
@@richardnanian2446 That is a good point. I wonder if Mason gets any negative comments for including an orchestral section in an acoustic guitar song. I doubt it. Not saying the original comment went this far, but the amount of "hate" that Tommy gets for this performance is bizarre.
@@daveg2104 No, I don't think Mason gets any negative comments because he never claimed it was an acoustic guitar piece. He wrote it for guitar and orchestra. My guess is that many of the people criticizing Tommy Emmanuel's version are relying on memory of the original and think primarily of the first section, in which the guitar is dominant. They're not thinking about 1:12 into the song when suddenly the French horns and other instruments take over completely for the next 20 seconds. Then the guitar and orchestra pretty equally share the spotlight until the main guitar melody comes back in at 2:20, and even then the final section is again even between the guitar and orchestra until the end. Also, it's only a 3 minute song, whereas Emmanuel's version is almost half again as long.
![Classical Gas [Mason Williams] | Tommy Emmanuel REACTION](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-jfLClTWLUI/mqdefault.jpg)
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Walks on so confidently and you think he's going to be good 😂
Tommy just looks like he is having so much fun, when playing guitar.
My favorite guitar player. And both a great performer and genuinely nice man.
I remember seeing Tommy and Phil play every month or so at my local pub in Sydney Australia in the late 80s. It was in the outdoor beer garden with about 100 people at most. So relaxing and entertaining. And they were just like everyone else there. Down to earth Aussies
At 5:10 notice where his left thumb is, and how it stays stationary at the 7th fret as the other fingers move up and down to make the chord changes. Try it sometime.
I have tried it - you realise how amazing his playing is!
Tommy is the most talented and amazingly entertaining acoustic guitarist on the planet. IMHO He can play any style. He loves to bring a country element for entertainment into his performances. Average people can relate to it more than strictly classical style. Tommy takes songs that people know and adds his flamboyant style. It is not music focused. It is entertainment.
He played the song, Walk Don't Run by the Venturs in the middle, and also it sounded like Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting by Elton John after that.
That is exactly what he did!
Tommy usually does mash-ups on Classical Gas.
Very minor point but “Walk Don’t Run” was written by jazz guitar giant Johnny Smith. Venturers played his song.
The man is one of the best try his song Initiation Its shows his percussion play on guitar with heavy effects
Tommy, is the Jeff Beck, of acoustic guitar. 🎸
Agreed! Like that.
Self-taught genius.
Him and his brother Phillip were awesome together,
RIP Phil, still missed
Tommy and his brother Phil learned to play by listening to records, not having any idea how many instruments were being used, they tried to play averything on one, bass, treble and percussion. They toured together, until Phil sadly passed away. Tommy is notoriously hard on guitars, he uses sandpaper to get the effects he wants. Listen to his initiation. He gives old guitars away.
I would say with Tommy condition isn't exactly a primary concern. He definitely puts those Maton guitars a workout. A song like Mombasa he definitely puts his guitar through the paces - but I also admire the fact that he's been loyal to the Australian guitar maker pretty much most of his playing career.
@@jamesrawlins735You may have already seen it, but if not, for you and other readers here I recommend “Tommy Emmanuel “Windy & Warm/Classical Gas” from 2017 on Music City Roots channel. The first half is obviously an homage to Chet Atkins then he shows his percussion skills in “Classical Gas”, There aren’t many videos that show why his Maton guitars get such a workout but this one sure does…. He was a percussionist for John Farnham’s band in his youth as well. There’s also a YT video from 1994 where Tommy plays guitar while John sings “Burn For You”. Back then John was a very supportive influence on Tommy to successfully conquer his addiction to certain substances. We have him to thank for bringing Tommy back from that and enabling him to develop into the great success he’s become. Tommy was one of the narrators for the Logie winning documentary “John Farnham: Finding The Voice”. It’s on UA-cam now.
Thanks for the great reaction. You should check out Australian band Cold Chisel “bow river” live 2003 one of the lead singers Ian Moss is also a phenomenal guitarist. This performance is insane all around
Tommy is the greatest guitarist that has ever lived. Do a series on him. I like songs “the hunt” and “train to Düsseldorf” or Beatles melody
LOL, I'd wager that David Russell has a much better claim to title of best guitarist ever. I don't think Tommy could touch him. ua-cam.com/video/muFcUtlLufQ/v-deo.html no competition.
My favorite song by him is a collaboration with Chet Atkins that he plays solo in honor of Chet. Its called "Rocky Mountain Lullaby". The best version in my opinion is the live one from the Balboa Theatre. Please give it a listen.
Check out Tommy and his brother Phil in Paris. It really shows his humour and their cose relationship and feeding off one another.
Thank you for the suggestion!
This is a very pumped up version, very talented but my favorite version of this piece is by the Shadows.
Tommy does a beautiful version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow
The sound quality is slightly lacking but playing Les Paul's arrangement, in front of him, is extra touching.
ua-cam.com/video/IoBbt5GrFuM/v-deo.htmlsi=fEkKX3jWdAOMZu3M
He also plays at a Les Paul tribute but I couldn’t find a good video of it anymore.
Initiation is a must watch!
Check out Tommy's own composition named, 'Initiation'. It is a masterpiece !
My Father played with Tommy Been to his home for dinner.
Unbelievable!!!
👍🎩👌
someone noted the Elton John bit, there was also a bit of surf music melody there ('Walk, Don't Run' I believe).
The underlying theme was the riff from "Unforgiven" by Metallica. He added Elton Johns "Saturday nights alright for fighting" in there too.
A true virtuoso, Tommy has been around playing on TV since I was a kid and I'm 55 now. He makes his living playing live gigs.
ps. He's from Australia, as am I.
It sounds like 2 guitars because when he taught himself to play he just listened to songs on the radio. He didn't realise that what he was listening to was 2 guitars, so he just replicated it with 1
Tommy's best work is "Initiation".
yes
The riff from Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting by Elton John appears in the middle of this one. It's the section where you highlight the downpicking.
The small piece in the middle was a bit of Elton Johns song "Saturday nights alright for fightin'
Check out John Butler “Ocean”
He even threw in a little Elton John, 😊
Nononononononononono.
You needed to look at his Somewhere Over the Rainbow performance.
I would love you to do a video on Guthrie Govan. Not very famous but one of the best rock guitarists out there. Maybe "Boing, we'll do it live!"
Check out the Notting Hillbillies
Great reaction. Anyway, can i request your reaction to superb band from japan?
The band is call "Lovebites"
They all The Beautiful Queens Metal band right now in the earth.
They are really really World class musicians. Phenomenal.
And they have a lot die hard fans too.
The song is "We are the Resurrection"
Hope you check out, and can enjoy it too. Big thanks🙏
It's difficult to put into words Tommy's playing but you do a good job. You are humble about your capabilities but sure you technique is more disappointed.
A good subject to analyse would be Joe Bonamassa playing "just got paid " at the Royal Albert Hall.
Sorry, even though he kicks this song out of the ballpark with a mind-blowing virtuoso repertoire of guitar techniques and styles rolled up into a blistering rendition of a classic song, you've got to remember that Tommy is pretty average by comparison - after all, he didn't make it on to Rolling Stone magazine's Top 250 Guitar Players List from 2023. Heck, they had Neil Young at #30, so imagine how crappy a guitarist Rolling Stone thinks Tommy is...... LOL
I never get more upset than reading the Rolling Stones greatest lists. Of course they ignore pretty much any non-rock musician (other than someone like B.B. King). We all know that only rock guitarists (and drummers, for that matter) have any true "greatness". Classical, flamenco, bluegrass, blues, gypsy, country and other styles of music, please move to the end of the line - and then get out of the room. (At least with their greatest drummer list they admitted that they were rock centered so they intentionally left out most great jazz drummers (although they did list Buddy Rich as no. 15 - because there were - somehow - 14 greater drummers than Buddy Rich.)
@@jamesrawlins735 And since he isn't American, they tend to forget us Australians when making their top whatever lists.
Rolling Stones is the IGN of music. Their opinion is worthless now.
I tried to give a thumb's up, it wouldn't let me, you may be missing sub's and thumbs ups.
I still prefer Mason Williams but it was ok
ONE of the two men on your screen can read music. . . Guess which one cannot read music?
Yep. . The guy playing AMAZING stuff on a guitar!
You know who else didn't read music? Paco de Lucia - and he was one of the greatest flamenco and classical players of all time. Both Tommy and Paco are just mindboggling. It also explains why they spend so much time practicing to learn each number.
Killer reaction......so you have to.... no excuses.....this is compulsory.......please.........While My Guitar Gently Weeps .....Jake Shimabukuro.......ua-cam.com/video/qw6YL_l2YxA/v-deo.html
AI Fake Guitar ?
He is a great guitarist but he kind of destroyed the song by adding way too many flourishes and additions. I think only about 50% was the original song.
He was just having some fun for his fans. They expect it. He could have played it as Mason Williams played it, but where's the fun in that. Just listen to the original if that's what you want.
Only half of the original song is guitar. The other half is orchestral. It wouldn’t sound good - or like the original - if he just played those orchestral parts on an acoustic.
He has talked about how long he worked on this song because he loves it, and Mason Williams is a friend of his, and he wanted to play it in his shows. But he realized early on that he needed to add other things into it to turn it into a solo performance piece.
@@richardnanian2446 That is a good point. I wonder if Mason gets any negative comments for including an orchestral section in an acoustic guitar song. I doubt it. Not saying the original comment went this far, but the amount of "hate" that Tommy gets for this performance is bizarre.
@@daveg2104 No, I don't think Mason gets any negative comments because he never claimed it was an acoustic guitar piece. He wrote it for guitar and orchestra.
My guess is that many of the people criticizing Tommy Emmanuel's version are relying on memory of the original and think primarily of the first section, in which the guitar is dominant. They're not thinking about 1:12 into the song when suddenly the French horns and other instruments take over completely for the next 20 seconds. Then the guitar and orchestra pretty equally share the spotlight until the main guitar melody comes back in at 2:20, and even then the final section is again even between the guitar and orchestra until the end. Also, it's only a 3 minute song, whereas Emmanuel's version is almost half again as long.
@@daveg2104 I also suspect that Mason would absolutely have enjoyed Tommy's arrangement of his now classic piece.