Customer Reviews

Journey

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's been, what, 6 years since this album was released. I still consider track 5 "The Journey" to be one of the 3 best EVER recorded, the other two being Stairway to Heaven and Classical Gas by Mason Williams. I defy anyone not to get chills down their spine when it gets to the crescendo at the end!

The rest of the album is okay, and quite good in some parts, but it's the title track that blows my mind and makes the whole album worth purchasing.

After seeing Tommy Emmanuel live, I have a greater respect
for his talent(s).I've owned 'The Journey,'since its initial
release;this isn't a consistently great disk...considering:
how amazing his Denver performance was!!!I can -at best-
rate this CD 4 stars.There are some wonderful songs, yet,
nothing to prepare you for his concerts.That being said, this is a CD of tremendous depth, and variety.RECOMMENDED!!!

A guitar playing friend of mine introduced me to Tommy Emmanuel's The Journey CD about 5 years ago, and it has been a staple in my listening diet ever since. I love great instrumental guitar work, and have CD's from Satriani, Johnson, Vai, and others. For pure listening pleasure, though, I always crank this one up. Try it, you'll love it!

I first heard about Tommy E from some friends in New Zealand who saw him in concert and said he was the best guitarist they'd ever seen. As soon as I listened to the sample songs on "The Journey", I knew I had to have it. Since then, I've bought "Midnight Drive" for myself and "The Journey" for two friends. I play these two CDs over and over and over...and I still can't get enough! I hear the songs in my head even when the radio is off - wow! There are so many good songs on "The Journey" but the one that knocks me out is "Initiation". Just listen to all the little nuances in this song! I like to crank it up, close my eyes, and let the music just carry me away. I don't know if Tommy plans to tour the U.S., but I'd sure like to experience his music live. What a talent!

A couple of months back I located a list titled 20-best ACOUSTIC guitar CDs ever made. Tommy Emmanuel's CD ONLY was on the list. I bought the CD and it certainly belonged there. What a great CD!

I then bought THE JOURNEY and liked it even better. If there is a 20-best ELECTRIC guitar CDs ever made list, this needs to be on it and near the top of the list. The title song draws off of some of the native Australian rhythms and is classic.

Rarely in life do you find such a complete musician! He has mastered both the acoustic and electric guitar plus can play just about any janra (new age, jazz, rock, country) and sound good.

My family and friends are all musicians. Once I loaned ONLY and THE JOURNEY out they were like a brush fire. Everyone loved them. Next on the list is ENDLESS ROAD. I've heard good things about it also.

This album sneaked into the UK without much of a fanfare. It seemed to be deleted quite soon after and yet it's surely nothing less than a tour de force in terms of guitar playing.

Like Satriani, Emmanuel can play fast and furious, or slow and mellow - but always with his eye on melody and structure. No frantic riffing just to show how fast he can dismember the fretboard. There is humour too - listen to the way track 1 starts and then develops. This is definitely an album to listen to if you enjoy unabashed, exurberant guitar playing.

Then contrast it with his recordings with Chet Atkins on the 'Guitar pickers' album.

This man has Versatility (with a capital 'V') in his fingertips. Listen and be amazed. But most of all --- enjoy.

This guy rocks steadily and hard. In the spirit of Rory Gallagher and John Zorn, with a bit of Stevie Ray thrown in. Whatever the influences, he's coming up with something new and fresh. For lovers of straight instrumental guitar, re Satriani, to Django, to Kotke, give this guy a chance. He will win you over!!

BEK

Tommy Emmanuel has produced consistently good music since he began playing in pubs in Australia about 9 or 10 years ago. This album is no exception. His country style is reminiscent of Chet Atkins' work while his rock music is of fabulous quality. I can highly recommend any of Tommy's work. Too bad Amazon doesn't carry the complete collection.

It doesn't matter what genre(s) you prefer, if you are a devotée of mind-boggling axemanship, you will be stunned by the genius of Tommy Emmanuel on this CD. I'm not easy to please, either. It took nothing less than the Hellecasters to convince me that instrumental music played by professional guitarists with vision was not a dying paradigm. And now there's Tommy.

I first heard his music played over the sound system as walk-in music at a Kenny G concert mixed by the legendary Al Tucker, one of the greatest living live audio engineers. As usual, the system *sparkled*, and here's this unbelievable guitar work just blowing minds in super hi-fi. It was incredible! I ran up to Tucker and asked him "Who was that?!!!" He said "Tommy Emmanuel, an Australian guitarist, and you can't buy his CDs here in the States." That was then - this is now. Buy this CD before it goes out of print.

"Invisible Man" has the wailing intensity of Larry Carlton's work on Steely Dan's "Don't Take Me Alive", with some great guest slide guitar by Joe Walsh. Abraham Laboriel's bass gives the whole piece incredible motion.

The laid back groove in "Big Brother" gives way to a bouncy chorus that counterbalances the bluesy tone and feel of the rest of the tune.

Abraham Laboriel is back on "Somethin's Goin' On", and the tune captures a fascinating mix of vibes - see if doesn't take you a bunch of places that you haven't been since the 1970's - if you were around then.

"Hellos & Goodbyes" is reminiscent of the more melodic and stately themes of Russ Freeman and The Rippingtons, with Tommy providing the same impeccably executed nylon-string guitar work you'd expect from Russ. The orchestral arrangement paints a lush backdrop for the solo sax of Dave Koz. To paraphrase cowboy poet Rob Blair, this tune will jerk tears out of a brass monkey.

"The Journey" rightly deserves to be the title track. I'm listening to it as I write this, and the hair on my arms is standing straight up on top of mile-high goosebumps. The whole CD would have been worth owning just for this track. If I had to pick one word for this tune, it would have to be majestic. It would be something incredible to see and hear this tune played live, mixed with this kind of production. Al Tucker could do it.

What a phenomenal job of track selection to put "If Your Heart Tells You To" next in the lineup. Jeff "CJ" Vanston's piano is strung with heartstrings. This tune is sweet.

"Like Family" is a pure skipping song. You're tripping along on a happy groove - and then watch out for the bridge - it explodes! And then just as suddenly, you're in a pure rhythm groove with island vibes, and it sets up for Tommy's sassy re-entry.

You're not gonna believe "Don't Hold Me Back". You remember John Jorgenson's tour-de-force on "Orange Blossom Special" (The Return of the Hellecasters)? (The 'Casters always joke at the live gigs about that being their obligatory "fiddle tune".) This is in that league - this is as good as hot guitar ever gets. But with this tune, you really get the "fiddle" -- at the end, Tommy trades licks with violinist Jerry Goodman, and they had to have had fire extinguishers in the studio - the guys absolutely BURN on this one.

"Villa Anita" is Tommy's first outing with Chet Atkins - a tasty piece with some spectacular textures reminiscent of Erlend Krauser's imaginative production. A great tune.

"White Picket Fences" will make you smile. What a stunning arrangement - a classic example of the "less is more" principle. If I hadn't mentioned the relatively sparse instrumentation (compared to the rest of the album), you'd never have noticed.

You want pure rock 'n' roll? You got it in "The Big Swell". If they played this live, NO ONE would be sitting down, except the wheelchair guys, and they'd be rockin' too. This is pure energy, pure exuberance, pure simple raw energy. When they recorded it, they pulled the faders down, but I'll bet the band didn't stop.

"Initiation" is a classic, brooding piece of acoustic steel string in reverberated, delayed, interplay with itself. One guitar can create and resolve a lot of tension.

The album is eclectic - look it up in Webster's, as Derek Taylor used to say. It's good enough to study. If you love guitar, you'll love this album. If you're a guitar player, you have no excuse for not owning it...unless you're not serious about hearing the craft performed by one of the world's most able craftsmen. Tommy is high-class, first-rate -- any superlative you can think of misses the mark. Listen to this, and see for yourself.