Tommy Emmanuel is a real guitarist in its truest sense. On Live At The Sydney Opera House, he stands onstage with only an acoustic guitar, and mesmerizes a packed house. His virtuosity employs country, Celtic, and folk fingerpicking styles that lift the spirit. The set is loaded with fan favorites, but a song suggestion from Emmylou Harris puts icing on the cake.
Live At The Sydney Opera House is an amazing record.
We recorded two shows, but the album is 85 percent the first show. We only took a bit from the second. The flow of the first was definitely better, and my playing was just a little more on. It’s hard to be objective about your playing, but we all felt the first show was better. “American Tune” is from the second show.
It’s hard to go wrong with a brilliant song.
I thought I was pretty aware of Paul Simon’s songs, but it wasn’t until I was working with Emmylou Harris that I got turned on to “American Tune.” She called because we were doing a benefit in Nashville. She said, “I wanna do ‘American Tune.’” I said, “What’s that?” (laughs) I had to look it up. I was stunned and amazed when I heard the song.
I had to learn it quickly to back Emmylou singing it. When the show finished and I was driving, I thought, “I love this song so much.” I had the chords under my hands, so I figured out how to play the melody and the chords at the same time, then put it in my show the following week.
Do you choose songs that have the most impact, or do you perform personal favorites?
If there are certain things I really want on the record, I’ll play them. I want to make records for the fans and the public. Not all the songs I played made it to the album.
When you play “The Jolly Swagman,” the audience’s eyes light up.
I played it last night, and people were on their feet by the end. “The Jolly Swagman” is from “Waltzing Matilda”: “Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong under the shade of a coolabah tree” is the opening line. I figured the Jolly Swagman should have his own tune (laughs).
It’s the hardest tune to play because you have to pick the melody with down strokes to create the up beats. Then, you have to catch the melody on the up strokes. You’ve got to get that right, but it’s not easy. Sometimes, when I play a tune like that, part of me goes, “Why the hell did I write something so difficult to play!?” I was trying to write in an Irish fiddle style.
How are your Maton signature guitars holding up?
They’re unbelievable. There isn’t another guitar out there that has the kind of punch these guitars have. When you plug into a P.A., you have so much front on the note and this beautiful character around it. What you’re hearing on the album is the guitar direct, the guitar going through a Udo Roesner amp, and the P.A. It sounds really good.
What’s unique about them?
The selection of the wood, the angle of the neck – things like that. You can get really good action on them; I can keep the necks real straight and put heavy strings on them, and they won’t have too much tension. It’s all about that angle of the neck. I like plenty of meat on the saddle, and I don’t want the saddle too low. To get a lot of pressure on the saddle, the neck must fall back a little bit so you can get the action nice and get pressure off. A lot of builders build with a lot of tension into it so it’s loud. My guitars are like that, too, but they’re not impossible to play (laughs).
I can play a Maton all day and all night and it won’t wear me out. I need all the notes to be clear and ringing into one another. You don’t want to be fighting the action to do that. A lot of people think I sit with an amp when I practice. I don’t. I practice acoustically. I get all my clarity and all the power behind what I’m doing just from the guitar, acoustically. Then I plug in and it’s multiplied.
What’s next for you?
I just finished recording a new solo album of mostly original new songs. I did it in four days with Vance Powell, who produces Chris Stapleton. We’re in the happiness business (laughs). – Oscar Jordan
This article originally appeared in VG’s June 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
