AS USUAL there is a glut of albums released in the run up to Christmas and it’s impossible to review them all in detail but inevitably some stand out for different reasons.
Two totally different albums almost slipped through the net but were caught in time.
I first saw Tommy Emmanuel’s name many years ago on a poster in Boyle, Co. Roscommon. He is now a two-time Grammy nominee and one of Australia’s best-loved and most respected musicians.
Tommy has just released a new double CD compilation, The Guitar Mastery of Tommy Emmanuel, and he will be in Britain in the New Year for a series of gigs to support it. If you enjoy guitar wizardry this is for you and he is no slouch on the occasional vocal either.
Trisha Yearwood is a multiple award-winning country artist with a great voice who is now on her 12th album. PrizeFighter: Hit After Hit is a mixture of classics and new material from the Georgia-born singer who is married to fellow Country star Garth Brooks.
Garth joins her in a duet on In Another’s Eyes — a terrific track among so many on a great 16-song country album that changes tempo regularly, thus avoiding the same-tempo trap of some albums. A must for Yearwood fans who are probably aware that she has also written two best-selling cookbooks.
