Mystery
When Tommy Emmanuel opened this new album with the fire-breathing "Cantina Senese," I suspected he was finally going to do the rip-roaring country-old-timey-Celtic-jazz CD featuring the crowd-pleasing tunes he pulls out during concerts. But it doesn't take him long to slip into the more lyrical playing that has turned up on his recent discs. And that's not a bad thing. Emmanuel is the kind of player who scares other guitarists to death with the range of his influences and the precision of his technique. You can hear both on tracks like "Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag," with Emmanuel doing the 1930s Django Reinhardt thing. But the album is also full of delicate reveries like "The Mystery" and "The Digger's Waltz," the latter based on the military "Taps." The only shortcoming is "Walls," with Emmanuel and his wife, Elizabeth Watkins, in a vocal duet. It's heartfelt but sentimental, and its country-pop sound is like a speed bump in the middle of the disc. But he quickly redeems this "what the hell?" moment with "Lewis & Clark," as he plays gentle cross-rhythms against a melody that unfolds like an epic tale.The Mysteryisn't definitive Tommy Emmanuel, but it shows why he's not only one of the finest players, but also one of the most detailed composers for finger-style guitar.--John Diliberto