AMG Review of Mystery

Ken Dryden
All Music Guide

Tommy Emmanuel has earned a reputation in his native Australia as a master guitarist who dabbles in many different musical styles. Utilizing a number of acoustic and electric instruments, sometimes overdubbed on a single track, it is easy to appreciate his formidable technique, though his original compositions don't leave much of a lasting impression. Virtuosity for its own sake can grow tiresome, much like excessive multi-tracking, so Emmanuel is best appreciated when he is holding back just a little, as in "Lewis & Clark" and the touching ballad "Footprints." The one vocal track features Emmanuel sharing duties with Elizabeth Watkins, sounding like the contemporary country made popular on music video channels. This is a pleasant, well-engineered CD, with obvious comparisons in spots to the late Nashville guitar master Chet Atkins.