“When I asked Raul to sing a song with me for this album, he sent me three choices of Sam Cooke recordings. We knew it had to be a song that would suit just voice and guitar, not a big production,” describes acoustic guitar master Tommy Emmanuel about his recent song collaboration with Raul Malo of The Mavericks for his 2023 duets album Accomplice Two.
The song chosen was “Faraway Places” a song written by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer, and first popularized in 1948 by Bing Crosby. Emmanuel chose it as he describes “for its beautiful melody, simple structure and Raul’s fabulous style of singing it.”
Of course, there are plenty of nimble fretboard fireworks on Accomplice Two (the follow-up to 2019’s Accomplice One), but it’s the collaborative spark of acoustic guitar and voice that makes the album such a spirited listen. Friends and heroes that include Michael McDonald, Little Feat, Jorma Kaukonen, Billy Strings, Sam Bush and more knock out 16 songs that include both originals and familiar favorites.
On Malo’s birthday today (August 7th), Glide is premiering the video for “Far Away Places,” directed and edited by Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard for Neighborhoods Apart. As you can hear by two masters at their best, even a 75-year-old standard can sound pristinely poignant.
“When you work with Tommy, anything is possible. His command of arrangements and melodies allows you to dig deep into a treasure chest of songs that only a few on the planet dare play. He is that kind of musician,” adds Malo about working with the acoustic great.
“I didn’t hear the original Bing Crosby version; I heard Sam Cooke singing it and knew Raul would smash it out of the park! With a tight schedule to keep, I had to choose a song that I could arrange quickly and get a recording / performance in one or two takes. Raul and I did two takes and the second one is the one we thought was the best.” adds Emmanuel.
One Response
Absolutely wonderful! Raul and Tommy are two of my favourite musicians. We went to a recent Mavericks concert in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and it was one of the best concerts we’ve ever attended (and we go to a lot of concerts). We went to one of Tommy’s concerts in Toronto, and needless to say, it was unforgettable. Thanks guys!