Tommy Emmanuel And Raul Malo Release 'Far Away Places' Video

08-08-2023

Album art

Tommy Emmanuel helped Raul Malo celebrate his birthday on Monday by sharing a music video for their new collaboration "Far Away Places". SRO sent over these details:

The acoustically performed song is a tender and aching expression of longing. It appears on EMMANUEL's current album ACCOMPLICE TWO (the follow-up to 2018's Accomplice One album) that was released this past April via CGP Sounds. "Far Away Places" is an American standard, written by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer, first popularized by Bing Crosby and then Vera Lynn. Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard (for Neighborhoods Apart) directed and edited the video, which captures EMMANUEL and Malo recording the song live together at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, TN. The video was premiered earlier today Glide.

"When you work with Tommy, anything is possible," says Malo, who turns in a masterfully subtle and emotionally stirring performance. "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."

"I chose to put this song as the final one on this album because it leaves us with a feeling of comfort and lets us marvel over such a great vocal performance," says TOMMY. "It was my honor to record with Raul-he's in a league of his own!"

Q&A with TOMMY About "Far Away Places":

What inspired your collaboration with Raul Malo on "Far Away Places"?

"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. I chose "Faraway Places" for its beautiful melody, simple structure and Raul's fabulous style of singing it! As you can see by the video, it was a stunning and perfect vocal performance by Raul-I am so proud to be his accompanist!"

"Far Away Places" is an American standard, written by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer, and first popularized in 1948 by Bing Crosby (peaking at #2 on the Billboard chart). What led you to interpret the song?

"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."

On this track, you play with nylon string and steel string guitars. Can you talk about the dynamic of playing these two different guitars and what it brings to the song?

"I played my Kirk San Nylon-string guitar for the main accompaniment, then overdubbed the solo on my Maton Steel String. I kept it simple and tried to stay on the melody in my solo, an obvious choice to me."