Published: September 1, 2001

Richard Leo Johnson doesn't look like your typical Blue Note artist with his flaxen locks cascading down well below his shoulders and donning a double-necked guitar as used by Led Zeppelin at the height of 70's pomp rock pretentiousness, Johnson resembles a hippie throwback. And certainly the music contained on this sophomore release hardly fulfils accepted notions of jazz- All of which begs the question: what's goin' on?
Well, actually, Johnson does play a sort of jazz, but it's filtered through his own blues, folk and rock sensibility and delivered via his twin-necked 12 and 6-string acoustic guitar. His playing is quite magical, ranging from thick wedges of strummed chords to delicate finger picking filigrees. The opener, "Hip Hop Zep," has a lovely anecdote attached to it (as related by Johnson in the sleeve notes); apparently Johnson was attempting to come up with a hip-hop groove but a neighbor who overheard it thought the guitarist was playing a Led Zeppelin tune (hence the song's title).
Elsewhere, Johnson's playing encompasses aching lyrical ballads ("Sweet Jane Thyme"). Cajun swamp grooves ("Chuck Soup"), Hispanic-tinged jazz ("Sketches Of Miles"), the blues ("New West Helena Blues") and covers of jazz standards ("Cheek To Cheek").
Accomplished as he is on his Instrument, Johnson is much more than a skilled technician and brings a wide range of expression and nuance to what Is a pleasant yet unusual instrumental set.