Thirteen Year Emergence Suite: Prometheus Meets the Digital Age
Thirteen Year Emergence Suite: Empitsu No Uta
With all his incredible virtuosic technique, and a boatload of imaginative tunings and improvisational structures, Richard Leo Johnson falls squarely into the "where've they been all these years?" file. Johnson, a professi... more »onal photographer whose interest in the acoustic guitar compelled him to practice and play constantly, has devised multiple unique tunings and fingerings, turning his double-neck acoustic into far more than the sum of its strings, chords, and customary harmonic possibilities. Where the late Michael Hedges once walked, Johnson is now sprinting, playing at frantic speeds with pile-ups of notes and hard-strummed concatenations making the ear race to follow. For all the tunings and preparations, though, there are eminently warm moments, albeit ones that will fascinate the ears of the adventurous and the guitarophile equally: "Prometheus Meets the Digital Age" is full of middle-low register playing that invokes a Dobro before going into clipped repetitions that sound unreproducible. Johnson is a magical talent and perhaps the next in a short line of guitar greats--a line that includes Hedges, Derek Bailey, Pat Metheny, Sonny Sharrock, and precious few others. --Andrew Bartlett« less
With all his incredible virtuosic technique, and a boatload of imaginative tunings and improvisational structures, Richard Leo Johnson falls squarely into the "where've they been all these years?" file. Johnson, a professional photographer whose interest in the acoustic guitar compelled him to practice and play constantly, has devised multiple unique tunings and fingerings, turning his double-neck acoustic into far more than the sum of its strings, chords, and customary harmonic possibilities. Where the late Michael Hedges once walked, Johnson is now sprinting, playing at frantic speeds with pile-ups of notes and hard-strummed concatenations making the ear race to follow. For all the tunings and preparations, though, there are eminently warm moments, albeit ones that will fascinate the ears of the adventurous and the guitarophile equally: "Prometheus Meets the Digital Age" is full of middle-low register playing that invokes a Dobro before going into clipped repetitions that sound unreproducible. Johnson is a magical talent and perhaps the next in a short line of guitar greats--a line that includes Hedges, Derek Bailey, Pat Metheny, Sonny Sharrock, and precious few others. --Andrew Bartlett
"Richard Leo Johnson has outdone Hedges in edgey, percussive, harmonic-ringing playing, but not in musical interest. Johnson still has to be heard to be believed, though. And just when you think he's worn out every textural possibility a guitar is capable of, he goes and plays an entire song above the nut! -and it's actually captivating! Ok, so why do I withhold my fifth star? It's because there is very little breathing room to Johnson's composition style, and even less lyricisim. It is just relentlessly rhythmic and fast. However, I find myself strangely addicted and keep going back to it, like some kind of wierd cheese facination. Anyway, Don Ross' recent debut on Narada: "Passion Session" is another outgrowth of the Hedges phenominon, but a more sucessfull one. Ross is MUCH more musical, without selling out to the modern "pretty boys" of the fasionable fingerpick set. Buy both of these CD's for some real humility if you play."
Inventive Chop Master
Robert Lunte | Seattle, WA USA | 07/13/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If your a solo guitar lightweight, i wouldn't reccomend this CD. Its heavy on techniques, chops and abstract usage of tapping & captuirng weird new sounds out of the guitar.To that end, It IS however, extremely interesting and this player is clearly a technical wizard. If you want pretty new age melodies, stick with Will Ackerman, if you want something more progressive, check this one out.Guitarists will like it a lot..."
Acoustic guitar nirvana
artshogun | 10/07/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"this guy is beyond anything i have ever heard on acoustic guitar, including the great Michael Hedges. if you like Hedges or any sort of guitar virtuosity get your hands on this album. he is so good it makes your head hurt. (in a good way)"
Outstanding!!
Robert Lunte | 12/01/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"My husband and I were first introduced to Richard Leo Johnson on a radio station while in the car. It was a surreal experience. Thankfully we had our cell phone and were able to call the station to ask who the artist was and what album the song was on. Through this album titled Fingertip Ship Johnson has won me over! When made aware that this was a solo album, I was incredulous. How can any one person with 10 fingers master an acoustic instrument in this manner? Tracks such as "Prometheus Meets the Digital Age" and "Get Funked" (track six, spelling accurate, don't worry) propels the listener to believe that surely there is more than one track being heard. "Mother's Day" displays yet another aspect of Johnson's ability by creating a tender, thoughtful piece of musical scenery. Flawlessly produced, creatively inspired, Johnson truly has a gift. Would love to see his photography! If done with the skill and passion of his musical ablilities it must be amazing!...."
See him LIVE!
Steven D. Smith | Plymouth | 07/03/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I just got back from the Saratoga Jazz Festival, where I heard the strangest jazz guitar quartet playing in the gazebo as I walked by. Intrigued, I went around the front to see who these virtuosos (virtuosi? virtuosusses?) were. But it wasn't a quartet. It was one man. Richard Leo Johnson. As I watched I realized he wasn't playing everything I was hearing. I couldn't quite figure it out until I saw him hit some pedals and put down his guitar, and the melody continued! Using digital sampling, Richard was able to layer four guitars atop on another. Each new layer was greeted with some laughs as he stopped playing and the music kept going, as if the audience suddenly thought they had been "fooled" somehow. But I never laughed. I just moved closer and closer to the stage, mesmerized by this guitar genius."