Bluegrass multi-instrumentalist
David Johnson's gospel release,
Rock Foundation, is a set of original Christian tunes. Delivered in his attractively plain-spoken voice, the earnest lyrics are traditional testifying gospel set to largely acoustic tunes decorated by
Johnson's fiddle and mandolin, with bits of viola and cello on some of the more somber tunes. The results are pleasant but not earthshaking: the emotion behind songs like "Jesus My Lord" and "Let Me Fly" is undeniably pure and heartfelt, and
Johnson is clearly a fine musician, but the songs are hamstrung a bit by the pedestrian melodies and unimaginative, bare-bones production. ~ Stewart Mason