Kiss the Earth
Johannes Linstead is a Canadian-born guitarist with a European-sounding name who composes and performs music best described as Latin lite. Linstead, a native of Toronto, plays an easy-on-the-ear brand of flamenco music that will likely frustrate genre purists but will endear him to listeners who enjoy flamenco's sunnier side, minus its earthier traditions. Linstead's capable playing, backed by polite percussion and, occasionally, piano and wind instruments, is clean, colorful, and spirited, and his sense of melody, tinged by pop instincts (most evident on "Mezza Luna"), yields an easy-listening, feel-good atmosphere that never really lags from start to finish. Make no mistake, any listener searching for flamenco music brimming with bold ethnic flourishes is advised to look elsewhere. But for people in the mood for a friendly, melodic approach to flamenco played with style and respectable panache, Linstead's music makes a nice choice.--Terry Wood