his first studio album, "face of the deep" (1980), managed to conjure aural landscapes in the ears of his listeners with his synthesizer infused progressive rock renditions of fantasy works. the album begins with the pensive image of rodin's the thinker. songs are inspired by writings such as charles williams' "all hallows' eve", and by the paintings of gauguin and renoir's "the moulin de la galette". johnson completes his treatment of these aural landscapes with on-location recordings of atmospheric sounds such as rain storms and creaking gates - incorporating them into the music in an artful way.