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WESTBORO - When Michael Johnson hit the charts back in 1978 with "Bluer Than Blue," there were many who saw him as an overnight success, one of the lucky ones who draws a winning hand right from the start.
Not so. Johnson had already logged 10 years on the club and coffeehouse circuit when he got his break. So, when the hits stopped coming, and the big record contracts weren't there any longer, Johnson returned to the places where he got his start. Sunday night at the Old Vienna Kaffeehaus he delivered a polished, finely- crafted performance for an audience of 50.
It was immediately evident that classical guitar training lurked somewhere in Johnson's musical background. His instrumental work is fluid and controlled, with chords and single-string passages blended seamlessly in melodic structures well beyond what one expects to hear from many of today's...