and certainly among the most influential acoustic guitarists.

I've only got a handful of his albums myself but have probably heard 8 or so of them (and he's got a lot more than that). I want to say I played on the instrumental trio tracks from Mudlark in The Listening Room last fall, and you commented favorably (though I can't say with certainty that you were there). Mudlark might be my favorite of his albums, and the reviews on Amazon show at least a few others agree.

I say he's two of the greatest guitarists because his initial style was very much in the rolling-thumb-bassline John-Hurt-Via-John-Fahey style (the US version of the Graham/Jansch/Renbourn school), just, like, on steroids. He wasn't as interested in the meditative/contemplative potentials of fingerstyle as Fahey, but his first records are very much at home in the Takoma discography.

Then at some point around 1980, give or take, he got some sort of hand ailment and took a few years off. When he came back, the story goes that he basically had to teach himself how to play completely differently to accommodate the way his hand had changed. As a result his later compositions are wider-ranging, and more often than not lack the clear debt to folk traditions both stylistically and melodically. I like both styles very much but generally feel his later stuff comes across better live (I've never seen him but have the 1970 live one (My Feet Are Smiling, I think it's called) and one from about 1995; they're very different but both outstanding.)

Then there's his songwriting, which has always run very much on the 'quirky' side of things... I still hear both Jack Gets Up and Pepe Hush on WXPN with some frequency, and neither sounds out of place in the AAA mix. His singing's a bit of Leonard Cohen without the seriousness. He's got quite a few great originals.

One of my favorite clips is a backstage view of Leo and the late great Michael Hedges from an early tour together ('88, apparently) messing around on 'Doodles' - they both look so young and just play the living fuck out the tune, having so much fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_5m4lomm4Y - only problem is we can't see Leo's fingers.

So anyway, not sure what else you might be looking for on him. I think he's fucking great.