Flashback CD Review #112 - John Gorka - Writing in the Margins

This review was written for the Rock Is Life.com website in 2006.

John Gorka
Writing in the Margins
Red House Records - 2006
http://www.johngorka.com

What's The 4-1-1?

The latest CD from John Gorka comes three years after his last album Old Futures Gone. It is a 12 song collection that addresses a variety of topics with the Gorka's unique vocal and lyrical spin. The CD features guest appearances from Lucy Kaplansky and Nanci Griffith.

Genre

Folk / Singer-songwriter / pop / country

The Good

I really liked the more up-tempo songs. For me, John Gorka's turn of phrase and smooth vocal delivery seem to work best on the songs with a fast tempo on this album.

There's some great music backing the vocals, but everything that makes Gorka successful stems from his writing ability and singing. His songs range from love, war, hope and more.

"Satellites" is a quick 2 minute plus song with a sweet smooth delivery. "Bluer State" has the perfect blend of music and lyrics.

"I Miss Everyone" made me laugh a bit with the lyrics in the song. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but I just thought the words were both great and funny at the same time.

The title track and "When You Sing" were two other personal favorites on the disc.

The Bad

"Chance of Rain" and "Broken Place" are two rather slow tracks that lead off the album. I thought the former was okay, but didn't care for the latter. However, putting them both as the first two songs the listener hears just gets the CD off on the wrong foot to me.

I found that reading the lyrics in the song booklet did me little good since at least 3 of the songs had varying degrees of different lyrics from song to booklet. While none of the songs are what would be termed "bad", I just found the slower tempo tracks a bit ponderous this time around.

The Verdict

I liked exactly half the album, 6 of the 12 tracks. I am normally very fond of John Gorka's slower material, but I just don't feel that way with this CD. I'm sure long time Gorka fans will love the album and anyone into folk music will find a bunch to love, but to be honest I think this album is a bit weaker than some of his more recent material.

Did You Know?

"When You Sing" was written after Gorka met one of his favorite singer, Mavis Staples. The album is dedicated to Red House Records founder/president Bob Feldman who passed away at the age of 56 on January 11th, 2006.