Land of the Bottom Line

Last updated

Land of the Bottom Line
Gorka LotBL.jpg
Studio album by
John Gorka
Released1990
Recorded Woodbridge, New Jersey, US
Genre Folk
Singer-songwriter
Length59:27
Label High Street/Windham Hill
Producer Bill Kollar
John Gorka chronology
I Know
(1987)		Land of the Bottom Line
(1990)		 Jack's Crows
(1991)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1] link
Fast Folk (favorable) [2]
Sing Out! (not rated) [3]

Land of the Bottom Line is the second album by contemporary folk singer-songwriter John Gorka. The album was also Gorka's major label debut for High Street Records/Windham Hill Records. The album was highly acclaimed by critics at the time, and continues to be cited by some as Gorka's finest work. The album's fifteen tracks and near hour-long length also provided an unusually large amount of music for a recording of that era. As Sing Out! editor Mark Moss noted in a review, the topics covered run "the gamut of John's favorite subjects: love, hard luck, local characters, and more." [3]

Contents

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Gorka, unless otherwise noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Land of the Bottom Line" 3:35
2."Armed with a Broken Heart" 3:31
3."Raven in the Storm"John Gorka; Geoff Bartley 3:16
4."The One That Got Away" 3:46
5."Full of Life" 3:14
6."Stranger in My Driver's Seat" 3:37
7."The Sentinel" 3:56
8."Dream Street" 3:11
9."Mean Streak" 2:32
10."Italian Girls" 5:48
11."Jailbirds in the Bighouse" 3:54
12."Promnight in Pigtown" 5:21
13."I Saw a Stranger With Your Hair" 4:02
14."Love Is Our Cross to Bear" 4:57
15."That's How Legends Are Made" 4:47
Total length:59:27

Personnel

Musicians: (see individual song listings below)

Production:

Artwork:

Songs

  1. "Land of the Bottom Line"
    Gorka first recorded the song for a 1984 issue of Fast Folk Musical Magazine (FF 103, March 1984)
    Musicians:
  2. "Armed with a Broken Heart"
    Musicians:
  3. "Raven in the Storm"
    The lyrics to Raven in the storm were co-written with Geoff Bartley. The two artist also collaborate on the song "Mystery to Me" which appeared years later on Gorka's Out of the Valley .
    There have been a number of artists to cover this song:
    Musicians:
  4. "The One That Got Away"
    Musicians:
  5. "Full of Life"
    Musicians:
  6. "Stranger in My Driver's Seat"
    Musicians:
  7. "The Sentinel"
    Musicians:
  8. "Dream Street"
    Musicians:
  9. "Mean Streak"
    Gorka's liner notes read, "'Mean Streak' is dedicated to Cliff Eberhardt and his bad attitude."
    Musicians:
  10. "Italian Girls"
    Musicians:
  11. "Jailbirds in the Bighouse"
    Musicians:
  12. "Promnight in Pigtown"
    Musicians:
  13. "I Saw a Stranger With Your Hair"
    "I Saw a Stranger with Your Hair" is one of two songs that previously appeared on Gorka's debut album for Red House Records, I Know at the request of Will Ackerman.
    Musicians:
  14. "Love Is Our Cross to Bear"
    This is the other song re-recorded by Gorka that originally appeared on I Know .
    Musicians:
  15. "That's How Legends Are Made"
    Musicians:

References

  1. ↑ Meyer, Richard, Review: Land of the Bottom Line, Allmusic
  2. ↑ "Record Reviews: John Gorka, Land of The Bottom Line", Fast Folk Musical Magazine , 5:05 (1990) p.18-19
  3. 1 2 Moss, Mark, "Off the Beaten Track: John Gorka, Land of the Bottom Line", Sing Out! , 35:3 (Fall 1990) p.93
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