Land of the Bottom Line

Land of the Bottom Line
Studio album by John Gorka
Released	1990
Recorded	Woodbridge, New Jersey, US
Genre	Folk Singer-songwriter
Length	59:27
Label	High Street/Windham Hill
Producer	Bill Kollar
John Gorka chronology
(1987) Land of the Bottom Line (1990) (1991)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[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]

Track listing[]

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

Personnel[]

Musicians: (see individual song listings below)

Production:

• Produced – Bill Kollar
• Recorded/Mixed – Bill Kollar at , Woodbridge, New Jersey
• Assembled – at Sterling Sound, New York City
• Mastered – Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, New York City, using the AUDIO AUTOMATION MUSE CONSOLE
• Arrangements –
• Strings and English Horn written and arranged by Bill & Janice Kollar

Artwork:

• Concept and Art Direction – Anne Robinson
• Graphic design –
• Photography –
• Photo printing –

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:

   • John Gorka – vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
   • Bill Kollar – electric guitar
   • Kevin Jenkins – bass
   • – conga
   • – congas, salt shaker, vox voices, & harmony vocals
   • Tommy West – harmony vocals

2. "Armed with a Broken Heart"

   Musicians:

   • John Gorka – vocals, & acoustic guitar
   • – bass
   • Michael Blair – Chinese drum
   • Claudia Schmidt – harmony vocals
   • Barry Mitterhoff – mandolin

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:

   • Mary Black, on her album, Circus (1995 Grapevine)
   • on their Addicted (1998 Huge Secret)
   • , on Language of the Heart (2001 Greentrax)

   Musicians:

   • John Gorka – vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
   • – bass
   • Chuck Loeb – electric guitar
   • Elliott Randall – electric guitar
   • Bill Kollar – electric guitar
   • – bongos
   • – heartbeat, snare, cowbell, & shaker

4. "The One That Got Away"

   Musicians:

   • John Gorka – vocals & acoustic guitar
   • – bass
   • Shawn Colvin – harmony vocals

5. "Full of Life"

   Musicians:

   • John Gorka – vocals & acoustic guitar
   • – bass
   • – accordion, harmony vocals, & tambourine
   • Michael Blair – Uru, clay drum, klangobjete, & shaker
   • Claudia Schmidt – harmony vocals
   • Joe Ascione – bass drum

6. "Stranger in My Driver's Seat"

   Musicians:

   • John Gorka – vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
   • Elliott Randall – electric guitar
   • – bass
   • – bass drum & keyboards
   • Michael Blair – spox, crasher

7. "The Sentinel"

   Musicians:

   • John Gorka – vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
   • – bass
   • – English horn

8. "Dream Street"

   Musicians:

   • John Gorka – vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
   • – bass
   • Chuck Loeb – electric guitar
   • – bass drum, punching bag, gravel shaker, conga & harmony vocals
   • – harmony vocals
   • Tommy West – harmony vocals

9. "Mean Streak"

   Gorka's liner notes read, "'Mean Streak' is dedicated to Cliff Eberhardt and his bad attitude."

   Musicians:

   • John Gorka – vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
   • – bass
   • – bass drum, shotgun, & cowbell
   • Bill Kollar – crasher
   • – lead bass

10. "Italian Girls"

    Musicians:

    • John Gorka – vocals, & acoustic guitar
    • – bass
    • – acoustic guitar
    • Frank Vignola – electric guitar
    • Eugene Friesen – cello

11. "Jailbirds in the Bighouse"

    Musicians:

    • John Gorka – vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
    • – bass
    • Chuck Loeb – electric guitar
    • – drums, percussion, keyboards, & harmony vocals
    • Claudia Schmidt – harmony vocals

12. "Promnight in Pigtown"

    Musicians:

    • John Gorka – vocals & acoustic guitar
    • – bass
    • – mandolin
    • – violin
    • Michael Blair – marching drum, cymbals, & klangobjekte

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, at the request of Will Ackerman.

    Musicians:

    • John Gorka – vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
    • Eugene Friesen – cello
    • – violin
    • – bass
    • – keyboards & harmony vocals
    • Shawn Colvin – harmony vocals
    • Tommy West – harmony vocals

14. "Love Is Our Cross to Bear"

    This is the other song re-recorded by Gorka that originally appeared on .

    Musicians:

    • John Gorka – vocals & acoustic guitar
    • Chuck Loeb – electric guitar

15. "That's How Legends Are Made"

    Musicians:

    • John Gorka – vocals & acoustic guitar
    • – bass
    • – acoustic guitar
    • – mandolin
    • Michael Blair – shaker

References[]

External links[]

• Land of the Bottom Line page at the official John Gorka website (lyrics & audio samples)
• Land of the Bottom Line entry at Allmusic