Land of the Bottom Line explained
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."
Personnel
Musicians: (see individual song listings below)
Production:
- Produced - Bill Kollar
- Recorded/Mixed - Bill Kollar at London By Night Productions, Woodbridge, New Jersey
- Assembled - Rhonda Schoen at Sterling Sound, New York City
- Mastered - Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, New York City, using the AUDIO AUTOMATION MUSE CONSOLE
- Arrangements - Janice Kollar
- Strings and English Horn written and arranged by Bill & Janice Kollar
Artwork:
- Concept and Art Direction - Anne Robinson
- Graphic design - Candace Upman
- Photography - Ann Marsden
- Photo printing - Myrslava Dziuk
Songs
- "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
- Marshal Rosenberg - conga
- Janice Kollar - congas, salt shaker, vox voices, & harmony vocals
- Tommy West - harmony vocals
- "Armed with a Broken Heart"
Musicians:
- Michael Blair - Chinese drum
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:
- Ten Sugar Coffee on their Addicted (1998 Huge Secret)
- The John Wright Band, on Language of the Heart (2001 Greentrax)
Musicians:
- John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
- Marshal Rosenberg - bongos
- Janice Kollar - heartbeat, snare, cowbell, & shaker
Musicians:
Musicians:
- Janice Kollar - accordion, harmony vocals, & tambourine
- Michael Blair - Uru, clay drum, klangobjete, & shaker
- "Stranger in My Driver's Seat"
Musicians:
- John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
- Janice Kollar - bass drum & keyboards
- Michael Blair - spox, crasher
Musicians:
- John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
- Marsha Heller - English horn
Musicians:
- John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
- Janice Kollar - bass drum, punching bag, gravel shaker, conga & harmony vocals
- Tommy West - harmony vocals
Gorka's liner notes read, "'Mean Streak' is dedicated to Cliff Eberhardt and his bad attitude."
Musicians:
- John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
- Janice Kollar - bass drum, shotgun, & cowbell
Musicians:
- Timothy Pitt - acoustic guitar
- "Jailbirds in the Bighouse"
Musicians:
- John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
- Janice Kollar - drums, percussion, keyboards, & harmony vocals
Musicians:
- Barry Mittenhoff - mandolin
- Michael Blair - marching drum, cymbals, & klangobjekte
- "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:
- John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
- Janice Kollar - keyboards & harmony vocals
- Tommy West - harmony vocals
- "Love Is Our Cross to Bear"
This is the other song re-recorded by Gorka that originally appeared on I Know.
Musicians:
- "That's How Legends Are Made"
Musicians:
- Timothy Pitt - acoustic guitar
- Barry Mittenhoff - mandolin
External links
- Land of the Bottom Line page at the official John Gorka website (lyrics & audio samples)
- [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r96257|pure_url=yes}} ''Land of the Bottom Line'' entry] at Allmusic
