Land of the Bottom Line


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."

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians:
Production:
Artwork:
  1. "Land of the Bottom Line"
  2. : Gorka first recorded the song for a 1984 issue of Fast Folk Musical Magazine
  3. : Musicians:
  4. :* John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
  5. :* Bill Kollar - electric guitar
  6. :* Kevin Jenkins - bass
  7. :* Marshal Rosenberg - conga
  8. :* Janice Kollar - congas, salt shaker, vox voices, & harmony vocals
  9. :* Tommy West - harmony vocals
  10. :
  11. "Armed with a Broken Heart"
  12. :
  13. : Musicians:
  14. :* John Gorka - vocals, & acoustic guitar
  15. :* Vic Colucci - bass
  16. :* Michael Blair - Chinese drum
  17. :* Claudia Schmidt - harmony vocals
  18. :* Barry Mitterhoff - mandolin
  19. :*
  20. "Raven in the Storm"
  21. :
  22. : 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.
  23. : There have been a number of artists to cover this song:
  24. :* Mary Black, on her album, Circus
  25. :* Ten Sugar Coffee on their Addicted
  26. :* The John Wright Band, on Language of the Heart
  27. : Musicians:
  28. :* John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
  29. :* Vic Colucci - bass
  30. :* Chuck Loeb - electric guitar
  31. :* Elliott Randall - electric guitar
  32. :* Bill Kollar - electric guitar
  33. :* Marshal Rosenberg - bongos
  34. :* Janice Kollar - heartbeat, snare, cowbell, & shaker
  35. :*
  36. "The One That Got Away"
  37. :
  38. : Musicians:
  39. :* John Gorka - vocals & acoustic guitar
  40. :* Vic Colucci - bass
  41. :* Shawn Colvin - harmony volcals
  42. :*
  43. "Full of Life"
  44. :
  45. : Musicians:
  46. :* John Gorka - vocals & acoustic guitar
  47. :* Vic Colucci - bass
  48. :* Janice Kollar - accordion, harmony vocals, & tambourine
  49. :* Michael Blair - Uru, clay drum, klangobjete, & shaker
  50. :* Claudia Schmidt - harmony vocals
  51. :* Joe Ascione - bass drum
  52. :*
  53. "Stranger in My Driver's Seat"
  54. :
  55. : Musicians:
  56. :* John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
  57. :* Elliott Randall - electric guitar
  58. :* Vic Colucci - bass
  59. :* Janice Kollar - bass drum & keyboards
  60. :* Michael Blair - spox, crasher
  61. :*
  62. "The Sentinel"
  63. :
  64. : Musicians:
  65. :* John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
  66. :* Vic Colucci - bass
  67. :* Marsha Heller - English horn
  68. :*
  69. "Dream Street"
  70. :
  71. : Musicians:
  72. :* John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
  73. :* Vic Colucci - bass
  74. :* Chuck Loeb - electric guitar
  75. :* Janice Kollar - bass drum, punching bag, gravel shaker, conga & harmony vocals
  76. :* Shawn COlvin - harmony vocals
  77. :* Tommy West - harmony vocals
  78. :*
  79. "Mean Streak"
  80. : Gorka's liner notes read, "'Mean Streak' is dedicated to Cliff Eberhardt and his bad attitude."
  81. : Musicians:
  82. :* John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
  83. :* Kefin Jenkins - bass
  84. :* Janice Kollar - bass drum, shotgun, & cowbell
  85. :* Bill Kollar - crasher
  86. :* Vic Colucci - lead bass
  87. :*
  88. "Italian Girls"
  89. :
  90. : Musicians:
  91. :* John Gorka - vocals, & acoustic guitar
  92. :* Vic Colucci - bass
  93. :* Timothy Pitt - acoustic guitar
  94. :* Frank Vignola - electric guitar
  95. :* Eugene Friesen - cello
  96. :*
  97. "Jailbirds in the Bighouse"
  98. :
  99. : Musicians:
  100. :* John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
  101. :* Vic Colucci - bass
  102. :* Chuck Loeb - electric guitar
  103. :* Janice Kollar - drums, percussion, keyboards, & harmony vocals
  104. :* Claudia Schmidt - harmony vocals
  105. :*
  106. "Promnight in Pigtown"
  107. :
  108. : Musicians:
  109. :* John Gorka - vocals & acoustic guitar
  110. :* Vic Colucci - bass
  111. :* Barry Mittenhoff - mandolin
  112. :* Kenny Cosek - violin
  113. :* Michael Blair - marching drum, cymbals, & klangobjekte
  114. :*
  115. "I Saw a Stranger With Your Hair"
  116. :"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.
  117. : Musicians:
  118. :* John Gorka - vocals, harmony vocals, & acoustic guitar
  119. :* Eugene Friesen - cello
  120. :* Kenny Cosek - violin
  121. :* Vic Colucci - bass
  122. :* Janice Kollar - keyboards & harmony vocals
  123. :* Shawn Colvin - harmony vocals
  124. :* Tommy West - harmony vocals
  125. :*
  126. "Love Is Our Cross to Bear"
  127. : This is the other song re-recorded by Gorka that originally appeared on I Know.
  128. : Musicians:
  129. :* John Gorka - vocals & acoustic guitar
  130. :* Chuck Loeb - electric guitar
  131. :*
  132. "That's How Legends Are Made"
  133. :
  134. : Musicians:
  135. :* John Gorka - vocals & acoustic guitar
  136. :* Vic Colucci - bass
  137. :* Timothy Pitt - acoustic guitar
  138. :* Barry Mittenhoff - mandolin
  139. :* Michael Blair - shaker
  140. :*