Company You Keep

by John Gorka

Overview

For the most part, Gorka offers low-energy singer/songwriter folk with shades of adult contemporary rock on The Company You Keep. Weary nostalgia dominates his introspective, observational lyrics. Whether it's first person or second person, the material muses over lost chances and making the best of things without offering any easy solutions, with a complacent though not self-satisfied attitude. Matters are livened, slightly, by the Bob Dylan-like organ of "Oh Abraham," and a variety of female harmony vocalists, including Mary Chapin Carpenter and Ani DiFranco. When he kicks out the jams, relatively speaking, for the odd up-tempo tune like the bar-band-rollicking "Joint of No Return," or "Around the House" (which sounds somewhat like Tom Rush does when he decides to rock out), the sudden jolt of octane is downright shocking. "People My Age" and the country-flavored "Hank Senior Moment" flash glimpses of a nasty edge largely absent from the other compositions. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	03/13/2001
Label:	Red House Records
UPC:	0033651015123
Rank:	42092

Tracks

1. What Was That
2. A Saint's Complaint
3. Oh Abraham
4. When You Walk In
5. Shape of the World
6. Morningside
7. When I Lost My Faith
8. Joint of No Return
9. Let Them In
10. Over There
11. Hank Senior Moment
12. Around the House
13. Wisheries
14. People My Age

Album Credits

Performance Credits

John Gorka   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Tambourine
Gordon Johnson   Primary Artist,Bass
Andy Stochansky   Primary Artist,Drums,Percussion
Mary Chapin Carpenter   Primary Artist,Guest Artist
Michael Manring   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Bass
Richard Dworsky   Primary Artist,Piano,Organ
Ani DiFranco   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Guitar
Dirk Freymuth   Primary Artist,Guitar
Peter Ostroushko   Guest Artist,Fiddle
Dean Magraw   Guest Artist,Guitar
Lucy Kaplansky   Guest Artist
Patty Larkin   Guest Artist,Guitar (Electric)

Technical Credits

Heidi Gerber   Remote Recording
Patty Larkin   Remote Recording
Mary Chapin Carpenter   Harmony
Kathleen Johnson   Harmony
Goatboy   Remote Recording
Shane T. Keller   Engineer
Ann Marsden   Photography
Fred Harrington   Engineer
Ani DiFranco   Harmony
Richard Dworsky   Production Assistant
John Gorka   Composer,Engineer
Lucy Kaplansky   Harmony
Rob Genadek   Mixing,Mastering,Engineer
Michael Manring   Remote Recording
Tommy Tucker   Mixing,Engineer