1 Lightning's Blues
2 Blue Chalk
3 Can't Make Up My Mind
4 The Mortal Groove
5 My Invisible Gun
6 Part of Your Own
7 Two Good Reasons
8 Airstream Bohemians
9 Paradise, Once
10 Campaign Trail
11 Edgar the Party Man
12 Scraping Dixie

From Amazon.com

Muzak? Only pretending to expand? Huh?

 Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)

Review Comments: Reading the two or three less than completely enthusiastic reviews here, I am compelled to rush to the defense of John.

"Only pretending to expand his musical horizons?" "Overproduced?" Less than memorable melodies? Muzak??? Did he say John sounds like Muzak??? Uhhh.. Sure. Right. Now, that old cliche "everyone's entitled to their opinion," gets bandied about quite a bit, and we do "live in free country" and all, so people can in fact say what they like. But really, folks, anything less than deliriously joyful acclamation of the Great Gorka ought to get one hustled quickly off to the asylum for a little shock therapy.

Now, it is true that this is not roots music. Or some sort of avant garde experimental fusion of African kazoos with banjos or something. It is not as spare as some of John's earlier work. But. So. What. John has one of the warmest baritones around. His songwriting and choice of material is inspired. His melodies - contrary to one of the nay sayers - are wonderful, and though they're not of the sort that will haunt you like one of those idiotic pop tunes that get stuck in your head until you want to wrench it off and throw it into a wood chipper, they're always emotionally appropriate to the lyrics, which are what John Gorka's music is driven by.

All the songs on this album are gems. Every one. Some are wryly funny or goofy like Campaign Trail, Edgar The Party Man or Invisible Gun. Others are meditative, even melancholy, but in a way that always makes me glad to be alive. The Mortal Groove. Part of Your Own. And one of my favorites of all time, Two Good Reasons: "If there's love in your heart, then I count two good reasons to survive."

Blue Chalk is another of my favorite songs of all time. It's about a pool player, but I never try to parse the story in the song- I take it more as a flow of lyrical impressions that always leave me slain: "So I wonder how she's doing, I hate it when the rumors fly - They give off such a strange sense of mission, wing your helplessness on high.."

John Gorka just speaks to and for me. His music ennobles me, and makes everything better, even when it's very good. I've been listening to this album since it came out - I can't even tell you when that was, but it was a while ago. It is an old friend of mine, and it annoys the cuss out of me when people say appalling things about my friends. Muzak. Holy smokes.. How stupid. Heh heh. Seriously, though, this is one of the greater albums I've ever heard. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

I leave you with a line from John that always makes me smile:

"One combination still impresses: women in their summer dresses.."

You said it John. Amen.

Very Good

 Album Rating: (4 of 5 stars)

Review Comments: This is the weakest of all John Gorka CD's, but still is very strong. I am a big fan of John's. The best tracks are:


Track 4: Mortal Groove,
Track 6: Part of Your Own
Track 7: Two Good Reasons

Especially powerful is "Part of Your Own," the best track, where John sings about his mother and what she has meant to his life. He is also glad that his family is not "rough" and easy to love.
He wishes his mother could join him on all of his life's journey, but knows it is not possible. He knows his mother and father will always be with him in spirit. A beautifully done piece of music.

Love is the Reason

 Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)

Review Comments: The song on this CD that captivated me was "Two Good Reasons." In just a few simple words, John shows us the Meaning of Life and the reasons for keeping on keeping on. John Gorka is an incredible lyricist, writes songs with substance, humor and that are downright pleasin' to the ear. Any John Gorka CD is worth the listen, and this one is worth it for that one song. Listen closely to the words.

Gorka's Only Pretending to Expand His Musical Horizons

 Album Rating: (3 of 5 stars)

Review Comments: Sure. John Gorka has rightfully developed the reputation of one of America's finest folk-rock songwriters. His "Land of the Bottom Line"--the disc that introduced him to the public--helped us all to remember that good, confident songwriting doesn't need all that much accompaniment to effect a desirable experience in the listener. However, with "Between Five and Seven", Gorka himself seems to have forgotten the lesson he inauspiciously taught us in the early 1990s. The disc as a whole is over-produced, and even if the songs themselves merit attention and repeated listenings, the uninspired backup playing that borders on Muzak-as-Folk-Inspiration serves only to detract us from Gorka's message, which after all is supposed to be earthy, pensive, products of flirtations with the down-and-out, not elbow-rubbings with escapees from the disco crowd. Borrowing players from almost everyone in the genre--Mary Chapin Carpenter to Windham Hill's soft-jazz wunderkind, Michael Manring--Gorka seems to be reaching to expand into the soft-jazz market or some other propitious niche that will allow him to keep his career alive--especially now that notions of an "adult-alternative" wavelength have been pulverized into the kind of pablum programming that chased us there in the first place. In other words, Gorka seems to be willfully forgetting his own roots as a musician. He's even coming close to alienating his most loyal audience.

To say this disc is "commerical" is an understatement. The thrust of the musicianship is that it strives for an almost "uber-slickness"--the kind of thing that folk-rock in the 1970s descended into once everyone had moved on to punk and new wave. Although the accompanying artistry does amplify Gorka's message, none of the artistry goes anywhere: guitar solos sound as if they were gleaned from some sort of stock that might have been better suited for grocery store soundtracks, and even the tricks that seem to have been designed to give Gorka's songs an extra edge--the piano solo at the beginning of "Lightning's Blues" comes to mind--seem lazy, as if they're substitutes to the kind of vision they mimic.

What Gorka might benefit from in his future endeavors would be a dash away from the studio--and dash into an isolated rehearsal room with an honest-to-goodness band, from where he and his musicians can come to grips with a real fusion of sounds, styles, ideas and musical bondings, not a studio-bought mimicry of one.

Good but

 Album Rating: (4 of 5 stars)

Review Comments: For someone who has released cd's like "Bottom Line" and "after yesterday", this one may come as a slight disappointement. Although a good record, it's not in par with his best efforts and most of it is overproduced. It's still Gorka, the great songwriter, though. The song are as good as ever.