From: owner-good-noise-digest@smoe.org (good-noise-digest) To: good-noise-digest@smoe.org Subject: good-noise-digest V1 #53 Reply-To: good-noise@smoe.org Sender: owner-good-noise-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-good-noise-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk good-noise-digest Thursday, December 10 1998 Volume 01 : Number 053 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Washington Post Review of "After Yesterday" [Chris Thorpe Subject: Washington Post Review of "After Yesterday" Copied this review from the Washington Post's web site. The review reminds me of the discussion we had awhile back concerning John and some of his personal songs. << On his seventh album, "After Yesterday," John Gorka sings about pending parenthood and concludes, "Everything I see is getting real concrete, no poetical reflections." Unfortunately, the songs on his new album contain too many "poetical reflections" and not enough "concrete" details. Too often his new lyrics revolve around allegories and abstractions, as when he muses, "It's tough before the aftermath, waiting for the sky to rain," or "Wisdom persists, wisdom swings free; what once worked for you will not work for me." This vagueness carries over to the melodies, which seem to drone and drift without ever quite arriving at a chorus melody. It's too bad, for Gorka is one of the finest talents in the baby-boomer generation of singer-songwriters; in the past he has been capable of sharply etched portraits, sparkling jokes and sing-along tunes. And his co-producer, John Jennings of Mary Chapin Carpenter fame, makes "After Yesterday" Gorka's best sounding record. From the singer's own glowing baritone to Jennings' guitar lines, from Michael Manring's jazzy fretless bass to Lucy Kaplansky's harmonies, everything sounds gorgeous. It's no coincidence that the album's best songs are those where Gorka looks away from himself and focuses on other characters -- an angry man recently fired from a Nevada casino and a footloose woman insulted by the very men who took advantage of her. Gorka seems to have fallen into the folk singer's most dangerous hole, introspection. Here's hoping he climbs out soon. >> ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 21:58:33 EST From: SAbrams613@aol.com Subject: Re: Washington Post Review of "After Yesterday" Remember our discussion of song content? The Washington Post has the same taste in John Gorka songs I do- their reviewer feels he's at his best when he "looks away from himself" and produces those "sharply etched portraits" of other people and life in general. To me, that's his particular genius. No other singer-songwriter out there can touch him when it comes to those observations. I realize this is a minority view, but I'm glad someone out there shares it. Barbara ------------------------------ End of good-noise-digest V1 #53 *******************************