John Gorka – Writing In The Margins

“Sing like there’s no tomorrow,” John Gorka implores/instructs on “Broken Place”. He’d do well to heed his own advice. His fine baritone vocals have won him many fans, and his subtle observations of life’s small moments have led artists such as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith and Maura O’Connell to cover his songs. But over the years Gorka has seldom seemed capable of delivering the sort of passionate statement that would stand as his testament if, indeed, the dawn did not arrive.

He comes closest here with the title track and “Road Of Good Intentions”, both about the war in Iraq. The former is a soldier’s letter home as he tries to stay afloat in a tide of events beyond his control. The latter points a finger at those responsible, noting “There’s more fiction out of Washington/Than out of Hollywood.”

That’s a bold step for Gorka, who seems more comfortable writing songs about growing older (“Arms Length”) and missing loved ones (though his own “Satellites” is bested by his cover of Stan Rogers’ home-vs.-road debate, “The Lockkeeper”).

Musically, Gorka steps out of his gentle folkie mode twice, offering the high-stepping humor of “I Miss Everyone” (among whom he even counts those he’s never met) and the lightly grooving “When You Sing”, inspired by Mavis Staples.

On the closing “Unblind The Referee”, Gorka characterizes himself as “a one-man band at the barricade.” At some point, it would be great if Gorka would stop standing alongside those battlements and either tear them down or climb on top.