''Jack's Crows'' is an album by the American
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
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** Folk art
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* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
musician
John Gorka
John Gorka (born July 27, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. In 1991, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine called him "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what has been dubbed the New Folk Movement."
Personal life
Gorka was raised in the Colon ...
. It was released in 1991. The album's title was supplied by
Jack Hardy.
"House in the Fields", for which a video was produced, was marketed to country music outlets.
Production
The album was produced by Dawn Atkinson and
Will Ackerman
William Ackerman (born November 16, 1949) is an American guitarist and record producer who founded Windham Hill Records.
Career Early years
Ackerman was born in Palo Alto, California. His adoptive father was a professor of English at Stanfor ...
.
[ Its songs are mostly set in the small towns near the border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Unlike during the recording sessions for his previous albums, Gorka recorded most of ''Jack's Crows'' with all the musicians present in the studio at one time.][ It was Gorka's intention to move on from the love songs of previous albums to songs about places and people.
]Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. While Colvin has been a solo recording artist for decades, she is best known for her 1998 Grammy Award-winning song "Sunny Came Home".
Early ...
sang on two of ''Jack's Crows tracks.[
]
Critical reception
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' wrote that "Gorka matches his subtle, intelligent and original songwriting with a deep, thrilling baritone ripe with masculine melancholy, that makes whatever he's singing fairly unforgettable."Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...
'' stated that Gorka "conjures up characters and landscapes that share an unpretentious dignity and grandeur."
'' The Republican'' determined that "though ballads dominate, there is sizzle here, particularly on the bleak urban landscape Gorka paints on 'Where the Bottles Break'."[ '' The State-Times'' concluded that "though his calmly academic baritone on ''Jack's Crows'' tends to put the lyrics at arm's length, the lyrics themselves are so intelligently written that they manage to transcend their aloof presentation."]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
noted that "Where the Bottles Break" "is a rockin' song about personal convictions and the real-estate business."
Track listing
References
{{reflist
John Gorka albums
1991 albums