Jack's Crows

John Gorka | Format: Audio Cassette

Product Details

• Audio Cassette (April 9, 1991)
• Label: Highstreet
• ASIN: B000001317
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,174,521 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Silence

2. Treasure Islands

3. Jack's Crows

4. Houses in the Fields

5. The Mercy of the Wheels

6. Good

7. Semper Fi

8. Where the Bottles Break

9. Night Is a Woman

10. I'm from New Jersey

11. My New Neighborhood

12. The Ballad of Jamie Bee

13. You're on Your Way

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorka's best CD to date, July 13, 2001

By 

James E. Bagley "Jim Bagley" (Sanatoga, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jack's Crows (Audio CD)

While I enjoy all of John Gorka's music to some extent, this is the CD of his music I would take with me "on that theoretical desert island." Being from Pennsylvania and highly familiar with the Allentown/Bethlehem area, I can identify with the images Gorka descriptively depicts in his epic "Where The Bottles Break" (my all-time favorite Gorka song). Also, the transformation of scenic farmland in recent years to drab commercial properties in the haunting "Houses In The Fields" and the Avis complex of New Jerseyites in the humorous "I'm From Jersey." The upbeat, uptempo "Good" and the anguish-filled romp "Treasure Island don't deal with such real "characters" but are just as good. If you aren't familiar with Gorka's work (and you need to be, given that he is modern folk's finest male artist), this is a good place to start. I

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful and haunting overview of life in america, May 28, 1999

By 

"mcgavin" (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jack's Crows (Audio CD)

This cd I first heard in 1991 when it was released Houses in the fields struck me as I travelled between Saskatchewan and alberta frequently and noted all the abandoned and for sale farms. The ballad of Jamie B is for me the gem on this cd It details the loss of love and where the characters in the song end up.It is as poingnant and honest a song I've ever heard about splitting up and moving on with life. Every song on this cd is exceptional and the accoutic guitar on most songs is subtle and somehow overpowering. I only wish I could write what I feel as vibrantly and eloquently as John Gorka. Although I have heard this music classed as country, it is much closer to folk and would delight anyone with a passion for strong lyrics and well thought music Bravo John Gorka

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorka's strongest, December 22, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (NYC, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jack's Crows (Audio CD)

I recently pulled this cd out of my collection which i have had for about seven years. It amazes me how relevant and powerful these songs are today (maybe even more than when it was released). "When the bottles break" is especially erie because it describes life in NYC today more than ever (i.e. corporate America moving out the poor)But, more than political statement songs, what gets me about Gorka is his ability to connect with the soul. "The Mercy of the Wheels" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. It simply penetrates lyrically and musically. I also enjoy "Night is a Woman" and "My New Neighborhood" Gorka also gets 'tongue in cheek' with "Im from New Jersey". But, what makes him so endearing, is his sense of truth in all of his songs. Cliches do not exist with Gorka, unless he is using them to make a point. He is quite simply one of the greatest singer songwriters of our time. His most recent works are strong, but he truly captures the sense of lonliness and despair in his voice and music in this recording and "land of the bottom line"(another must buy!)Prepare to be moved...