So Dark You See

So Dark You See is the eleventh studio album by folk singer-songwriter John Gorka, released on October 13, 2009. The album offers eight new examples of Gorka's own lyrical songwriting, two instrumental tracks, poetry of Robert Burns and William Stafford performed and set to music by Gorka, covers of songs by fellow folkies, Utah Phillips and Michael Smith, and Gorka's take on the blues standard, "Trouble in Mind".

So Dark You See
Studio album by
John Gorka
ReleasedOctober 13, 2009 (2009-10-13)
GenreFolk, singer-songwriter
LabelBlue chalk/Red House
ProducerRob Genadek and John Gorka
John Gorka chronology
Writing in the Margins
(2006)		 So Dark You See
(2009)		 Red Horse
(2010)

History

This was Gorka's eleventh studio album release in a career that has spanned over two decades. The album held the top position on the Folk Radio airplay chart for the months of September and October 2009.[1] Folk Alley named "Ignorance & Privilege" as No. 6 on their list of The Top 10 Folk Songs of 2009.[2]

Reception and commentary
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Acoustic Guitarfavorable[3]
Curatorfavorable[4]
Flying Shoesfavorable[5]
The Gazettefavorable[6]
MusicMattersfavorable[7]
PopMatters6/10[8]
Washington Postfavorable[9]
Rob Williamsfavorable[10]

Critical response was positive.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicMusiciansLength
1."A Fond Kiss"Robert BurnsJohn Gorka* John Gorka (vocal, guitar, harmonium, V-Station)3:37
2."Whole Wide World"John GorkaJohn Gorka* John Gorka (vocal, acoustic guitar, percussion) 2:54
3."Can't Get Over It"John GorkaJohn Gorka* John Gorka (vocal, acoustic guitar)
  • Dan Chouinard (accordion)
  • Jeff Victor (Oberheim OB8)
3:32
4."Fret One"[instrumental]John Gorka* John Gorka (acoustic guitar)
  • Dirk Freymuth (electric guitar)
  • Michael Manring (fretless bass)
  • Rob Genadek (percussion)
  • "Stylus" (percussion)
2:10
5."Ignorance & Privilege"John GorkaJohn Gorka* John Gorka (vocal, acoustic guitar)
  • Marc Anderson (percussion)
  • Enrique Toussaint (electric guitar)
  • Dirk Freymuth (electric guitar)
  • Eliza Gilkyson (harmony vocal)
4:22
6."Utah"  (The track is Utah Phillips' recorded voice, stating a wish hear Gorka perform one of his songs.)0:07
7."I Think of You"Utah PhillipsUtah Phillips* John Gorka (vocal, acoustic guitar)
  • Lucy Kaplansky (harmony vocals)
  • Joel Salyles (upright bass)
  • Jeff Victor (keyboard)
3:36
8."Where No Monument Stands"William StaffordJohn Gorka* John Gorka (vocal, acoustic guitar)
  • Dean Magraw (electric guitar)
2:23
9."Night into Day"John GorkaJohn Gorka* John Gorka (vocal, acoustic guitar) 3:44
10."Fret Not"[instrumental]John Gorka* John Gorka (fretless tackhead banjo)1:20
11."Live by the Sword"John GorkaJohn Gorka* John Gorka (vocal, keyboards, acoustic guitar)
  • Dean Magraw (2nd acoustic guitar)
  • Joel Sayles (upright bass)
2:14
12."Trouble in Mind"Richard M. JonesRichard M. Jones* John Gorka (vocal, acoustic guitar)3:02
13."The Dutchman"Michael Smith * John Gorka (vocal, acoustic guitar)4:48
14."Mr. Chambers"John GorkaJohn Gorka* John Gorka (vocal, acoustic guitar)2:58
15."That Was the Year"John GorkaJohn Gorka* John Gorka (vocal, acoustic guitar)2:46
16."Diminishing Winds"John GorkaJohn Gorka* John Gorka (vocal, guitar)
  • Joel Sayles (harmony vocal)
  • Enrique Toussaint (electric bass)
  • Dan Chouinard (accordion)
  • Marc Anderson (percussion)
4:09
113.Untitled Michael Smith  

Personnel

Musicians

  • John Gorka — vocals, fretless banjo, guitar, harmonium, keyboards and percussion
  • Marc Anderson — percussion
  • Dan Chouinard – accordion
  • Dick Freymuth – electric guitar
  • Rob Genadek – Percussion
  • Eliza Gilkyson — vocals
  • Dean Magraw — electric and acoustic guitars
  • Michael Manring — fretless bass
  • Peter Ostroushko — fiddle and mandolin
  • Joel Sayles – vocals, upright bass
  • Enrique Toussaint – electric bass
  • Jeff Victor – keyboards

Production

  • Produced by Rob Genadek and John Gorka
  • Engineering by Rob Genadek and John Gorka at The Brewhouse in Minneapolis, MN
  • Lucy Kaplansky recorded by Mark Dann in New York City

Artwork

  • Front cover painting, "Clairmont near Ascutney" by Tom Pirozzoli[11]
  • Back cover photography by Jos Van Vliet
  • Art direction and design by Jon Reischl

Chart performance
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Folk Radio Top Albums[1] 1
Americana Radio Albums[12] 44

References
  1. Richard Gillmann, Top Folk Albums, Songs, Artists and Labels of October 2009, Top Folk Albums, Songs, Artists and Labels of November 2009, compiled from playlists submitted to Folk DJ-L
  2. Jim Blum, The Top 10 Folk Songs Of 2009, From Folk Alley, NPR, December 10, 2009
  3. Mike Thomas, John Gorka, So Dark You See Archived December 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Acoustic Guitar, January 2010
  4. Ed Eubanks, So Dark You See: The Music of John Gorka, Curator Magazine, April 2, 2010
  5. Maurice Hope, John Gorka—So Dark You See, Flying Shoes Review, December 31, 2009
  6. Diana Nollen, CD REVIEW: Gorka kicks up fine dust along life’s winding paths Archived November 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, The Gazette/Source Media Group, UPDATED: March 20, 2010
  7. Michael Devlin, Review: John Gorka—So Dark You See, MusicMaters Review, 27
  8. Richard Elliott, John Gorka: So Dark You See, PopMatters, December 11, 2009
  9. Catherine P. Lewis, CD review: John Gorka's So Dark You see, Washington Post, February 26, 2010
  10. Rob Williams, John Gorka’s SO DARK YOU CAN SEE (Music Review) [sic], Rob Williams Media, May 9, 2010
  11. "Tom Pirozzoli – Art & Music". Pirozzoli.com. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  12. Archive Playlist for week of Monday, December 07, 2009, Americana Music Association
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