These days we all grapple with a global community so full of fear and violence that it makes a body wonder what will be left for our children? Writing in the Margins is a songwriter's response to a world hard to reconcile. A husband, a father, a friend, these are songs to get you through a sunny or a blue day and remind you that you are not alone, there are others who see it and feel it too.
Writing in the Margins has a clear political bend, but that shouldn't be a surprise to Gorka fans. He has always shared his politics and worn his heart on his writing sleeve. Whether looking at his changing neighborhood, houses growing in rural fields or a solider writing home to his lover, we hear his lament and understand his bluer state. He is an observer, creating fine songs with never a wasted word.
The songs on WIM, like the songs that came before, shine a light on the commonplace. As in John's earlier albums, it is his ability of making a mountain out of a molehill, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary story that keeps people coming back for more. His songs are not just good, they are great. On Writing in the Margins the co-writes done with his wife, Laurie Allman, are some of the best including Bluer State. Chance of Rain and Broken Place.
Like the other 10 albums John Gorka has brought to the marketplace, Writing in the Margins holds songs written with an observant eye and an open heart. He speaks to our experiences giving his listeners a place to go when the world starts closing in...if only for a few minutes.
When Mr. Gorka sings, the world is a better place.