All the Roadrunning by Mark Knopfler and Emmy Lou


Anyone bought this disc or heard it? It sounds like it should be a great combo.
Amazon writes, "Over the last seven years, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris quietly recorded an album by stealing "a few precious hours of studio time here and there," as the ex-Dire Straits singer/guitarist puts it. Good thing they kept it largely under wraps--expectations would have pushed through the clouds, especially as Knopfler conjured 10 of the 12 cuts, and Harris, who writes potently, but little, contributed two ("Love and Happiness," "Belle Starr"). Yet now that it's here, All the Roadrunning--while beautiful--seems somehow underwhelming, and without a true centerpiece. Anyone familiar with the artists' famous catalogues would expect the repertoire to be poetic and brooding, and that Harris's ethereal soprano would add light to Knopfler's dark Prozac rumblings. But the surprise is that the album is too tame, never breaks out of its midtempo groove, and never takes any big chances.

That said, there is much to like: The marital scrapbook romp of "This Is Us," the bluesy bickering of "Right Now," the wrenching poignancy of the 9/11-inspired ballad "If This Is Goodbye." Knopfler, ever the hypnotic guitarist, turns in some thrillingly droll and laconic vocals, and Harris brings the spirited coltishness of her early work to "Belle Starr." In the end, though, this is not so much a duet album as two famously melancholy musicians singing together--at times, strikingly so. --Alanna Nash
I'd sure like to hear others opinions
128x128sgr

Showing 1 response by sgr

I heard several cuts at a friend's house. Neither he nor I were impressed and I'm glad I saved the money. The recording is compressed, it seems like the Knopfler decided to accent his guitar work instead of the vocals. Harris's vocals sound shrill and thin.
The song lyrics themselves are weak.
One person remarked that is sounds recorded for MP-3 very hollow and truncated.
The singers's voices don't harmonize well together. I wonder if anyone listened to this recording before it was released. This dog was sure a waste of money. Woof! Woof!
It is a shame consumers cannot return bad sounding discs for credit towards another purchase. That is the may be the best way that artists and labels could get negative feedback on their productions. Instead it is assumed that the only reason one wants to return a disc is because we copied it and are trying to ripoff the artist, store, and label.
Steve