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Any Mark Knopfler fans out there?

I have been a Dire Straits fan since they first started. Had most of their music when I was in college and enjoyed it on my roommates hi-fi system. (Never cared too much for Brothers in Arms).Those old tapes and LPs are long gone but since getting into hi-fi recently I am replacing them with CDs and really falling in love with them again.

Really didn't know anything about Knopfler's very prolific solo career until I got Tracker. Very different from Dire Straits but a really great album musically and sonically (with great DR!). I subsequently listened to some of his other solo stuff and it left me a little cold. Sailing to Philadelphia is okay to me, Privateering seems closer to Tracker in style and content. I ordered it on CD but it has not arrived yet.

His new album comes out later this month. Not sure what to expect. Some of the same band members will be on it. It is described as slow and folksy which is what most of his solo stuff has been. Hope it is not too much 'slower' than Tracker.

Any thoughts on Knopfler's solo career or this upcoming new album?
n80
bander's avatar
bander
508 posts
 
I will never forget the first time I heard "Dire Straits". At 11:45 pm I returned home from my hospital shift. I turned on the radio as I always did and I can't remember the song, but I remember the voice. Who's that I thought. The vocalist sounded a little like Bob Dylan. I loved what I was hearing and the radio dj
solved the mystery. It was Mark K. and Dire Straits. The rest is history. I was a big fan of D S and later of Mark K. Been well  over 40 years.

mapman's avatar
mapman
23,631 posts
 
Dire Straits bass player John Illsley ain’t no slouch either. 
tomcarr
1,818 posts
 

Surprisingly for an audiophile site how few posters mentioned how good the recording quality is. All the studio albums of DS and also MK sound absolutely fabulous.

dpop
293 posts
 

@shadorne >>>He also happens to be a bit of a stickler for sound quality<<<

Glad to hear that (no pun intended). Seriously though, maybe that's why the past Dire Straits albums had so much dynamic range, going all the way back to their first release. Maybe Mark didn't cave to the loudness wars (thank you Mark). He is an amazing musician and performer.   

n80 OP
2,154 posts
 

@tomcarr I think I mention the production quality back in the original post, but yes he and DS have a number of songs that are great for experiencing how good your system sounds. You and Your Friends is a great one for that.

@dpop He does seem to keep the DR up all the way from DS through his solo stuff. That alone gives me great admiration and appreciation for him. Throw in the talent, the creativity the drive and the prolific making and releasing of songs and he’s the real deal.

In "Let It All Go" he says:

These are not my decisions, flaming visions
Ringing expressions, the clamoring voice
It’s volcanic desire, unquenchable fire
It isn’t a question of having a choice

I heard in an interview that this is how he actually is. He says there is a constant flow of music and songs in his head that he is driven to write and perform (or something to that extent anyway). He described it as an obsession.

Also, saw an interesting video about him with Brian Johnson (from AC/DC) and he was visiting The Spanish City amusement park and saw for the first time that they had painted his lyrics from Tunnel of Love there.

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