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View Full Version : Need some Mark Knopfler recommendations!

ecm1117
10-09-2009, 06:14 PM
I'm a huge fan of Knopfler's work with Dire Straits. He's by far my favorite rock guitarist and I love to hear him just let loose and play - like he does on tunes like In The Gallery, Single-Handed Sailor, Tunnel Of Love, Telegraph Road, Once Upon A Time In The West (Alchemy version) etc.

That said, his solo albums are a bit different and he's definitely toned down how prominent his lead guitar is (I guess in favor of his songwriting and vocals/lyrics). Because of that, I haven't kept up with much of his latest output.

I was hoping that fans of Knopfler's last few solo records could recommend some tracks that prominently feature his lead guitar work - I have some money to spend at the iTunes store and want to put together a playlist. So far I have these songs: What It Is, Prairie Wedding, Speedway At Nazareth, and Boom Like That. Thanks!
jefesq
10-09-2009, 08:55 PM
Sailing to Philadelphia. Still not certain on the new one "get lucky". Need to listen to it more.
BadCat
10-09-2009, 10:24 PM
There really aren't that many where he just cuts loose like the old days, but here are some of my favorites:

You Don't Know You're Born
Vic and Ray
Why Aye Man
Back to Tupelo
Baloney Again
Swain
10-09-2009, 10:32 PM
The whole Shangri-La CD is top notch. Kinda grows on you, with such killer songwriting. And the newer LP/Komet type Tones are every bit as special as his older Strat Tones were, IMO.
humbuster
10-10-2009, 08:16 AM
Get Lucky is one of the best albums ever released, IMHO.
A true desert island disk.
GuitarsFromMars
10-10-2009, 08:17 AM
Love over Gold.
ecm1117
10-10-2009, 10:19 AM
Thanks for the replies.

I'm interested in the Shangri-La and Get Lucky albums, but can someone tell me a few tunes off of those that have a good amount of Knopfler's lead work?
BadCat
10-10-2009, 10:37 AM
Thanks for the replies.

I'm interested in the Shangri-La and Get Lucky albums, but can someone tell me a few tunes off of those that have a good amount of Knopfler's lead work?
Good luck trying to find much lead playing on those two. Boom Like That and Back to Tupelo and not very much on those. He just doesn't seem interested anymore.:(

So Far From The Clyde has a touch of electric lead in it. Donegan's Gone has a little bit of nifty slide playing. Cleaning My Gun has a couple of solos in it.
iaresee
10-10-2009, 10:42 AM
I have both Sailing... and Kill to Crimson, and while nice, I keep coming back to the Local Hero and Princess Bride soundtracks for solo Knopfler stuff I like. Off Local Hero: Wild Theme and and Going Home.
BadCat
10-10-2009, 10:46 AM
Sure is a shame when one of the tastiest lead guitar players out there doesn't feel like playing lead anymore.:(
ecm1117
10-10-2009, 11:21 AM
Sure is a shame when one of the tastiest lead guitar players out there doesn't feel like playing lead anymore.:(

No kidding. I remember being excited when I heard the Sailing To Philadelphia album back in 2001. Then I bought the follow-up Ragpicker's Dream, listened to it 3 or 4 times and gave it away. That's the last time I bought a Knopfler solo album . . . once in a while I'll hear some tunes with excellent guitar work (like Boom Like That) and I start to wonder if I'm missing anything - which is why I started this thread.
leofenderbender
10-10-2009, 11:38 AM
Of all of his albums, Communique' is my all-time favorite - I especially like "Lady Writer."
vic6120
10-10-2009, 11:48 AM
One of my favorites is "Neck and Neck", with Chet Atkins.
Jim S
10-10-2009, 11:52 AM
Any DIRE STRAITS is going to be fantastic.

COMMUNIQUE and LOVE OVER GOLD probably are the two that stand out.
pete692
10-10-2009, 12:11 PM
Sailing to Philadelphia. Still not certain on the new one "get lucky". Need to listen to it more.
I'm certain on it. Most of Get Lucky sounds like he's getting ready to do something, but he never does. Plus, alot of that record would sound right at home on the TITANIC soundtrack. Bleh.
pete692
10-10-2009, 12:12 PM
No kidding. I remember being excited when I heard the Sailing To Philadelphia album back in 2001. Then I bought the follow-up Ragpicker's Dream, listened to it 3 or 4 times and gave it away. That's the last time I bought a Knopfler solo album . . . once in a while I'll hear some tunes with excellent guitar work (like Boom Like That) and I start to wonder if I'm missing anything - which is why I started this thread.
You know what really kills me, he does guest spots on other people's albums and blazes all over them. So frustrating.
BadCat
10-10-2009, 12:57 PM
I bought a total of 4 tunes off Get Lucky. I could have gotten away with one on Kill to Get Crimson instead of buying the CD and never listening to it. And I am a serious Knopfler fan. I flew down from Anchorage in '05 to see him when he played in Seattle, was a fantastic concert, but these latest records are just too damn mellow.
jefesq
10-10-2009, 01:21 PM
I thought it was just me, but Lucky sucks. Sorry, gotta agree about solos worth listening to being few and far between lately.
Stratobuc
10-10-2009, 01:26 PM
If you like Mark Knopfler, you should listen to Richard Thompson. Nobody does it any better.
pete692
10-10-2009, 01:39 PM
Knopfler gives coasting a bad name.
puckhead
10-10-2009, 01:39 PM
Most of Kill to Crimson has some really tasty fills, but in terms of a really great lead line, I love the song "What it is".

you really can't go wrong with Mark solo stuff... he is just so unbelievably melodic.
oasis02
10-10-2009, 01:53 PM
"Sailing to Philadelphia" is top-notch. It rivals most of the Dire Straits output. "Get Lucky" is so god-awful-boring, it has me longing for the Loverboy version.
ecm1117
10-10-2009, 02:05 PM
If you like Mark Knopfler, you should listen to Richard Thompson. Nobody does it any better.

Yeah, you're right about the similarities between Thompson and Knopfler. I've been listening to Thompson's Grizzly Man soundtrack a lot over the past year or so. It's just gorgeous!

Back to MK, I didn't mean to start a venting session about his recent lack of guitar heroics on studio recordings, but I guess I'm not the only one who's been a bit frustrated by his choice to tone-down the lead playing. Thanks again for the suggestions, so far I've checked out and enjoyed Back To Tupelo, Cleaning My Gun, and So Far From The Clyde. For those that suggested Dire Straits stuff, thanks but I already have all those records!

Any other suggestions?
BadCat
10-10-2009, 02:13 PM
I Dug Up a Diamond on the album with Emmylou is very nice. There's a bit of nice playing on that record.
johntoste
10-10-2009, 04:23 PM
Not to derail... but given that Richard Thompson has been recommended, I think that the OP would enjoy the live RT record called More Guitar. He burns on nearly every track. His tone is not like MK, it's more wirey and less lush but he has a great use of the pick and fingers.

Of the more recent MK records, I love Shangri La. Some great playing but full of great songs.
Bandalero
10-10-2009, 10:19 PM
Golden Heart (solo): Don't You Get It
Sailing to Philadelphia (solo): Speedway at Nazareth
Shangri-La (solo): Don't Crash The Ambulance
Kill To Get Crimson (solo): Punish The Monkey
All The Roadrunning (w/Emmylou Harris): I Dug Up A Diamond
puckhead
10-11-2009, 11:41 AM
Most of Kill to Crimson has some really tasty fills, but in terms of a really great lead line, I love the song "What it is".

you really can't go wrong with Mark solo stuff... he is just so unbelievably melodic.

huh - I think I got the album wrong, but here's the track anyways.
"tasty" is a really good word for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSdQ3Ze2VOM
stratlad
10-11-2009, 08:07 PM
Mark is more of a songwriter now - and a great one in my opinion. It took me awhile to get into Ragpicker's dream but if you forget the guitar and just focus on the construction of the songs they are amazing.

I do like Sailing to Philadelphia (especially Bologna Again and Speedway at Nazareth) and the "Gold" album he did before that is excellent too.

However "Kill to get Crimson" though great in parts - is just a bit too mellow I'd agree.
Bandalero
10-11-2009, 11:15 PM
For some lesser-known but downright "tasty" Knopfler stuff (circa 2004), checkout his contribution to John Fogerty's (Deja Vu) track entitled "Nobody's Here Anymore". Killer!

Someone here on TGP turned me on to this little 'jewel' a couple of weeks ago, and to my dismay, I had owned the album all-along but had never even listened to it!@?#$%&. Doh! Some outstanding (Sultan-esqe) MK, twenty-years removed.
xroads
10-12-2009, 03:43 AM
One of my favorites is "Neck and Neck", with Chet Atkins.

+1
Great guitar playing on that one.
lakehaus
10-12-2009, 05:12 AM
One of my favorites is "Neck and Neck", with Chet Atkins.

Every guitarist owes it to themselves to own this album. I'm not a huge MK fan, but I do appreciate excellent guitar playing - Chet and Mark do it here.