I came fairly late to Mark Knopfler’s solo albums. In fact, I didn’t investigate them deeply until I reviewed “One Deep River” for AUK. Since scoring that 9 out of 10, I’ve examined some of his other post-Dire Straits work, guided by Emily Dongray’s entry in our Essentials series. There I found albums like “All the Roadrunning” his duo record with Emmylou Harris, and “The Ragpickers Dream”. I don’t even mind the occasional bit of Dire Straits, but there’s one album that I can’t bring myself to listen to ever again…
Can’t Live Without It: Mark Knopfler “One Deep River” (2024)
I said a lot of what needs to be said about this gem in my review, but a while after it’s initial release a deluxe version appeared, including a second disc with 5 new songs. These were easily the equal of the material issued on the original album. ‘The Living End’ is quintessential Knopfler with the guitar front and centre. A groove that doesn’t let up and a restrained solo make this one of the highlights of the whole album. The bluesy torch song ‘Nothing But Rain’ is another classic, with a solo that encapsulates everything good about his playing and interestingly shows of how Steely Dan could have used him so much better than the bit of sugar they had him dust over ‘Time Out Of Mind.’
A year after that initial listen the album stands up as one of the enduring classics of the last few years. ‘Two Pairs of Hands’ is as good a track 1 side 1 as you could ask for. ‘Scavengers Yard’ continues to be a funky blues delight. A song I didn’t mention last year ’This One’s Not Going To End Well’ has revealed itself as another of the embarrassment of riches here. How many great tunes can you pack into an album?
But there was more to come. For Record Store Day 2024, he produced an EP, ‘The Boy.’ Four more songs. You can see why they were left off the album as they mostly don’t fit the mood set up on ‘One Deep River,’ and with a theme built around fairgrounds they sit well together. Now available for streaming and download they make up an ideal complement to the main album. The world would have been a poorer place for ‘Bad Day for a Knife Thrower’ being left on the shelf.
Can’t Live With It: Dire Straits “Brothers In Arms” (1985)
It’s not often that an album release triggers PTSD, but the recent 40th anniversary reissue of Dire Straits’ “Brothers In Arms” has done just that for me. It’s 1987, and I’ve started work at an independent TV shop. This will become known as “the worst job I ever had” before long, but for now all is looking rosy. The centre aisle of the small suburban shop has a row of shiny black Hi-Fi tower systems, all featuring the gadget of the moment, a CD player.
We don’t have many discs to demonstrate the players, but our manager thinks the one to keep playing as it never fails to sell a Hi-Fi system is “Brothers In Arms“. And played it was. In an 8-hour working day it was probably on for at least half of them. I worked there for 4 months, meaning I heard it hundreds of times. It got to the point where the clipped guitar notes at the start of ‘So Far Away’ had me running for the stock room. The CIA didn’t need to inflict Metallica on their Iraqi “guests,” when they could just press play on the breezy organ intro to ‘Walk of Life.’ Hear that five times a day every day for 16 weeks and you’ll admit to anything. Even the sub–ZZ Top riff of ‘Money For Nothing’ lost its appeal, and as for the “haunting” guitar line of the title track, it haunts me still.
When I left that job, I thought the nightmare had ended. In 1990 I finally acquired my own CD player. In amongst the draw opening and closing fun, and listening to the silence between the songs, I slowly bought a few discs. My wife, a casual music listener not given to exploring new things, came home one day clutching an HMV bag. “I heard this and it’s great, I’ll play it for you.” The flash of blue and hint of a National guitar appearing from the bag had me wishing I was back in the stock room.
