Mark Knopfler: 'I Have Become A Veteran At This Music Thing'
"I'm writing too many songs, and then I have to put them out -- I'm sorry," Mark Knopfler said at the start of what seems like our annual phone call.
But if Knopfler is going to make CDs like Get Lucky, he can call me every few months -- these eleven songs are completely original short stories and character sketches, set against music by one of the planet's greater guitarists. That the quality is uniformly high is no surprise.
What did take me aback -- and what will make fans of Dire Straits and Knopfler's previous solo releases shake their heads -- is that Knopfler seems to have assembled this CD without regard for the commercial marketplace. Nothing that says "automatic Top 10" jumps out at you like "Punish the Monkey (Let the Organ Grinder Go)" from Kill to Get Crimson or "Boom Like That" from Shangri-La.
The likely result: The guy whose band sold 120 million records has made a CD that will be appreciated mostly by the smallest cohort of music lovers: smart, literate grownups who can read without moving their lips. [Click to listen to Border Reiver, the CD's hottest song.]
An unwillingness -- or is it an inability?--- to compromise. A curiosity, at 60, about songwriting that explores new personal territory. A concern, in all things, for authenticity. You don't have to talk to Mark Knopfler long before you realize that these are bred in the bone. Listen:
Jesse Kornbluth: Three words: Dire Straits reunion.
Mark Knopfler (audible sigh): These days, it does seem to be the style. But putting the brakes on when I did [he disbanded Dire Straits in 1995] was right. I'm happy with the way things are.
JK: We're talking about the easiest $300 million you'll ever make!
MK: I'm looking to do more of what I do -- improve my recordings and playing the new music live, enjoying the variations that brings.
JK: At a conference, I heard Steve Jobs quote The Beatles: "You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead." I hear that idea running through your new CD. There's a lot of life experience -- people on the far side of young love, lost comrades, memories of a distant childhood.
MK: The road ahead -- yes, it's a different picture. I have become a bit of a veteran at this music thing, so there's some of what made me. One song, "Cleaning My Gun." is from the vet's viewpoint, the survivor's viewpoint. I've made a couple of notes where it's possible to tell you the background of some of the songs. But I try not to interfere too much or explain. I don't want to spoil the songs for you; I'd prefer that it's going to be what you want it to be.
JK: In "Remembrance Day," you sing the names of those -- war dead, it seems -- now under the "earthen roof." Are they men you knew?
MK: It's just a list of boys. It begins with a cricket team. In a lot of communities, cricket teams and football teams -- and in America, baseball teams -- were the kids who went to war.
JK: That's the closest you come to social criticism on this CD. There's no wry, angry song like "Punish the Monkey." Is Knopfler mellowing?
MK: The older I get, the more grouchy I become. I have some equally disagreeable friends who are walking partners with me in the morning. We get most of our bile out then. By the time I get home, I feel better.
JK: I think of a Bruce Springsteen CD that, according to his manager, had no obvious hit single. Bruce went home and dashed off "Dancing in the Dark." And the entire world bought "Born in the USA." In contrast, I fear that "Get Lucky" will be under-appreciated because it's merely gorgeous.
MK: It does occur to me I need to have someone like that.
JK: I see you have one concert scheduled this month -- then your schedule looks blank until May of 2010. This can't be.
MK: I'm trying to work out a way to pop over to America and do Prairie Home Companion or Letterman, just by myself. And there will be a tour from April to July. [The American tour is April/May, 2010. Information here.]
JK: Didn't Dire Straits once do 250 concerts in a year?
MK: When you're young and in a band, it's like you have a football under your arm -- you're running. But some of that is running away.
JK: Fender has just launched the Mark Knopfler Stratocaster. Do you use it or just endorse it?
MK: I play it on stage instead of my old one. It works better. It has all the things I specified: a rosewood finger board, nice big smooth frets. Other owners seem to like it too.
JK: Michael Jordan wore a new pair of Nike shoes every night. Do you have more than one Knopfler Strat?
MK: I can make a lot of money for charity by playing one at an event and then selling it. So I'll generally be using a new one....
JK: I see your high standards as an affront to our rapidly deteriorating culture. They reassure those of us who care about these things that we're not alone, not crazy. In that sense, "Get Lucky" is a comfort. Can you relate?
MK: There's been an erosion, and not just in the United States. It becomes more important for people who regard themselves as having the ability to discern and feel to stand tall.
JK: So market-directed music....
MK: I'm sorry. Those words are meaningless to me.
Consider "Get Lucky" Exhibit A.
[cross-posted from HeadButler.com]
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The MK Signature Stratocaster is one of the nicest guitars I've had my hands on. True to Mark's integrity, each one, while still a production model, has the feel, sound and build quality of a custom shop guitar. But I have to say, if you really want to hear what this guitar can do, you really should hear it in MK's hands.
Mark Knopfler is a veteran at this music thing!! He is, without a doubt one of the most stellar and humble musicians we have the privilege to listen to today. I love the comment above, that he "wants to do more of what he wants...and enjoys the variations that brings." It shows in the amusement on his face when he plays.
I would say that in the past five-ten years one of my all-time favorite venues to hear him was the Berkeley Community Theater. It was close, intimate, and you got a real sense of the man who was there to simply be himself, play his music, at ease with his fans. He communicates his heart and soul through his strat and it never misses the mark, if you know what I mean.
His vocal delivery also shines, and yes, his tour last year w/Emmylou was superb~Red Staggerwing, Beachcombing~everything on All the Road Running is great, hopefully we will hear more from the two of them soon. Just so many songs this man has created! I still listen to "The Bug" (yes sometimes we are) and "My Parties" (it's casual conversation, we aim to please) when I need to laugh. Sure I miss some of the old DS songs, but the man has moved into another dimension where he is prolific and creative.
All I can say is keep 'em coming Mark! You are the best!
Last summer at Red Rocks for me. What a treat!
I haven't heard this one but I'm looking forward to it. And anyone who hasn't heard Jeff Beck Live at Ronnie Scotts' is missing some great music for grownups. The DVD is even better thant he CD, the DVD has songs with Joss Stone, Eric Clapton and Imogene Heap. And you can see Jimmy Page sitting in the audience, which means the 3 best guitarists alive today are in the same room (OK, I didn't see Carlos Santana, but...).
Mark Knopfler is a god.
Mr. Knopfler is my favourite musician.
Does Emmylou Harris turn in any backing vocals on this one?
What a combination they made!
Between the honesty and integrity of Mark Knopfler's music and Chris Rea's music, it's as if all my inner thoughts and private concerns have a melodic and personal hook to be hung on. Great stuff all around.
From the advance single, it seems the songwriting is stellar as ever--but where's the passionate guitar fills that every MK fan loves so?
Oops: It's John McCusker not McGinty.
Guy Fletcher is also on the record & tour, and he's a veteran of 20 years with Mark.
I just got back from England where I attended the Prince's trust concert, (Sept 9) featuring Mark Knopfler & "five musicians". These five are the musicians he toured with last year. While a "Dire Straits" reunion tour sounds tempting, I have to agree with with MK said in another interview years ago. The band he's put together does Dire Straits better than DS.
Mk does incorporate DS songs into his tours, but as he said Sept 9, his catalog is getting too extensive to play every song we'd like to hear. When you see him live, his guitar solos turn what were 3-4 minutes album songs into 7-12 minutes of guitar heaven. I'll take fewer songs & longer guitar work any day.
I disagree that there is no stand out hit on his new album, listen to Border Reiver, it's reminiscent of the Highland sound he's used in soundtracks & Golden Heart album, the addition of John McGinty on wind & fiddle made last years tour a treat, & he's back again this year.
If you get the chance, buy tickets to see MK, you'll get a copy of the CD with each pair of tickets. You won't miss DS in the least.
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