The Solo albums - which is your fave?

[Rollergirl]

Well, I do like the title, and I can be romantic  I just don't like it when people spread out their feelings just because they can, since they are famous. Goethe's love poems make me nauseous, too. People are in love and lovesick all over the world, so I don't see why famous people's feelings are more special. Just MHO 

It's not being famous that gives them the "right" to spread out their feelings, it's the fact that they are poets and that's what a poet does, express their feelings in poems/songs. Comes with the job. Somebody famous for being a chef for example wouldn't do that. (or maybe he would cook just luuuuurve peas;D )

[vgonis]

What a topic. ::)It is clear that we all love every album for more or less different reasons    but we favor KTGC least of all for one and only reason we dare not admit quite openly: poor songwriting.
Now for Flech's sake, this is my story for MK's personal albums. GH was a big surprise, that I received as a wink from my brother while I was in the army (near Gilmour's house at Lindos - Pottel  ) .  Anyway, even though I was surprised, I can't say I quite liked what I heard. The return to roots was not complete and the effort to include rockers just to attract DS  fans wasn't really working for me. Sailing to Philadelphia was more welcome, due to best songwriting and guests and rockers and easy flow. His voice was better, too. It is certainly the album with the most spins. RPD is the hidden jem (and with a great Elliott Erwitt photo for cover. Being a photographer it had some affect on me. And of course the first solo release that was issued in my favourite format :Vinyl). At first I was let down, but several spins later revealed a more solid songwriting than previous albums at the expense of rockers, but for the same reason more cohesive. Even though I much prefer the beefed up with the terrific solo  HFB live version,  the raw material is there at RPD. SL could have been my favourite album, since it is the one that reminds me more of the good old DS days. Also the psychological factor, is important, since I was in the U.K. in August 2004 at the time of release, chasing a promo at all the second hand record shops of London, just to be able to listen to it before most people. KTGC never did it for me. I tried and tried but no desire to go back, what so ever. And I gave it many spins since it was the KTGC tour coming from Greece and I wanted to be able to understand and participate.    Get lucky was a nice return to more solid song writing, but surely a long way from the sound I have been expecting. But since the song writing is the most important part of all, I now see it as a new window to the world of music, which coming from MK made it easier to open and gaze. (ATRR meanwhile tried the same a couple of years but for me it didn't work as good)
Now, imagine where I casted my vote...  

[superval99]

Well, I like KTGC a lot.  It's not my favourite by a long way, but the lyrics are really descriptive and I find I am listening to this album a lot more now than when it was released.

VGONIS2002 - I imagine you cast your vote in the same place as I did, but I'm probably wrong!     

[Rollergirl]

but we favor KTGC least of all for one and only reason we dare not admit quite openly: poor songwriting.

Sorry, I can't let that one pass. Poor songwriting? I don't think MK is capable of that.
The reason KTGC is bottom of my list is that it's missing a couple of "rockers" or "folkers" in my opinion. Too soft. And I am missing the trademark MK licks which came back on Get Lucky.

[vgonis]

Superval, it is a surprise but you are correct with my casted vote...

Rollergirl, I can not let this "not let it pass" pass, either. In fact I don't much like people that let that pass, but I will let that pass for the moment. KTGC has 0 (zero) votes. Surprised? No. But I am surprised that you believe that MK is incapable of writing bad songs. In fact if he is as good as we all believe, than he can actually write a bad tune, too. If he is not able to write a bad tune, then he is not that good a composer.

And anyway, why should we consider a weak record, good, even if it is by MK? That makes us less fanatic? No, it is plain truth. After all we need that sort of records from our favourite artist, in order to prove our fan-ship. In later years it will be the one we are going to listen to when we get bored from over-listening the rest of his records.

[superval99]

I don't think KTGC has zero votes because it is a bad album.  It's probably, because, like me, there are those of us who just like others more.  

I find KTGC an album full of nostalgia and that can make it feel a bit sad, but not due to poor songwriting.  There are vivid pictures in my mind when I listen to this album and that is because of MK's great lyrics.    

The fact that KTGC has zero votes is also, possibly, because most of the songs are not concert material - only two have been performed in concert on tour, plus a couple more on promo tours.

[Rollergirl]

The fact that I (or you or even Dusty  ) don't like KTGC as much as the other albums doesn't make it a bad album, neither does the fact that all who have voted here (29 people!) don't consider it their favourite.

I knew when I wrote this (MK is not capable of bad songwriting) I was going to get some reactions. I am still expecting a long list of "bad" songs by MK.

They are not bad, or weak, but we don't like them for one reason or another. Big difference. Music is so subjective, somebody's bad gives somebody else ear or brain-orgasms  .

[vgonis]

Superval you ground me!  We are fans, we are supposed to like everything due to permanent ear MKosis. And no matter how we name our inability to like everything at the same degree, fact above this all, is that even the greatest composers and writers and artists in general can have weak moments in their body of work. Of course weak for MK might have been a high for someone else, sometimes it all comes down to expectations.  Since these things are in reality trivial, art is so personal that in the end we only do this little chit-chat to have a good time and to socialize a bit. with people sharing the same interests. People that we might never have known otherwise. And I am glad we disagree.    
But I still believe that KTGC is a not an MK record, because although it has an excellent production and solid playing and  fabulous artwork it has very few MK in it. I mean even though it is and sounds MK it actually lucks a signature MK depth. The interplay of music, lyrics and playing somehow doesn't work as good and ...
oh it doesn't really matter to explain, I just like it least of all.  

Rollergirl, I always think of the words I use, in order to be able to protect my opinion. I said poor, not bad.  Poor can be beautiful.  But actually I wasn't even going to that direction. But you are obviously never thought that it doesn't matter if a song is good or bad, even if they have a long life like SOS. Some people like it some not so much But if you can find and call "bad"  songs by other musicians, then that would also have to apply to Mk as well. He is human and too close to the music business to always tell the good things from the poor.   All his works have a standard high quality. We just give different name sto the same things.
And last but not least, consider the time spent to listen to other artists. What makes me a MK fan and not an Franz Ferdinand or Beatles fan is the fact that I want to be one. Because I have spent more time listening to the Beatles and FF and Pink Floyd and various other bands than KTGC. Any way there is only a way to solve this, a gun duel in the park. Winner is proven right and loser gets to listen to KTGC for all eternity!

[Love Expresso]

After having heard Corned Beef City several times now I must say that this is a song that gets very close to one of the poorest compositions of MK?

LE

[herlock]

The fact that I (or you or even Dusty  ) don't like KTGC as much as the other albums doesn't make it a bad album, neither does the fact that all who have voted here (29 people!) don't consider it their favourite.

I knew when I wrote this (MK is not capable of bad songwriting) I was going to get some reactions. I am still expecting a long list of "bad" songs by MK.

They are not bad, or weak, but we don't like them for one reason or another. Big difference. Music is so subjective, somebody's bad gives somebody else ear or brain-orgasms  .

It's hard to find bad songs written by MK; I would say Walk Of Life, but it's probably because of its overcommercialization rather than the song itself.
I find some songs rather dull, especially on the SL album, which is my least favourite: SFSL and All That Matters come to mind; but even on my least favourite album I can find some gems - Postcards from Paraguay is so wonderful.
We should give a grade to the albums rather than just selecting the favourite, the ranking would be rather different I believe -our method is unfair to these albums who are nobody's favourite but would be most people #2...
My rank would be as follows:

1. STP - because I listened to it during wondeful holydays in Bermuda, and it made me believe Dire Straits was back - this is the closest we have to the old sound !
2. TRD - I took some time, but now I really like it a lot - Mark just did what he wanted, free at last from pressure, and it is a nice mix of rockers (WAM) and songs that help me calm down in the evening (A place we used to live). A real treasure.
3. GL - I was so happy when it came out, such a nice summary of Mark's career... I got adicted to Piper to the End, the new Brothers in Arms, and the rytm of Border Reiver.
4. ATRR - Sorry to put it, but to me it is essentially a MK album (10 songs out of 12 are from MK). I really came to like it a lot, I Dug Up a Diamond is a real gem that should be played in MK concert (so nice to have on DVD), Rolling On and the Title track are wonderful...
5. GH - When it came out I was somewhat disappointed, coming after the last DS tour. Still, the title track and Rudiger are among my top favourite songs.
6. KTGC - the one that got bashed so severly by everybody... I still like it a lot. It's calm, different, but not without personality. Punish the Monkey is really nice, and there are other gems as well.
7. SL - Too clinical, dull for my taste. Even the rocker (BLT) is repetitive... As I said I love Postcards, but I had no crush on other songs (although it is still a MK album, i.e. very nice to listen to).

[Rollergirl]

But if you can find and call "bad"  songs by other musicians, then that would also have to apply to Mk as well.

Well, that's the thing you see, I don't. I don't have the arrogance to dismiss something somebody has put his/her heart into as bad just because I don't like it.

And it really gets me going when others do (as you are finding out now  ).

[superval99]

After having heard Corned Beef City several times now I must say that this is a song that gets very close to one of the poorest compositions of MK?

LE

Yes, I feel pretty much the same.  It's one of those songs that get trapped in the brain and it's stuck there for what seems an eternity!     I really hope it's not on the new album, but, there again, lots of people are sure to love it and that's fine for them - who am I to say they're wrong! 

[Love Expresso]

The same here. While I think Haul Away and Privateering are two real MUSTS for the new album, Corned Beef City could be a very nice b-side/bonus track what ever. But maybe it will sound a little different on the album, who knows.

I heard one of the last recordings and they already changed the first seconds of CBC, the intro is now played in a different way. And in Oberhausen Mark added some
new singing into the chorus of Privateering which I liked a lot. (no words, just a little hooo hoooo yeaaaah yeaaaah if you know what I mean).

I heard an interview with Nick Lowe about his new album The Old Magic, and there he was saying that he had played two of the new songs in front of US audiences BEFORE recording and the resonance was so great that on the one hand he immediately decided to put them on the album but on the other he knew that he would never nail them exactly the same way that he did when this great response was received.
Therefore I hope that MK doesn't get bored with these songs and will put them onto the new album... But the difference is of course that MK already has recorded theses songs after all we know...

After all, an album called PRIVATEERING should have a track on it with the same name, shouldn't it... 

LE

[vgonis]

But if you can find and call "bad"  songs by other musicians, then that would also have to apply to Mk as well.

Well, that's the thing you see, I don't. I don't have the arrogance to dismiss something somebody has put his/her heart into as bad just because I don't like it.

And it really gets me going when others do (as you are finding out now  ).

I guess we can't get either philosophical or funny about some things. But to express an opinion for songs doesn't have to come even close to philosophy but it surely can and should be funny, due to the triviality of it. The musicians that put out their songs have the right to protect them but the audience has also the right to express an opinion.  But you have proven me wrong, and since I've committed both  high treason and blasphemy of not saying good things about KTGC, I will cease to exist as a fan, banished to the outer space where the only music I can listen to is music made from the mind, and not from the heart, music that sometimes even the composers disowned. And mind you there is plenty of such music out, but some of it has the merit to disguise itself perfectly, in music from the heart. And since this mind music is out there I might as well tell my opinion about it, I have already payed my dept for my arrogance towards the music coming from the heart. And I have put the remains of my heart into this opinion so do not dismiss it.Never mind... here comes the Sex Pistols.  

[Rollergirl]

now now VGONIS, not need to get your knickers into a twist over this. Of course you have a right to express an opinion about anything for all I care. What annoys me is when people say "bad" when they mean "I don't like", that's all.
But ignore me, most people here do when I get started on this, which is regularly