Seriously amazing version on Brothers In Arms 12/11/11

[xxFordiexx]

Wow, I really can't believe how awesome Mark is playing on this tour. It seems that the sit down on the last tour has breathed new life into his performance for this tour. He is seriously amazing live this year. Listen to this version of Brothers In Arms. One of the best ever!!!

[ds1984]

Another source and without audience chat:
 

[Jackal]

The song is OK. But he really does play with a lot more confidence now, which is great.

I'm sick of the cittern sound though. For me it is starting to sound like this:

 

[Pottel]

brilliant song fletch, always loved these dramatical tunes. pretty talented. and no, i am serious ;-)

[ds1984]

brilliant song fletch,

? ? ?

[twm]

Sick of the cittern sound? Surely not. I really look forward to the "duelling citterns" section. Maybe that's overstating it but how often you have seen or heard two citterns on stage playing together before? I suspect not at all. 

Although the instrument has a basic pedigree dating back many centuries (some say it is based on the Portuguese guitar, itself derived from an instrument imported from Britain several centuries ago), what you see on stage is a modern cittern.

I am no expert on musical instruments but one of the first people I saw play one was Jez Lowe who I have met a few times. He first told me about the instrument's more recent history. The other musician I can recall playing one was Larry Campbell, I think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jez_Lowe
http://www.jezlowe.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Campbell_(musician)
http://members.cox.net/larrycampbell2000/

Anyway, I enjoy hearing the cittern being played - and being played so well and also in quite an unusual manner for an instrument mainly developed with folk musicians in mind.

[Jackal]

Don't get me wrong. I don't mind some cittern used as ornamentation. Or in a folk (celtic especially) setting where it blends in well. But in a lot of Mark's music, the cittern takes on this high-ringing-sparkling-piercing character which makes it stand out too much. Then when you have songs such as Telegraph Road with a lot of instruments kind of blending into each other and get the cittern playing a repetitive "pling-pling / pling-pling-pling" riff on top of that, it gets on my nerves. Badly. Almost as irritating as the harpsichord.

[Love Expresso]

They put a nice McGoldrick-cittern-rhythm-sound on "Cleaning My Gun" this time which I like very much - gives the song some new dynamics. Also those two citterns on Hill Farmer's Blues sound great. But as Jackal put it, I also can't get used to the sound of it on Brothers In Arms - but the whole song is not on my menu anymore... I just can't hear it anymore... (I was so happy not to have to hear it in Hannover and having Haul Away AND Donegan's Gone instead of it.) It is a great song of course, historic, and there have been soooo many great and timeless versions, but the last time I enjoyed it must have been 2008.

But I agree that on this version he puts some new and unusual sounds and riffs to it, very interesting. So he indeed seems to be having "the best time along this trip"...

LE

[superval99]

Very nice version and I loved the cittern!   

[twm]

Actually, I have to thank you for raising the cittern issue.  We recently moved house and have still not got everything sorted out, so a few things have passed us by. Putting the Jez Lowe webpage up on this site made realise that he's playing a place about 20 miles (30 KM) from us on Friday, along with his group, The Bad Pennies. We will have to adjust our programme but may well go on Friday evening, then off to London for the three Dylan and Knopfler shows. Thanks again.

[Jackal]

The pleasure is all mine.

[Maxx]

The old songs really need some extra effort from Mark to sound great nowadays, like in this version. I guess it's rather boring for him to play that, but when he puts his heart and soul in the song it does stand up nicely to the old versions.

[ds1984]

The old songs really need some extra effort from Mark to sound great nowadays, like in this version. I guess it's rather boring for him to play that, but when he puts his heart and soul in the song it does stand up nicely to the old versions.

If Mark is bored he don't play it. BIA did have its "fridge time" in 2001

[dmg]

If you listen to the solo since about midway through the tour to the end it's almost identical every night which is quite poor IMO.  There is surely some improvisation he can think of; a lack of imagination in that area is not something you can usually accuse MK of having.

[sweetsurrender]

Another source and without audience chat:
 

send shivers up and down my spine and almost made me cry.