Favourite songs?

[Rail King]

Rail King - listen here http://songs.to/#!s=Privateering+Bonus+CD&c=album

Many thanks! But I'll wait for the weekend, when I'll have more time. Feel free to laugh at me, but listening to new Knopfler or Dylan songs is something quite special for me. I don't have the time for that right now (and should stop posting, too). Glad to share my thoughts on the bonus material next week

[sweetsurrender]

I agreed that listening to MK new album is a very special moment for me too.  I got my copy yesterday, but couldn't find the perfect moment until this morning.  I refused to listen to any snippets on Itunes.  Except for a few songs Mark played last tour with BD.  2 songs that instantly became my favorites are : privateering and Go Love.  privateering sounds better to me in studio than Live from last year.  I love the guitar intro of GO, Love.  I'll be spending a lot of my time familializing myself with the new songs, there are just so many of them.

[a visitor]

Don't mean to sound like a whining old man here, but having compared Mark's and Bob's new albums, Bob's wins by a mile. Now I just listened to Ry Cooder's new CD, and that's what Privateering should have sounded like. It's just under 40 minutes, but by jove, it's good! Rocking, bluesy, folksy, intense, in your face. If you can get past Cooder's pretty leftist preferences, you ought to get it. Have a listen here:

http://songs.to/#!s=Election+Special&c=album

[Rail King]

I will comment on Dylan's album here as soon as I've had a chance to listen to it.

For Ry Cooder I have a lot of respect, and I agree about production and album length. His songwriting can't compare to Mark Knopfler's, though. As much as I like what Ry Cooder does, he's a much more limited songwriter than Knopfler. If Ry Cooder writes a song about an investment banker, what you get is "Mutt Romney Blues". If Mark writes about the same thing, you get "Kingdom of Gold". No matter which approach you prefer, I think Mark could write something like "Mutt Romney Blues" anytime, if he wanted to. Ry Cooder could never write something like "Kingdom of Gold".

Sure, Knopfler could learn a lot from Dylan and Cooder when it comes to production. I hope he does. But if you're disappointed with the new album, you also have to remember that there wasn't ever a Mark Knopfler album with so much live recording! There's hope that he's heading in the right direction.

[a visitor]

Agree with you on that one, RK. Mark's writing is par excellence, Cooder's not so. Then again, maybe it's all about horses for courses or whatever appeals to your personality? I've always prefered music that excites me emotionally rather than intellectually, and to do that, it needs a certain energy and genunineness.

[Rail King]

Agreed, Mark could use more of that. I think the best thing that could happen to him would be a different producer, or co-producer, to be precise. Daniel Lanois, for instance, would be able to produce a superb Knopfler album, I'm sure.

[a visitor]

Hehe

Don't forget we're dealing with Mark "Control Freak" Knopfler here. Never going to happen. But it would be interesting to hear what someone with a very different production style would be able to get out of Mark and his songs.

[a visitor]

... a different co-producer ...

As much as I appreciate Guy Fletcher's input, I have a feeling he's very much a yeasayer AND I also question his gustatory proclivities. Some of the synth sounds he's come up with are hideous, and the fact that he's been able to convince Mark to use them is just beyond me.

[pjh3121]

I think it would have made a tight 10 track album thus -

Redbud Tree
Privateering
Corned Beef City
Go, Love
Hot or What
Yon Two Crows
Seattle
Radio City Serenade
Bluebird
Dream of the Drowned Submariner
 
The rest is really good, of course, with the exception of Don't Forget Your Hat, which is just You Can't Beat The House but even longer and more tedious, and Kingdom of Gold which is a retread of Heartful of Holes and Haul Away which completely interrupts the momentum of the beginning of the album which is already on thin ice when it's starting with Redbud Tree. Corned Beef City would have been a better opener.

However, I love Go, Love. I can imagine it on Love Over Gold, it's that good. I wish he'd go back to writing rock/pop songs rather than over relying on the folk and, now it seems, blues templates. Having said that, Hot or What is good fun and it's great to hear him swing for once.

[dmg]

I've got to agree with most of what you say pjh3121.  Not so fond of Go, Love mind you so I'd rather have Haul Away but I agree that Hot or What is good fun.  I just think it is not done very well - or perhaps I should put it - as I would like it!

I wish also that he would get away from the folk stuff because he does country rock so well.

[El Macho]

You can't beat the house is my GL favorite track !

[a visitor]

I'm playing pjh's suggested playlist right now. Will see how that turns out

Edit:

However, I love Go, Love. I can imagine it on Love Over Gold, it's that good.

Go, Love is superb. One of the tracks on the album that I really like. And the organ and guitar interplay does indeed remind me of the Love Over Gold sound. The outro solo is amazing. Moody and husky minor key songs are where Mark excels.

[Rail King]

... a different co-producer ...

As much as I appreciate Guy Fletcher's input, I have a feeling he's very much a yeasayer AND I also question his gustatory proclivities. Some of the synth sounds he's come up with are hideous, and the fact that he's been able to convince Mark to use them is just beyond me.

Couldn't agree more. And that's been true for all MK albums except maybe Shangri-La. Back then, I was seriously hoping that the Fletcher influence was about to fade ...

[Rail King]

By the way, I was discussing synths with Guy Fletcher some years ago, via email. And I must say that although he didn't agree with me, he was very open, even truly interested to hear my point of view. The bad thing of course is that Mark is probably never even going to hear that kind of complaint. If he did, I'm sure he'd think: "Wait a minute ... maybe there's some truth in what these guys say." I'm not sure he will ever change his mind about synths and production in general, but at least someone should make him aware of it. I think that has yet to happen.

[a visitor]

I think it would have made a tight 10 track album thus -

Redbud Tree
Privateering
Corned Beef City
Go, Love
Hot or What
Yon Two Crows
Seattle
Radio City Serenade
Bluebird
Dream of the Drowned Submariner

Just finished listening to this sequence, and that's a really nice collection of songs. Feels very coherent, although it might need one more uptempo song. This list feels like an A and B side - the first a bit more firey, the second more moody and dark. I like that. I guess that's something I miss from the LP/tape days.