Privateering on MK.COM

[Jules]

... I can hear "the drone", and you might be right about that, but that's not the very last sound in the song we talk about, I believe. The pipes (or whatever it is) are there for quite some time, while the "synth" sound can only be heard at the very end.

I have just listened again and I think it is a synth sound at the very end, not a drone. 

Honestly, I just listened to the whole song once, and it sounded very clear as "the drone", I recall the song being performed live with pipes, so I thought it was the drone from the pipes...

I can be wrong, maybe asking Guy its the best solution.

[Rail King]

I've asked him, let's see. And listen to the last couple of seconds - that's what we mean. The synth stays on longer than the guitar.

It's just a detail, of course, but one that comes up again and again. The synths are also the reason why I have mixed feelings about "The Dream of the Drowned Submariner". This will be a great tune, no doubt, but it sound like something from the OES period. Synths are a dead thing, and you can hear it. No point in using them unless you want to sound industrial.

[Jules]

MK has been using synths sounds here and there in all his records, always serving the song... Sometimes you dont notice, or you notice very little of it...

Thats the key, use that sounds when you need them. Not spreading that sounds around everything.

[Rail King]

Has he used synths on "Shangri-La"? If he did, he did so VERY carefullly! I don't mind synths as long as I don't hear them ...

[Jules]

Has he used synths on "Shangri-La"? If he did, he did so VERY carefullly! I don't mind synths as long as I don't hear them ...

Probably in that record they dont use them. Guy mentioned that only organic sounds were used in that record, thats what it makes it so special to me...

They played in that record a real harmonium, Guy also said he

[Rail King]

Yeah, exactly! I love the sound of "Shangri-La" more than anything. And whoever says that a good Mark Knopfler album needs synths: What about his first one, "Dire Straits"? 

[Jules]

Yeah, exactly! I love the sound of "Shangri-La" more than anything. And whoever says that a good Mark Knopfler album needs synths: What about his first one, "Dire Straits"? 

It has synths... At least thats what I heard... The intro of Down to the waterline, something like bells in Lions (or was it In the gallery?), very soft, very on the back of the songs... Its not credited, like the piano in Wild west end. Probably played by Muff Winwood himself or the engineer of the record, who knows.

[Rail King]

Alright then, more of those inaudible synths, please! 

[JF]

Yeah, exactly! I love the sound of "Shangri-La" more than anything. And whoever says that a good Mark Knopfler album needs synths: What about his first one, "Dire Straits"? 

It has synths... At least thats what I heard... The intro of Down to the waterline, something like bells in Lions (or was it In the gallery?), very soft, very on the back of the songs... Its not credited, like the piano in Wild west end. Probably played by Muff Winwood himself or the engineer of the record, who knows.

No no no 

there's no synth in 2 firsts albums
Intro of DTTW is played by Mark on guitar, to sound like boat horn
few notes on Piano on WWE could have been played by Mark, David or Muff winwood
There's also an organ on the In the gallery chorus

but definitely no synths ! (like 5 first Queen albums  )

[Rolleyway Man]

I personally have no problem with synths. As with any instrument, it's a case of using them in such a way that is appropriate to the arrangement. Just as the material on Shangri-La doesn't generally lend itself to electronic sounds, synths work brilliantly on many of the songs on On Every Street and both albums, though totally different, work just as well for me. They can add a lot of depth to a song and utterly transform it and of course the pallette of sounds is pretty much unlimited!

I've deliberately avoided hearing any snippets from Privateering (other than Redbud Tree) as I don't want to spoil listening to it when it comes out, but I'll be interested to hear how much synth activity there is on there. MK has been gradually bringing them back in since Kill to Get Crimson. The gentle synth pad you can hear at the beginning of The Car Was the One is subtle but very effective.

[Rail King]

I personally have no problem with synths. As with any instrument, it's a case of using them in such a way that is appropriate to the arrangement. Just as the material on Shangri-La doesn't generally lend itself to electronic sounds, synths work brilliantly on many of the songs on On Every Street and both albums, though totally different, work just as well for me. They can add a lot of depth to a song and utterly transform it and of course the pallette of sounds is pretty much unlimited!

I've deliberately avoided hearing any snippets from Privateering (other than Redbud Tree) as I don't want to spoil listening to it when it comes out, but I'll be interested to hear how much synth activity there is on there. MK has been gradually bringing them back in since Kill to Get Crimson. The gentle synth pad you can hear at the beginning of The Car Was the One is subtle but very effective.

How much synth activity on Privateering? Not much, fortunately! The only snippets with synths seemed to be Redbud Tree (the pling-pling thing), Privateering and The Dream of the Drowned Submariner.

I agree that the synths kind of work on On Every Street (and what a great album it is), and The Car Was the One is one of my all-time favourites - in spite of the synth work. Still, I believe that great songs like that one would have worked without synths easily, an maybe even better. Privateering is the best example so far: The synth at the end is nothing but disturbing to me, completely useless. And worse: It kind of destroys the "handmade" feel the song has.

My problem with synths is simply this: They're a cold, dead thing. No human touch, and that's what I miss. Of course, if you WANT to make music that sounds sterile, cold, industrial, whatever (and I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing), then synths will be very helpful. But that's just not the corner Mark is in these days. He's music - as far as I can tell - is all about authenticity, if you will, it's handcrafted, warm-hearted, very "human". I just don't see how the synths fit in here. If he uses them occasionally, they sound like an awkward left-over from the 80's.