Media Reviews of Tracker

[foma]

Wow, foma where did you get this?

Straight from the website source code, you need to investigate it a little bit and often you can find hi-res pictures on it.

[Shai]

This lukewarm review is from Korea. Don't know if it's North or South, but either way, the reviewer is stuck on rock, and that's it!

Saul

“Tracker” is pretty. It’s also pretty subdued.

Mark Knopfler is on the cover of the latest issue of “Guitarist” magazine, but not because of anything he plays here. Knopfler assigns his instrument a minor role, and even when he tries to do his “Sultans of Swing” thing, on “Beryl,” he loses interest after three minutes and abruptly ends the song. And he sings throughout with the gusto of a fireside Perry Como.

However, Knopfler always has a winning way with a tune and an eclectic taste in topics. On “Tracker,” he sings about the author Beryl Bainbridge, the poet Basil Bunting and a commune in Sicily shrouded in “the mists of antiquity.” It makes for a melodious history lesson.

Despite the album’s consistently mellow mood, the musical range is wide. There’s a flute solo and other Celtic ornamentation, a bit of jazz, a tribute to JJ Cale and a lovely duet with Ruth Moody.

But, aside from the halfhearted “Beryl,” there’s nary a nod to rock. (AP)

[Shai]

This review by the Kenosha News is both short and sweet!

That's the way you do it, Korea!

Saul



Former Dire Straits’ frontman Mark Knopfler has put out several really excellent albums in the past few years, going back to 2009’s “Get Lucky.” No longer burdened by the constraints of “playin’ the guitar on the MTV,” he has settled into the purposeful role of troubadour, contently playing whatever his heart is set on.

Knopfler’s voice has mellowed with age, enhancing his tuneful Bob Dylan baritone. As limited as his range is, though, expressiveness is certainly not an issue. In “River Towns,” he sings about a wasted life of hardship, and you’re hung on every word. His voice just begs you to listen.

As for his guitar playing, Knopfler remains one of the best. On “Mighty Man,” he trades licks with himself; first a bit of fingerpicking, then a burst of slide. His fretwork is concise, never too many notes, never too few. His taste in this regard is nothing short of masterful and reason enough to investigate “Tracker.”

[Shai]

This review, from the Times of India, has to be one of the weirdest reviews that I have seen so far. Also, he seems to be mixing up "Dire Straits" with "Straits". THAT is a big no-no 



Album: Tracker
Singer: Mark Knopfler
Music: Sony music
Rating: 3.5

Rock: It might not really seem so at the outset, but Mark Knopfler, known more for his easy-on-the-ears music rather than Led Zeppelin-like hell raising or having a Beatles-like appetite for consuming myriad substances with rapacious glee, has taken chances in his career. Think back to 1985 when Straits had just put out the 9x-platinum Brothers In Arms that preceded a mammoth world tour. The money rolled right in. It's another subject that Straits never had an album that big again, but Knopfler had had enough of the gravy train even then.

Saul

[Shai]

Here is another chap who obviously doesn't know what great music sounds like. This is from a website called NOUSE (based in the UK).

I took the liberty to bold face some real pissers from this ignoramus.  Does anyone have any idea as to how one can go about rebutting this review?

Saul




Album Review: Mark Knopfler – Tracker

One time Dire Straits songsmith continues to plod through an unremarkable solo career. Ben Phillips reviews


Rating:  ?? 

Mark Knopfler is a legitimate member of two halls of fame: those of both great songwriters and great guitarists. The legacy of Brothers in Arms and “Sultans of Swing” rides before his every release, and his membership of one of the most commercially successful bands of the ‘80s probably guarantees that this will not be his last solo effort. Unfortunately, the creative magic that produced those great Dire Straits albums is absent from Tracker, just as it has been absent from most of Knopfler’s solo work.

For starters, after several listens, there remains no stand-out track. There are many pleasant melodies, but every song is softly-spoken and, equally, they all run at very similar tempos. Indeed, many of the songs on Tracker sound very similar to many of the songs on its predecessor, 2012’s Privateering. Opener “Laughs and Jokes and Drinks and Smokes” bounces along nicely, and single “Beryl” is one of the catchier tracks, chiefly because it sounds like it could have appeared on a Dire Straits album. Knopfler’s signature finger-picked guitar style appears to its best advantage on these tracks, but it is sorely lacking from much of the middle of the album, which drags significantly. There is also a great deal of evidence throughout this collection of songs that Mark’s vocal talents have not improved since the ‘80s, particularly when set against Ruth Moody’s wonderful voice in the duet, “Wherever I Go.” This track features some beautiful saxophone work from Nigel Hitchcock, but is saxophone really what attracts you to a Mark Knopfler album?

Tracker is another instalment of what so often happens to solo careers of previously ‘great’ artists. Like Freddie Mercury or Noel Gallagher, Knopfler has lost the ability to write truly special material outside of the collaborative environment of the band that made him famous. In fact, there are parts of Tracker that sound like a Springsteen tribute, or a Knopfler guest spot on an early Mumford & Sons record. No doubt the devoted Knopfler fans will be happy with another solid yet slightly inconsequential release, but it will not attract many new followers and certainly will not register in the great back catalogue associated with the Knopfler name. Tracker does not necessarily spell the end for Mark Knopfler, and it is certainly by no means a bad album, but hearing those sparkling guitar phrases that were so at home on “Sultans of Swing” and “Lady Writer” sparingly scattered over a collection of very average songs does make the heart sink and the ears grow weary.

[sweetsurrender]

That's what I kind of feel about tracker myself it's my least favorite album sorry to say.

[dmg]

That's what I kind of feel about tracker myself it's my least favorite album sorry to say.

I have to say that I agree.  Although it may not be my least favourite album overall, the review is the best and most accurate I've read so far.

[junkiedoll]

That's what I kind of feel about tracker myself it's my least favorite album sorry to say.

I have to say that I agree.  Although it may not be my least favourite album overall, the review is the best and most accurate I've read so far.

Fortunately most reviews range between positive and outstanding (which is also my opinion).

[superval99]

That's what I kind of feel about tracker myself it's my least favorite album sorry to say.

I have to say that I agree.  Although it may not be my least favourite album overall, the review is the best and most accurate I've read so far.

Fortunately most reviews range between positive and outstanding (which is also my opinion).

Mine too!   

[Shai]

This review is from Redding.com. Redding is a town in California, hence the attraction to "mellow" Mark. This guy doesn't appreciate what a gift MK is to the world.

Saul



Mark Knopfler, "Tracker" (Verve)

 

"Tracker" is pretty. It's also pretty subdued.

Mark Knopfler is on the cover of the latest issue of "Guitarist" magazine, but not because of anything he plays here. Knopfler assigns his instrument a minor role, and even when he tries to do his "Sultans of Swing" thing, on "Beryl," he loses interest after three minutes and abruptly ends the song. And he sings throughout with the gusto of a fireside Perry Como.

However, Knopfler always has a winning way with a tune and an eclectic taste in topics. On "Tracker," he sings about the author Beryl Bainbridge, the poet Basil Bunting and a commune in Sicily shrouded in "the mists of antiquity." It makes for a melodious history lesson.

Despite the album's consistently mellow mood, the musical range is wide. There's a flute solo and other Celtic ornamentation, a bit of jazz, a tribute to JJ Cale and a lovely duet with Ruth Moody.

But, aside from the halfhearted "Beryl," there's nary a nod to rock. Knopfler has sold 125 million records and doesn't seem to care whether he sells 10 more, refusing to parrot his past.


That's to be admired, so hear him out.

[dmg]

I lived in Redding for a few years as a young boy!  Redding, Scotland though (a small village).  There's one in England too, although it is rather bizarrely spelled Reading.  I wonder what the sign outside their library says...  Reading Reading Library?

[Justme]

  I wonder what the sign outside their library says...  Reading Reading Library?

 

[Shai]

From The Sydney Morning Herald

Saul

Mark Knopfler

Tracker (EMI)
?
Unlike most of his 1970s/80s peers, Mark Knopfler's resisted the temptation to a) get the band back together and/or b) milk the Dire Straits back catalogue for every cent it can generate. (Having said that, reunion rumours are swirling around on-line.) Here, Knopfler settles in like some barstool philosopher during such standouts as Laughs and Jokes and Drinks and Smokes, and River Towns, atmospheric pieces that set the tone for much of this striking folk-meets-country-blues-via-way-of-Dublin hybrid. More often than not, Knopfler's point of view is that of the regular bloke, slightly broken down and world-weary. 'I'm looking in the mirror/at the face that I deserve', he deadpans during River Towns, a contender for lyric of the year. Elsewhere, he dreams of a 'long cool girl' and the 'lights of Taormina' and a heartbreaker named Beryl — relatively simple pleasures, really. Jeff Apter

[K-alberto]

Very good review from the italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano

http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2015/04/27/mark-knopfler-il-suo-tracker-e-quel-che-ci-si-aspetta-da-lui-formula-di-sempre-eppure-non-ci-si-annoia/1627045/

[JF]

here is my review (in french) on the french TV site "culturebox" :

http://culturebox.francetvinfo.fr/musique/mark-knopfler-part-en-tournee-avec-tracker-un-albumtranquille-217869

I put links to AMIT forum, Guy and Ingo' sites