Sailing to Philladelphia as a Dire Straits album

[Silvertown]

Good observations Tally! I have more interesting question by the way.

What if Dire Straits albums was issued as MK's solo albums? This would be awesome. He would be less famous, like Chris Rea.

I don´t get your point here. Yor do you mean that as a solo artists MK would have chosen small stages etc. at very early stages of the career?

[11-54_Stringcheese]

Bass is such an interesting instrument, even in simple musical styles such as blues and country. Technically it is easier to learn than the guitar - one finger, boom-boom. But to play it well, or simply right, requires an understanding of where the music is going.

I also like Illsley's style. He's not technically advanced, but he plays the right notes and he is solid. Glen is a bit hit and miss for me. On some things he's just excellent, so versatile, but on other things, he's to busy. That chordal progression he does on Sultans, for instance. Sounds just wrong to my ears.

[dmg]

I also like Illsley's style. He's not technically advanced, but he plays the right notes and he is solid. Glen is a bit hit and miss for me. On some things he's just excellent, so versatile, but on other things, he's to busy. That chordal progression he does on Sultans, for instance. Sounds just wrong to my ears.

The whole paragraph but that last sentence - yes, just YES! 

[foma]

Good observations Tally! I have more interesting question by the way.

What if Dire Straits albums was issued as MK's solo albums? This would be awesome. He would be less famous, like Chris Rea.

I don´t get your point here. Yor do you mean that as a solo artists MK would have chosen small stages etc. at very early stages of the career?

Yes, but the thing with Chris Rea was — he was pushed by producers and their thoughts early on and managed to do 'his thing' only from third album.

Very hard to tell indeed about 'if it happened', but anyway. I imagine Brothers In Arms like Mark Knopfler's solo album and it looks cool to me!

[foma]

You can call me crazy (I actually am), but I see a little difference between all DS albums issued by MK and between all MK albums released by DS.

To me there's no difference whatsoever. Different musicians, different age, but same songwriter, singer and guitarist all the time. So why worry?

[Tally]

I think that if Kill to Get Crimson had been released as a DS album, people would have raised a few eyebrows...

[JF]

The OES tour was certainly not the first MK solo tour 

And the album was modelled on BIA, as has often been mentioned:
Walk of Life - The Bug
Money for Nothing - Heavy Fuel
Ride Across the River - Planet of NO
Man's Too Strong - Iron Hand

By the way, a very interesting thread, this.  If STP had been released as a DS album, nobody would have complained, that's for sure.

you are right and you could add You and your friend - Brothers in arms, but on the other hand, the overall OES sound with so much pedal steel in it has a NHB/CA flavour, and several songs like How long, ticket to heaven, fade to black sounds so much NHB rather than DS. These songs are closer to later solo style, like ballads on GH, rather than DS stuff imho

[ds1984]

You can call me crazy (I actually am), but I see a little difference between all DS albums issued by MK and between all MK albums released by DS.

To me there's no difference whatsoever. Different musicians, different age, but same songwriter, singer and guitarist all the time. So why worry?

True just not same management and other little things such as the record company : DS was for success and Mark was then not free to really do on record what he really wanted. Mark going solo has started to really become free from the TRP area. The first two solo effort was mark trying to emancipate, first from management and after SL from the record company. In short the answer for the difference between Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler is : Ed Bicknell!

[Jules]

You can call me crazy (I actually am), but I see a little difference between all DS albums issued by MK and between all MK albums released by DS.

To me there's no difference whatsoever. Different musicians, different age, but same songwriter, singer and guitarist all the time. So why worry?

True just not same management and other little things such as the record company : DS was for success and Mark was then not free to really do on record what he really wanted. Mark going solo has started to really become free from the TRP area. The first two solo effort was mark trying to emancipate, first from management and after SL from the record company. In short the answer for the difference between Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler is : Ed Bicknell!

Yes!

I always considered that Ed had a capital role with DS and his success.

[nababo]

Good question, a Dire straits album is mainly softened rock sounding with extra lite influence. A good example is "When It Comes to You" the way it sounds on the album is completely different than when previously done with the NHB. "How Long"  and "Ticket To Heavens" are announcing the way Mark will go afterwards such as "Je Suis Désolé" (but Imelda or Darling Pretty without intro could have been on a straits album). Let say that OES starts a transition. We can understand that DS did imply some musical limit to Mark. The other thing is the bass playing, John provided basic but solid bass line, Mark wanted more than that.

With OES, Mark delivered the basis for his solo career, in my opinion. On past albums, DS sounded very diverse from one to another, but sounded as a rock band. With OES, the experimentations and other styles of music started to gain proeminence. So we can hear echoes of each On Every Street song in further solo efforts

[JF]

yes totally agree Nababo.
Although he did several collaborations from the beginning, I think they increased a lot in late 80ies-early 90ies. He clearly turned to a "solo" attitude with many other projects, DS being left side.
To me, his solo "vision" began after the BIA tour when he started this "collaborations-soundtracks-charity-events-production-other-projects" era
at least, when I discovered DS in 88, that was the feeling I had : it was over... I was wrong "officially" of course because OES, but "musically" I think it was the case

[JF]

If you ask me, I would say that DS was a band during 77-86, not 77-93, and that OES appears to me as a "parenthesis" in his solo carreer

just my opinion

[nababo]

yes totally agree Nababo.
Although he did several collaborations from the beginning, I think they increased a lot in late 80ies-early 90ies. He clearly turned to a "solo" attitude with many other projects, DS being left side.
To me, his solo "vision" began after the BIA tour when he started this "collaborations-soundtracks-charity-events-production-other-projects" era
at least, when I discovered DS in 88, that was the feeling I had : it was over... I was wrong "officially" of course because OES, but "musically" I think it was the case

And I agree with you as well. It makes me agree with myself  . No, the point is, you have gone further in the subject. Your explanation fits perfectly with the unique situation of OES in MK's overall career. It was a DS album only due to pressures raised against MK by different people, as if he was owing something to someone - maybe not in terms of money, but other kind of commitment. Actually, I'd read somewhere that he just made the album and tour to assure the assets of DS members for "three or four generations", but in fact DS was already done and gone.

[ds1984]

Don't forget he has a recording contract, that Mark actually did not fully honour it.

The other thing is Mark and John were on the producer list (ie putting their own money) on the OES tour and got ticket sales figures in red for the US and Oz legs but Europe got them strong attendances.

[boriszhukov]

I find these songs have also a DS flavour :
Sainling to Philadephia
Silvertown blues
speedway at Nazareth
Junkie Doll
Do America
Camerado
Let's see you
Baloney again
who's your baby now
Prairie Wedding

From a mainstream standpoint and making it a DS album, would have made one hell of a comeback.  Interestingly the b-side tracks all have the guitar/rock sound of DS.  Rejecting those for the album and putting on the other less markatable tunes, really shows what direction MK wanted to go for the next albums.