The Mark Knopfler Songbook — Featured on MK's official YouTube channel

[quizzaciously]

Floating Away is a great song from Mark's latest album, I liked it right away, so simple and beautiful. It's not always about fast tempo, lots of licks and crazy chords, but the tasty combination of all that in small increments. Pavel.

[quizzaciously]

This is a song I've been playing for a couple of months now, started to work on it in the summer, really wanted to make a video about it. Sometimes the idea for a lesson just comes like that, why not to try one of the most underrated Dire Straits songs? And here you have it. An amazing song from a weird EP, personally I count all the songs from this period being Love Over Gold outtakes. But anyway, I've had some severe syncing problems on this one, really thought that I really need a new camera, so hopefully, I'll be able to acquire one soon because syncing is a big issue I have and really struggle with from day 1. And managed to almost fix it somehow here, because I liked the take. Anyway, here's another one of 60 DS tracks — Twisting By The Pool.

[Jules]

The bits of "twisting" at the Arena 80 documentary show very well the intrincates of the song, as you can se MK also explanining it while rehearsing...

I always loved this song, I always thought it was great because was a straight rock and roll, very different to the other DS songs, so simple and straight!

[quizzaciously]

The bits of "twisting" at the Arena 80 documentary show very well the intrincates of the song, as you can se MK also explanining it while rehearsing...

I always loved this song, I always thought it was great because was a straight rock and roll, very different to the other DS songs, so simple and straight!

I forgot they mentioned it in this documentary. Thanks, watched it again — what a fun this song is. I bet it was one of the favourites to play live, the energy is just bananas! Only dead would not dance

[zmiguelgomes]

This is a song I've been playing for a couple of months now, started to work on it in the summer, really wanted to make a video about it. Sometimes the idea for a lesson just comes like that, why not to try one of the most underrated Dire Straits songs? And here you have it. An amazing song from a weird EP, personally I count all the songs from this period being Love Over Gold outtakes. But anyway, I've had some severe syncing problems on this one, really thought that I really need a new camera, so hopefully, I'll be able to acquire one soon because syncing is a big issue I have and really struggle with from day 1. And managed to almost fix it somehow here, because I liked the take. Anyway, here's another one of 60 DS tracks — Twisting By The Pool.

That's great! Even in acoustic it's a great song, full of energy.

[JF]

twisting by the pool was already played in 79, so it's not an outtake from LOG sessions 

[quizzaciously]

twisting by the pool was already played in 79, so it's not an outtake from LOG sessions 

Wow, I never knew that. At least it was recorded around this time!

[JF]

twisting by the pool was already played in 79, so it's not an outtake from LOG sessions 

Wow, I never knew that. At least it was recorded around this time!

to be accurate, it was recorded after the LOG album
Mark wanted a more straight and roots album, after the complex and prog-influenced LOG one
so he recorded the EP with Twisting by the pool, two young lovers and If I had you in october 82, juste before the tour starts
and it was first Terry williams session with the band

as for twisting played in 79, it was during the 2nd american tour, during autumn

[JF]

I think Mark played this song with a pick

[JF]

the video in BBC Arena documentary has the particularity of showing both Mark's red strats ('61 and '62) at the same time.
one in his hands, and one in David's hand

it's the only time I know it happened

at 26:00 in the video

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6z1w71

[quizzaciously]

twisting by the pool was already played in 79, so it's not an outtake from LOG sessions 

Wow, I never knew that. At least it was recorded around this time!

to be accurate, it was recorded after the LOG album
Mark wanted a more straight and roots album, after the complex and prog-influenced LOG one
so he recorded the EP with Twisting by the pool, two young lovers and If I had you in october 82, juste before the tour starts
and it was first Terry williams session with the band

as for twisting played in 79, it was during the 2nd american tour, during autumn

Haha, these versions are so raw! No wonder the song was recorded only years later, sounds like the song was unfinished and rushed as well.

I think Mark played this song with a pick

Definitely! And with fingers also, one of these songs, I think. I can clearly hear both fingers and pick approach in the song.

[quizzaciously]

Recently I was shocked listening to my old 2015 version of the song because my original upload was full of bizarre popping sounds all over the place and overall sounded quite bad. Believe me, I would never ever bounce and upload something like this and I'm very sorry for not noticing the mistake for all these years, it's extremely embarrassing. I thought it was a glitch with my headphones or monitors, never thought that ended up being a part of the actual recording. Must've been a YouTube's builtin compressor that did all that or something else. So the only thing I can do is to reupload it again with better audio. Pavel.

[Justme]

Awesome. You've got the touch, that's for sure! 

[quizzaciously]

Awesome. You've got the touch, that's for sure! 

Thank you! I still can't imagine what Mark feels writing song of this magnitude. This song is ridiculously good.

[koobaa]

Very nice, Pavel. Adding these little tasty harmonica touches was spot on! The song about hobos just asks for it and you delivered.