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

[dustyvalentino]

Thought you might like this Quizzy, Ronnie Wood jamming on a little red Squier last week.

[quizzaciously]

Thought you might like this Quizzy, Ronnie Wood jamming on a little red Squier last week.

Awesome stuff! Thank you for this gem. Obviously, don't get me started on cheap guitars... Squier is the best value for money on the market, period. I can't even understand how they can give you so much guitar for so little money, it's simply ridiculous. So the more these cheap guitars are played by these legends, the happier I get

[quizzaciously]

Ah, ‘Song For Sonny Liston’. I feared playing one of these solos, any one of them, for years. Like a boxer scared of a match with his most frightening opponent.

If the riff is unbelievably hard to play, then the solo is outright impossible to play. I thought this solo was unplayable, and I’m not happy with the way my 2017 lesson for this song came out to be.

But since I got lucky with a couple of new findings with the riff, I was allowed to enjoy more of the solo, which I did, and seems like I’m finally ready to tackle it. And update the lesson! Bingo.

Here’s AVO Session 2007 Version solo played on my trusty Squier Mini Start through Mustang Micro headphone amp.

[JF]

Ah, ‘Song For Sonny Liston’. I feared playing one of these solos, any one of them, for years. Like a boxer scared of a match with his most frightening opponent.

If the riff is unbelievably hard to play, then the solo is outright impossible to play. I thought this solo was unplayable, and I’m not happy with the way my 2017 lesson for this song came out to be.

But since I got lucky with a couple of new findings with the riff, I was allowed to enjoy more of the solo, which I did, and seems like I’m finally ready to tackle it. And update the lesson! Bingo.

Here’s AVO Session 2007 Version solo played on my trusty Squier Mini Start through Mustang Micro headphone amp.

great ! 

then you realize that this song don't even need a bass ! 

[quizzaciously]

Live Stream alert! I’m planning to go live tomorrow, on Sunday, 20:00 Moscow time, 5 pm London time or 10 am Pacific time.

Anyhow, if you can’t attend it, leave your questions anywhere, here in the comments, on YouTube or email me, and I’ll see it.

Ask me anything about playing guitar, Mark Knopfler or teaching. I’ll try not to touch politics too much in this one. Peace!

[Jules]

Hello Pavel, what an amazing video you did for Mr Solomons!!!!



I have to say that this song hit me strong from the first play, I was so amazed by everything, my top song from that EP from the very first second of that cimbalom sounds played with Guy's synths...

Congratulations mate!

[quizzaciously]

Hello Pavel, what an amazing video you did for Mr Solomons!!!!



I have to say that this song hit me string from the first play, I was so amazed by everything, my top song from that EP from the very first second of that cimbalom sounds played with Guy's synths...

Congratulations mate!

Oh, thank you SO much! Of course, I'm as always deeply unsatisfied with the result and forgot some of the details. I wish I'd have a more narrative-friendly voice. But I never knew Guy played the cimbalom! If so, that could be the most natural cimbalom ever recorded with a synth... Got me there.

It's a great song indeed, with so many nuances in it, I feel like a kid in a candy store. Look at this bass line, oh, what a nice sound there, wow, how did he sing that? And the production is perfect too, down to every millisecond. You can't possibly make anything better, it's right on the money.

And I was a little bit shocked to read threads about MK losing his mojo. Songs like this tell me Mark only gained in his mojo

[Love Expresso]

Nice to have you back. I hope things are good or better at least. Excellent work as usual. It seems you put much more work into it than MK did!

LE

[quizzaciously]

Nice to have you back. I hope things are good or better at least. Excellent work as usual. It seems you put much more work into it than MK did!

LE

Haha! In all honesty, it's easier (as in "makes more sense", not easier like less difficult) to record 15 musicians than to then try to decode everything they played.

Thank you! Things are a little bit better, not dramatically better though.

[quizzaciously]

I have to say that this song hit me strong from the first play, I was so amazed by everything, my top song from that EP from the very first second of that cimbalom sounds played with Guy's synths...

Also, it baffles me why they got probably the best Cimbalom player in the country and decided not to use his work. I understand when Guy played guide strings on synths and Mark decided to leave it as is, but having a player and not using him is strange. Besides, the Cimbalom sound is TOO REAL whereas you can tell the strings are not exactly real and feel artificial. Also, why in the credits Greg is credited with playing pedal steel when I cannot hear any pedal steel at all? So many questions...

UPD: Ok, this tremolo guitar in the beginning and the outro sounds like pedal steel although it could be played on virtually any guitar.

[Jules]

I have to say that this song hit me strong from the first play, I was so amazed by everything, my top song from that EP from the very first second of that cimbalom sounds played with Guy's synths...

Also, it baffles me why they got probably the best Cimbalom player in the country and decided not to use his work. I understand when Guy played guide strings on synths and Mark decided to leave it as is, but having a player and not using him is strange. Besides, the Cimbalom sound is TOO REAL whereas you can tell the strings are not exactly real and feel artificial. Also, why in the credits Greg is credited with playing pedal steel when I cannot hear any pedal steel at all? So many questions...

UPD: Ok, this tremolo guitar in the beginning and the outro sounds like pedal steel although it could be played on virtually any guitar.

I remember that Guy posted something about the cimbalom in his diaries but apparently he deleted it, I can't find anything about it...

[quizzaciously]

I have to say that this song hit me strong from the first play, I was so amazed by everything, my top song from that EP from the very first second of that cimbalom sounds played with Guy's synths...

Also, it baffles me why they got probably the best Cimbalom player in the country and decided not to use his work. I understand when Guy played guide strings on synths and Mark decided to leave it as is, but having a player and not using him is strange. Besides, the Cimbalom sound is TOO REAL whereas you can tell the strings are not exactly real and feel artificial. Also, why in the credits Greg is credited with playing pedal steel when I cannot hear any pedal steel at all? So many questions...

UPD: Ok, this tremolo guitar in the beginning and the outro sounds like pedal steel although it could be played on virtually any guitar.

I remember that Guy posted something about the cimbalom in his diaries but apparently he deleted it, I can't find anything about it...

In Part 3 of Guy's 2023 recording diary, it says they hired Ed Cervenka (the guy from the video I used to talk about Cimbalom in my video, coincidentally, LOL), and he provided Cimbalom, but in the Q&A he said they ended up not using his contributions. The question remains whether he said it about the album, or if it also includes an EP as well. But then again, since nobody is credited on the EP playing Cimbalom, it has to be Guy. Interesting, was it sampled or what? Either way, it sounds amazing.

[Jules]

I have to say that this song hit me strong from the first play, I was so amazed by everything, my top song from that EP from the very first second of that cimbalom sounds played with Guy's synths...

Also, it baffles me why they got probably the best Cimbalom player in the country and decided not to use his work. I understand when Guy played guide strings on synths and Mark decided to leave it as is, but having a player and not using him is strange. Besides, the Cimbalom sound is TOO REAL whereas you can tell the strings are not exactly real and feel artificial. Also, why in the credits Greg is credited with playing pedal steel when I cannot hear any pedal steel at all? So many questions...

UPD: Ok, this tremolo guitar in the beginning and the outro sounds like pedal steel although it could be played on virtually any guitar.

I remember that Guy posted something about the cimbalom in his diaries but apparently he deleted it, I can't find anything about it...

In Part 3 of Guy's 2023 recording diary, it says they hired Ed Cervenka (the guy from the video I used to talk about Cimbalom in my video, coincidentally, LOL), and he provided Cimbalom, but in the Q&A he said they ended up not using his contributions. The question remains whether he said it about the album, or if it also includes an EP as well. But then again, since nobody is credited on the EP playing Cimbalom, it has to be Guy. Interesting, was it sampled or what? Either way, it sounds amazing.

Well, maybe they sampled it, or they have similar sounds, seems that you used hapsichord sounds for your video and souns quite similar.

This is the deleted picture of Ed Cervenka playing cimbalom during the sessions, thanks JF!

[quizzaciously]

I have to say that this song hit me strong from the first play, I was so amazed by everything, my top song from that EP from the very first second of that cimbalom sounds played with Guy's synths...

Also, it baffles me why they got probably the best Cimbalom player in the country and decided not to use his work. I understand when Guy played guide strings on synths and Mark decided to leave it as is, but having a player and not using him is strange. Besides, the Cimbalom sound is TOO REAL whereas you can tell the strings are not exactly real and feel artificial. Also, why in the credits Greg is credited with playing pedal steel when I cannot hear any pedal steel at all? So many questions...

UPD: Ok, this tremolo guitar in the beginning and the outro sounds like pedal steel although it could be played on virtually any guitar.

I remember that Guy posted something about the cimbalom in his diaries but apparently he deleted it, I can't find anything about it...

In Part 3 of Guy's 2023 recording diary, it says they hired Ed Cervenka (the guy from the video I used to talk about Cimbalom in my video, coincidentally, LOL), and he provided Cimbalom, but in the Q&A he said they ended up not using his contributions. The question remains whether he said it about the album, or if it also includes an EP as well. But then again, since nobody is credited on the EP playing Cimbalom, it has to be Guy. Interesting, was it sampled or what? Either way, it sounds amazing.

Well, maybe they sampled it, or they have similar sounds, seems that you used hapsichord sounds for your video and souns quite similar.

This is the deleted picture of Ed Cervenka playing cimbalom during the sessions, thanks JF!

Great picture! I'm glad I never talked directly about Cimbalom being used in the song in my video, because I knew there were no musicians credited playing this instrument, and decided not to give it extra attention. This is the sound and I love it, and all the rest is unknown. The only theories about why it happened could be:

1. There was some problem with the recorded part, which I doubt because how could it be in a studio like this
2. Maybe they hired Ed to play on one song, decided not to use his contribution, but loved the sound and felt that it could suit another song, and instead of hiring him again, Mark tasked Guy to recreate the sound because why not, Guy can do anything, including replicating the sound of a rare orchestral instrument so good it will fool anyone

[quizzaciously]

Or use something like this: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/originals-cimbalom#listen