The new songs - A hypothesis

[Robson]

ANY new material from MK excites me. Can't wait to hear what he came up with this time.

He is a king of melody and I am looking forward to hear his new melodies, even if they remind his older ones. There is always something new, be it arrangement, choice of instruments, or interesting take on lyrics.

Exactly!

[jf9081]

ANY new material from MK excites me. Can't wait to hear what he came up with this time.

He is a king of melody and I am looking forward to hear his new melodies, even if they remind his older ones. There is always something new, be it arrangement, choice of instruments, or interesting take on lyrics.

Exactly!

I share!! I hope very soon

[quizzaciously]

ANY new material from MK excites me. Can't wait to hear what he came up with this time.

He is a king of melody and I am looking forward to hear his new melodies, even if they remind his older ones. There is always something new, be it arrangement, choice of instruments, or interesting take on lyrics.

Exactly!

MK is the king of anything BUT melody

His most famous song, Sultans Of Swing, doesn't even have a melody, it's a melodyless song. I know what you meant by saying melody, but let's be precise here

[koobaa]

SOS has a melody. It's just delivered in this Dylan-esque manner so it may be perceived as not sung but half recited like most songs on the first album. The guitar is what makes melody here.

[JF]

plenty of Mark's songs have a strong melody, mostly during his solo work

[localhero1986]

The best MK song has a great melody: Done with Bonaparte!

[dustyvalentino]

The best MK song has a great melody: Done with Bonaparte!

He seems better with the folky melodies, all the way back to Local Hero.

[quizzaciously]

The best MK song has a great melody: Done with Bonaparte!

He seems better with the folky melodies, all the way back to Local Hero.

Mark himself said in the early 90s he never wrote any good melodies, and of course, it's not entirely just being humble, as he compares his melodies with amazing songs like "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain", and it's what he probably meant — singing melodies, as in not instrumental melodies. Mark doesn't have classic melodic standards like this, some writers are just more melody-driven than others, especially if you have a great singing voice.

It's probably a bit easier to write good melodies to sing if you're Paul McCartney with one of the best, versatile, wide-ranged and record-friendly voices in rock's history than if you're a mumbler like MK or Bob Dylan. Because of this, certainly with Mark's music, the last thing you think about is the melody, I can't even remember any melodies from the top of my head, to me it generally feels like spoken word anyway. It's not a bug, it's a feature.

[Robson]

...than if you're a mumbler like MK or Bob Dylan...
 

[Love Expresso]

Private Dancer, Sailing To Philadelphia, Trawlerman's Song, Postcards from Paraguay are all very melodic though, don't you think? Same as Piper To The End, Get Lucky ...

LE

[dustyvalentino]

Private Dancer, Sailing To Philadelphia, Trawlerman's Song, Postcards from Paraguay are all very melodic though, don't you think? Same as Piper To The End, Get Lucky ...

LE

Indeed, but most of them are solo and probably more importantly, after he quit smoking and could actually sing.

[quizzaciously]

Private Dancer, Sailing To Philadelphia, Trawlerman's Song, Postcards from Paraguay are all very melodic though, don't you think? Same as Piper To The End, Get Lucky ...

LE

Indeed, but most of them are solo and probably more importantly, after he quit smoking and could actually sing.

Melodic, yes, but I can't imagine somebody doing a proper instrumental cover of these, as in "singing" the melody with their instruments. Again, if you compare it to some of the iconic melodies, you realise Mark's melodies fall short, despite being melodic enough. I'm not diminishing their quality or impact by any means, just comparing the melodic potential. And don't get me started on people doing an instrumental version of Sultans.

I wonder which Mark's song can be expressed through playing like this (and the answer is probably none, which would explain the absence of such covers):

[Robson]

Too bad we only have one MK/TE song. If I remember correctly, the announcements were bigger.

[dustyvalentino]

Brothers in Arms would make a nice instrumental.

Why Worry also as proved by Chet Atkins.

[Love Expresso]

Too bad we only have one MK/TE song. If I remember correctly, the announcements were bigger.

Forgot about that one. Mark could have come up with something much better for a duet with TE. Really poor Song and a missed Opportunity. He could have not better signaled that he was not interested in that duet the slightest. TE's story about that short few hours at British Grove confirm this from my point of view. I guess he was just as surprised and left wondering as me.

LE