New DS Live Box Set, 3rd November 2023!

[Brunno Nunes]

Brunno, and others,

I can't imagine why anyone would add "yeah you alright" from one show to another. My recollection is that Mark shouted something (it varied) during the intro of 'Calling Elvis' many times on the tour.

I could assume that as it is not an experience of a particular show in its entirety but rather a compilation of different shows, then the very nature of OTN's proposal leaves room for them to put together the show with the intention of bringing a somewhat "cinematic" product, in the sense that a lot of production was done, so it's likely that those involved in the production had the idea of giving this "face" to the show, creating layers like that greeting in CE's introduction that doesn't match any of the shows in Nimes and Rotterdam that were used for OTN. It is clear to me that the song CE on OTN was built in the studio, they used parts from at least 3 shows and built what we can see and hear in this version on OTN, this does not give the listener a real experience, in a certain sense it is a fiction , does it have artistic value? Certainly, but I would give it a greater historical value if it were a version of a single show, a more honest, less "Hollywood" experience.

You pose interesting questions. The concept of CE as a montage was made possible by the click track, as Mark could pick and choose licks from various nights. But this means that the "OTN version of CE" is not a live performance in the normal sense. And for the video, they must have made sure to edit around this.

Exactly, my dear, I can imagine Mark's selection process by listening to the audio recordings of the shows that were recorded and informing how he wanted the final product to look. Once the audio was defined, with the sections desired, certainly by Mark Knopfler, he probably started the process of editing the video for this song, which is why it is the song in the video that appears most in scenes from different scenarios, starting in Rotterdam, (pedestal with two microphones ) and suddenly scenes of the band appear in Nimes (a pedestal with a microphone), so it must have been a very ingenious job to edit this video, in the end, there are two edits, the audio and the video, then synchronize video and audio and do their best to look like a recording of a real performance, it's no surprise that all the musicians are wearing the same clothes.

[Brunno Nunes]

Calling Elvis on OTN is probably the most edited recording ever made of something released live by Dire Straits or Mark Knopfler, it is unreal, it is not like watching Basel 92 or Nimes 92, on OTN it is a fiction, a product assembled through editions, it's a super version, with the best moments of some versions clinically chosen, probably by Mark Knopfler and who knows, Neil Dorfman and Guy...

[Chris W]

Brunno claims that Mark did not say this in Rotterdam or Nimes when they shot On the Night. If so, the line must be from another night (Paris seems likely). Note that we cannot see Mark in the OTN video when he says this. It must have been a nightmare to edit the Calling Elvis video.

First, there is no way you would slide Mark saying "you alright" from another performance as it is inconsequential, it isn't important to the song or the show.
I have no idea IF Calling Elvis is heavily edited. It is a very easy song to play, apart from the fast guitar licks towards the end. If you are overdubbing and fixing things, there is no need to edit the performance, you just overdub in the studio. The drum part is super simple and shady, so why would you edit sections of the song in order to fix drums. I just don't see why this sing would need to be heavily edited.

[iorch82]

Brunno, and others,

I can't imagine why anyone would add "yeah you alright" from one show to another. My recollection is that Mark shouted something (it varied) during the intro of 'Calling Elvis' many times on the tour.

I could assume that as it is not an experience of a particular show in its entirety but rather a compilation of different shows, then the very nature of OTN's proposal leaves room for them to put together the show with the intention of bringing a somewhat "cinematic" product, in the sense that a lot of production was done, so it's likely that those involved in the production had the idea of giving this "face" to the show, creating layers like that greeting in CE's introduction that doesn't match any of the shows in Nimes and Rotterdam that were used for OTN. It is clear to me that the song CE on OTN was built in the studio, they used parts from at least 3 shows and built what we can see and hear in this version on OTN, this does not give the listener a real experience, in a certain sense it is a fiction , does it have artistic value? Certainly, but I would give it a greater historical value if it were a version of a single show, a more honest, less "Hollywood" experience.

You pose interesting questions. The concept of CE as a montage was made possible by the click track, as Mark could pick and choose licks from various nights. But this means that the "OTN version of CE" is not a live performance in the normal sense. And for the video, they must have made sure to edit around this.

Exactly, my dear, I can imagine Mark's selection process by listening to the audio recordings of the shows that were recorded and informing how he wanted the final product to look. Once the audio was defined, with the sections desired, certainly by Mark Knopfler, he probably started the process of editing the video for this song, which is why it is the song in the video that appears most in scenes from different scenarios, starting in Rotterdam, (pedestal with two microphones ) and suddenly scenes of the band appear in Nimes (a pedestal with a microphone), so it must have been a very ingenious job to edit this video, in the end, there are two edits, the audio and the video, then synchronize video and audio and do their best to look like a recording of a real performance, it's no surprise that all the musicians are wearing the same clothes.

I am having a hard time imagining MK going through that process of cherry picking every single guitar lick from several recordings after a 1.5+ year tour he was absolutely sick of.

[peterromer]

A show is a fleeting moment in time, not designed to be repeat listened and analysed. That's why many bands hated bootlegs back in the day, and many artists don't want people to record shows on cell phones.
I can't see any reason why Mark would want to release multiple live shows, especially unedited and unmixed.
As an artist you want to be represented by your best work.
The Sydney BIA show and the Basel OES show were never assumed to be widely repeat viewed or even VHS recorded. This was before the internet and Youtube. The uploads infringe copyright and so do any bootlegs.
OK, as musicians we've learned to live with modern taping, both VHS and now cell phones, but it does mean some musicians who are afraid of being analysed for mistakes will play safe every show, instead of going for it.

@Chris: Dont you think MK´s ego regarding us as fans and his stop in doing live concerts, could bring him to a state where he would release more live albums/concerts, maybe from the BIA era or others ?  potentially remixed by Guy, as a sort of "compensation" as he is longer doing it anymore. 
Maybe its just me that would like to think that he actually cares.

[Robson]

Brunno, and others,

I can't imagine why anyone would add "yeah you alright" from one show to another. My recollection is that Mark shouted something (it varied) during the intro of 'Calling Elvis' many times on the tour.

I could assume that as it is not an experience of a particular show in its entirety but rather a compilation of different shows, then the very nature of OTN's proposal leaves room for them to put together the show with the intention of bringing a somewhat "cinematic" product, in the sense that a lot of production was done, so it's likely that those involved in the production had the idea of giving this "face" to the show, creating layers like that greeting in CE's introduction that doesn't match any of the shows in Nimes and Rotterdam that were used for OTN. It is clear to me that the song CE on OTN was built in the studio, they used parts from at least 3 shows and built what we can see and hear in this version on OTN, this does not give the listener a real experience, in a certain sense it is a fiction , does it have artistic value? Certainly, but I would give it a greater historical value if it were a version of a single show, a more honest, less "Hollywood" experience.

You pose interesting questions. The concept of CE as a montage was made possible by the click track, as Mark could pick and choose licks from various nights. But this means that the "OTN version of CE" is not a live performance in the normal sense. And for the video, they must have made sure to edit around this.

Exactly, my dear, I can imagine Mark's selection process by listening to the audio recordings of the shows that were recorded and informing how he wanted the final product to look. Once the audio was defined, with the sections desired, certainly by Mark Knopfler, he probably started the process of editing the video for this song, which is why it is the song in the video that appears most in scenes from different scenarios, starting in Rotterdam, (pedestal with two microphones ) and suddenly scenes of the band appear in Nimes (a pedestal with a microphone), so it must have been a very ingenious job to edit this video, in the end, there are two edits, the audio and the video, then synchronize video and audio and do their best to look like a recording of a real performance, it's no surprise that all the musicians are wearing the same clothes.

I am having a hard time imagining MK going through that process of cherry picking every single guitar lick from several recordings after a 1.5+ year tour he was absolutely sick of.

This is interesting too. It is often said that Mark was bored and in a bad mood during every street tour. But no one forced him to go on such a large and long tour. It wasn't the first time he had done this. He wanted this.

[Brunno Nunes]

Brunno claims that Mark did not say this in Rotterdam or Nimes when they shot On the Night. If so, the line must be from another night (Paris seems likely). Note that we cannot see Mark in the OTN video when he says this. It must have been a nightmare to edit the Calling Elvis video.

First, there is no way you would slide Mark saying "you alright" from another performance as it is inconsequential, it isn't important to the song or the show.
I have no idea IF Calling Elvis is heavily edited. It is a very easy song to play, apart from the fast guitar licks towards the end. If you are overdubbing and fixing things, there is no need to edit the performance, you just overdub in the studio. The drum part is super simple and shady, so why would you edit sections of the song in order to fix drums. I just don't see why this sing would need to be heavily edited.

Dear Chris, look, I'm referring to CE music as it is organized on OTN, it just doesn't work naturally as a song played in one venue, it's a real mix, there are some cuts, that's a fact, gone Mark Who arranged it or not, I don't know, but I know that if you listen to the recordings of CE on the dates in Rotterdam and Nimes in full, you will see like me that it is not the same as what is on OTN.

Another point, the overdubs parts were notably done on Mark Knopfler's guitar and his voice, I didn't notice any editing done on the drums, I didn't even mention that, the whole thing was put together to recreate Mark Knopfler's parts and create a completely new based on this type of edition. Who was responsible, I don't know, but I can imagine Mark giving the go-ahead, perhaps it was a suggestion from someone in the production team and he accepted it, be it Neil or Guy, in fact it was a super version, in the end, I wanted CE to were live thus presented to the world through an official live release, OTN

[Silvertown]

Brunno claims that Mark did not say this in Rotterdam or Nimes when they shot On the Night. If so, the line must be from another night (Paris seems likely). Note that we cannot see Mark in the OTN video when he says this. It must have been a nightmare to edit the Calling Elvis video.

First, there is no way you would slide Mark saying "you alright" from another performance as it is inconsequential, it isn't important to the song or the show.
I have no idea IF Calling Elvis is heavily edited. It is a very easy song to play, apart from the fast guitar licks towards the end. If you are overdubbing and fixing things, there is no need to edit the performance, you just overdub in the studio. The drum part is super simple and shady, so why would you edit sections of the song in order to fix drums. I just don't see why this sing would need to be heavily edited.

Sorry a slight off-topic Chris, but do you find more challenging or enjoyable to play for an audience of 20000 compared to 60 in a small pub? I guess that the stage sound (at least before in-ear monitors) might be even too much or some times too empty or too much in the stadium gigs?

[Chris W]

Dear Chris, look, I'm referring to CE music as it is organized on OTN, it just doesn't work naturally as a song played in one venue, it's a real mix, there are some cuts, that's a fact, gone Mark Who arranged it or not, I don't know, but I know that if you listen to the recordings of CE on the dates in Rotterdam and Nimes in full, you will see like me that it is not the same as what is on OTN.

I have listened to it in the past and it never struck me as edited. If it was edited it would be whole sections, like intro, verse, chorus etc....
Yes there was a click track, but it's still difficult to edit sections of a live recording, because people are sometimes playing different notes, at different volumes etc... It is immediately jarring, which it has never sounded jarring to me.

[Matchstickman]

Dear Chris, look, I'm referring to CE music as it is organized on OTN, it just doesn't work naturally as a song played in one venue, it's a real mix, there are some cuts, that's a fact, gone Mark Who arranged it or not, I don't know, but I know that if you listen to the recordings of CE on the dates in Rotterdam and Nimes in full, you will see like me that it is not the same as what is on OTN.

I have listened to it in the past and it never struck me as edited. If it was edited it would be whole sections, like intro, verse, chorus etc....
Yes there was a click track, but it's still difficult to edit sections of a live recording, because people are sometimes playing different notes, at different volumes etc... It is immediately jarring, which it has never sounded jarring to me.

The "alright" adds to the atmosphere. As Mark barely talks to the audience any given night, such comments add something. And, again, if there are licks and vocal lines in OTN not existing on the bootlegs from the same nights, then they must have been overdubbed from another night, or recorded afterwards. Using recordings from other nights seems more likely.

[Chris W]

Overdubbing in the studio is completely standard practice in live recordings. So it is much MORE likely that licks that don't exist in a bootleg we're recorded afterwards during mix down. It is actually much easier to record a new lick, then try and find something that works from another show and edit it, while retaining anything that was good in the other instruments.

[Love Expresso]

Has anyone listened to or owns the vinyl edition of the box and can say something about the quality? Sound, pressing, sleeves and so on?  Thank you.

LE

[Dutchessy]

Someone asked on Guy's forum about Tony de Meur (guest at the Rainbow). I found this:

Seems he was in the fabulous poodles with Bobby Valentino

https://decibelreport.com/interviews-1/the-fabulous-poodles-tony-de-meur-and-bobby-valentino-on-the-top-dogs-return

Nice short story about Dire Straits first gig as well form 11.40

[Rolo]

Overdubbing in the studio is completely standard practice in live recordings. So it is much MORE likely that licks that don't exist in a bootleg we're recorded afterwards during mix down. It is actually much easier to record a new lick, then try and find something that works from another show and edit it, while retaining anything that was good in the other instruments.

Dear, Chris.
THANK YOU for this answer.
I had some discussions at this forum and some people simply cannot imagine MK making overdubs on a studio for the OTN record simply because MK is like a god for some here.

I told there is a very common practice to re-do some parts on studio for live-recordings.

Some here thinks there was impossible at the time to bring all MK gear and recreate the tone from that record.
Some said that with the 90's technology this was impossible.

Some cannot imagine how was a big studio is and the GEAR that comes with it.

[Matchstickman]

Overdubbing in the studio is completely standard practice in live recordings. So it is much MORE likely that licks that don't exist in a bootleg we're recorded afterwards during mix down. It is actually much easier to record a new lick, then try and find something that works from another show and edit it, while retaining anything that was good in the other instruments.

Chris, you are probably right in general, but Brunno, I think, claims that guitar licks can be traced to other specific nights. Brunno, if you give us a couple of examples then we could all check and see.

As for the "Yeah, we're all right" line, it seems hard to imagine Mark vocally overdubbing such a line later. But the main point is that it has been added. And if the microphones look different in various shots, then the video would seem to be from different nights.