Review Summary: One of the best release of Mark Knopfler, blending Irish Folk, Rock and a few other genres with great storytelling.
Mark Knopfler shouldn’t need an introduction. With a career like his (seven albums with Dire Straits, nine solo releases, ten soundtracks and three collaborative albums), one would have to live under a rock to not have heard his work. With a sound ranging from Rock to Irish folk, Mark Knopfler is mostly known for his unique guitar playing style and talent. Rising to fame with Dire Straits’s first release self-titled and its single Sultans of Swing in 1978, Mark Knopfler (and co) released 29 albums in 40 years, needless to say, he is a very busy man. Although his sound changed when Dire Straits called it quits, Mark Knopfler has since been creating a mix Rock, Folk and Country. At 69 years old, you would expect him to create soft music or at least calmer Rock. While Tracker (his previous album in 2015) felt a bit underwhelming at times, Down The Road Wherever, his latest release, is a step up back to the Rock energy of previous releases.
One of MK’s strongest quality has always been his storytelling. Opener “Trapper Man” is a perfect example. His grave yet soft voice meets perfectly the Folk-Rock sound of the guitar. While Tracker was a little bit less based on MK’s guitar solos, this release features some his best guitar licks since Privateering (2012). Mixing saturated and acoustic tracks, MK’s guitar never feels imposed on the song. On “Nobody’s Child”, it fits perfectly the acoustic chord progression while on “Just A Boy Aways”, his slide guitar style fits perfectly the country sound he creates. Sometimes rocking (, sometimes slower (“My Bacon Roll”), even grooving (“Nobody Does That”) at times this album is a mix of every sound previous releases had.
One of the downside of this album would be that it is hard to find standout songs or sounds that would surprise you. After the enthusiastic feeling you have when you hear MK bringing back his guitar playing talent, there are only a few songs you end up remembering as memorable. “When You Leave”, probably the softest song on the album, also ends up being underwhelming as it completely stops the energy of the album. The difference is even more important after you hear “Good On You Son”, the following song and single out of this release.
Although this release isn’t a classic as Dire Straits’s albums were, this is far from being a bad release. In fact, this is one of his best record of his solo career and is definitely the best since Privateering (although I agree, MK only released one album between the two). At 69, we can only applause the constant quality in his guitar playing and singing. In parallel with his life, his music evolved as the man grew older, and it didn’t lose any quality.
