Here is a shock I dislike Mark Cocknocker... or knofler, which wver it is.

/mostly because rolling stone mag rated him better then clapton, and he didnt do his part in setting them straight
//and I dislike him because someone on here will like him, and would hate for them to think their opinion matters

Mark Knopfler is infinitely better than Eric Clapton.

Chet Atkins knighted Knopfler with "CGP" status. Clapton, not so much.

The original "Sultans of Swing" on the deput LP is still one of my all-time favorite guitar-centric tunes. It's practically perfect in every way.

Knopfler is one of the most under-rated guitar players ever! Sultans is one of the all-time best songs

I wanted to like that. But I can't. It was just all over the place and felt rushed.

There was no swing to that. The most important part of the song is the slippery groove, and he made it sound like a six year old ADHD kid before his ritalin dose.

I like the performance.
I dislike the editing.

/liked the guitar slapping/knocking better when it was Kaki King

A great idea, it could have been amazing. But damn it's hard to get into that with the poor video quality and audio sync.

Wow, that was confusing.

well... that was kinda interesting...
the mumbled/rushed vocals weren't the greatest
although i will say this, he is a pretty good guitar player, rhythm and solo wise. No Feeling, though. :-(

Thyomorb and Doctor M... are right.
the whole song lost its groove, [sometimes due to the stop and start inbetween lines solos], the time and timing was off...
[what's with the weird wank-fest ending?]

ah but did you know that "Sultans" was originally written on an acoustic, and that it [the tempo/feeling/sound/rockin'ness of it] changed dramatically when he tried it out on an electric?
i'll try and find the correct quote.

If it is still on Youtube, you guys should check out Trey Anistatio's [spelling? .... the lead guy from Phish] version of "Sulants" with a horn section doing the solos... it's pretty darn cool if you ask me...

my fav. sultans of swing are:
1. Alchemy Version
2. Live at BBC Version
3. Original Version.
4. Wembley [1985] version [i hate that F***ing sax on the Brother's In Arms tour versions of it, tho... ugh...]. [i like this version because it still has a pretty good solo on it, and the tempo is a bit faster and a bit harder... good times]

I just want to say that I hate that over-processed "acoustic" guitar sound.

/mostly because rolling stone mag rated him better then clapton, and he didnt do his part in setting them straight

Because he is better than Clapton & Clapton knows it.

I don't think that was Monte's finest performance. His song "1st and Repair" has a bunch of swing.

Thyomorb: I wanted to like that. But I can't. It was just all over the place and felt rushed.

This. He's got most of the notes in there, but they really only count if you can fit them into something called a "measure", which has a finite number of "beats" and must be played at a specific "tempo" in order to be successful.

The original "Sultans" SOUNDS laid-back and even lazy, but the groove is paramount, and never wavers an inch. That was just a mess.

Welcome to adulthood, smitty. Now go find some of his better work.

Third_Uncle_Eno: If it is still on Youtube, you guys should check out Trey Anistatio's [spelling? .... the lead guy from Phish] version of "Sulants" with a horn section doing the solos... it's pretty darn cool if you ask me...


Here.

carmody: Mark Knopfler is infinitely better than Eric Clapton.

Chet Atkins knighted Knopfler with "CGP" status. Clapton, not so much.

The original "Sultans of Swing" on the deput LP is still one of my all-time favorite guitar-centric tunes. It's practically perfect in every way.

THIS

I'd just like to add my vote to the six year old ADHD column.

Uh, tempo?

sultans of suck.

Yeah, no swing. Remember folks, this is not Mark Knopfler. This is a FAIL.

1234.1...2...3...4123412341234.1.2..3......4.....

yeah. this guys hases nose rhythm.

Wow, that was almost 1% to 2% as good as it would've been if it had been Mark Knopfler playing it.

Well, since I'm obviously the one that sucks as a guitar player, let me be the first to say I thought that version was farking awesome. As complicated as it looks, he makes it look easier than it really is.

If I wanted Knopfler's version, I'll listen to Dire Straights.

/+1 to subby for this gem

show off. (great job on the first solo part, totally wanked out at the end)

made me want to listen to the original though. (pops, if anyone else had the same feeling)

Monte must be a big Knopfler fan. Here he is dong Romeo and Juliet (new window), which is a much better rendition (at least the tempo is semi-consistent).

That being said, I am not a big fan of Monte. I like Knopfler because he chooses his notes carefully and his tone is outstanding (which is not Monte's strong points).

/the end of R&J is pretty cool, however
//Got me MK tickets at Red Rocks on the 24th

wow... i totally couldn't spell there for a second...
I meant "Trey's version of "Sultans...", not "Sulants"

lol

SLOW THE F*CK DOWN.


And it doesn't matter how fancy you play if you have no rhythm.

kungfu jesus with a side of lime: mostly because rolling stone mag rated him better then clapton, and he didnt do his part in setting them straight

clapton? n*gga pleeeeeeeeeez.

this is sloppy and weird, but monte really is a badass when hes not doing awkward covers like this.

Monte, this seemed strange to me.

Ah, good ol' guitar masturbation. HEY LOOK AT ME!

/more a fan of songcraft
//to each his own

puckhead: made me want to listen to the original though. (pops, if anyone else had the same feeling)

Thanks, Puckhead. Nothing like the original to clean the palate.

Here is my farorite MK/DS cover and it is by a band who I love to hate.

Metallica performs Brothers in Arms

crayola_chicken: Third_Uncle_Eno: If it is still on Youtube, you guys should check out Trey Anistatio's [spelling? .... the lead guy from Phish] version of "Sulants" with a horn section doing the solos... it's pretty darn cool if you ask me...


Here.

That is pretty farking cool.

Mark Knopfler has an extraordinary ability to make a Schecter Custom Stratocaster hoot and sing like angels on a Saturday night, exhausted from being good all week and needing a stiff beer - which is not strictly relevant at this point since the record hadn't yet got to that bit, but there will be too much else going on when it does, and furthermore the chronicler does not intend to sit here with a track list and a stopwatch, so it seems best to mention it now while things are still moving slowly.

This isn't my favorite performance of his, but Monte is the best guitarist I've ever seen live, in my opinion.

DreamBrother: Ah, good ol' guitar masturbation. HEY LOOK AT ME!

/more a fan of songcraft
//to each his own

Exactly. It's a shame. Some guys get so good at mastering the fretboard that they end up doing stuff like this simply because they can, and forget that a little subtelty and tempo will impress fans so much more.

Monte is a great player, and does put on a great show, but like mahavishnunj wrote, he is so much more impressive when he's not trying to tweak out a cover like this.

nutmilk: 1234.1...2...3...4123412341234.1.2..3......4.....

yeah. this guys hases nose rhythm.

Montgomery demonstrates a ton of skill and fluidity, but I've heard people do the stream-of-consciousness tempo thing a lot better. His lacks the smooth transitions in a big way. The experience of this video was improved when I stopped watching it and just listened to the audio.

Sultans of Swing has been a favorite of mine for a long time, and it is perfect with all the parts. The rhythm section makes the guitar work and vocals shine; while I play in an acoustic duo I miss a rhythm section all the time (except during setup/takedown).

"The Sultans of Swing" on acoustic? I'll check it ou... holy fark that sucked!

FTFY (finished that for you)

nirwana: Monte, this seemed strange to me.

He doesn't owe you anything.

Monte is amazing.
With that being said, this is certainly not one of his better performances.
I have known his bass player, David Piggott since he was a precocious 15 year old who was able to mimic Jaco flawlessly. Unfortunately this performance doesn't feature him. They deserve each other though - Their collective egos could fill a world class stadium.

Good to see the clip on FARK though.

awfulperson: nirwana: Monte, this seemed strange to me.

He doesn't owe you anything.

Don't you waste your breath.

Monte Montgomery is such a badass. Seeing him play live is just mindblowing. His recorded stuff sucks donkey balls, though.

Mark Knopfler is a great guitarist, but I can't listen to most Dire Straits material just because the vocals are so repugnant. I find his Dylanesque talk-singing unbearable.

/YMMV

Why must a high-end acoustic guitar sound like an Ovation? Damned those shiatty pickups.

Glenechocreek: Why must a high-end acoustic guitar sound like an Ovation?

almost everyones does because nobody mic's acoustic guitars anymore.

The thing that seperates Knopfler from your typical guitar shredder wanker ... he actually frames his phenomenal guitar work inside concise, well written, highly crafted songs with actual hooks in them.

The guitarplaying lends itself to the song, not vice versa.

The second thing that seperates Knopfler from your typical guitar shredder wanker ... he doesn't have the sterile, elevator music tone. There's nothing wrong with having a little grit and funk in your rock n roll, fellas. In fact, it's supposed to have some.

kungfu jesus with a side of lime: /mostly because rolling stone mag rated him better then clapton, and he didnt do his part in setting them straight


You are a fool. Imagine somebody who has never so much as touched a guitar in his or her life, and then try and quantify the talent distance between that newbie and Eric Clapton by some number X.


Take that X and multiply it by 50 thousand, because THAT is the talent disparity between Knopfler and Eric Clapton.


Clapton is to Knopfler what the local country club pro is to Tiger Woods or Roger Federer. You should be embarrassed that you hold the opinion that Clapton is better than Knopfler. Truthfully, you should be thrown in jail just for thinking that, let alone typing it out on a message board for the whole world to see.


Good day, sir. Good day.

nutmilk
1234.1...2...3...4123412341234.1.2..3......4.....

yeah. this guys hases nose rhythm.



Thanks, nows I'm gonnas walks around talkzings like Skwisgaar alls day. My friends and family will owes you one (1) cockpunches.

That's interesting. Thanks, Subby.

/The text that you see is from two different text files. I digitally copied the first sentence and pasted it in front of the second one. It's not perfect, but after the headaches cutting and pasting this comment for hours on end, I'm settling for close enough. I also bolded one word which may look almost like a delay or reverb effect. A few characters I had to type directly in the text box to fix typos. Doing this filled in the gaps that would be left if I only deleted the incorrect letters. It's a very tedious process. I hope you enjoy the results. Sorry I don't have the time and patience to retype the whole thing and make everything perfect, which was going to take more time and effort than I could afford to give.

OK...just saw the vid...stupid firewall at work blocks it...this guy needs some serious work! Trying to be like Keller Williams and failing miserably.

Needs the ear-bleach