Douche. I mean, he's talented as hell, but if you're the only holdout on a reunion tour that would make YOU millions and millions of fans happy? You're a douche.

Maybe he can tour with Robert Plant, or something.

MaxxLarge: Maybe he can tour with Robert Plant, or something.

You just blew my mind. How awesome would that tour be? I think the two of them should tour together and have a rotating list of guests and they can play all sorts of musical styles.

Too bad... I saw SRV open for them way back.

/Guitargasm...

Personally, I'd rather see him on his own.

OlafTheBent: Too bad... I saw SRV open for them way back.

I so hate you right now.

/Guitargasm...

R.A.Danny: Personally, I'd rather see him on his own.

This. And, if the rest of the band wants to tour, there are a gozillion guitarists out there that have learned everything Knopfler ever played note for note.

Dancin_In_Anson: I so hate you right now.

lol... hadn't even heard of him except that he played on the David Bowie album.

During his performance, I turned to my friend and said "Hey, this guy's pretty good."... which changed to a jaw dropping "Holy Fark..." by the end.

/Oh... and I had 15th row floors.

CrankMyBlueSax: And, if the rest of the band wants to tour, there are a gozillion guitarists out there that have learned everything Knopfler ever played note for note.

Then they'll be doing the riverboat casino / state fair circuit. Nobody will want to see DS without Knopfler. He is not only the sound of DS, he is also the voice of DS. He IS Dire Straits, the rest of the band doesn't mean jack.

OlafTheBent: During his performance, I turned to my friend and said "Hey, this guy's pretty good."... which changed to a jaw dropping "Holy Fark..." by the end.

Saw him with Gregg Allman and Leon Russell each opening up. Great show all around.

"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."

Douglas Adams, QFT.

OlafTheBent: Oh... and I had 15th row floors.

Did I tell you that I hate you? I still have my tickets for his October 1990 show in Lubbock...When I shake off my mortal coil, I intend to be disposed of with one of them just in case I get the chance in another dimension...Really. mamarita thinks I'm batshiat crazy but says she'll respect my wish.

On the Night is probably one of the best albums ever, let alone live albums.

Love Over Gold. First CD I ever bought.

/two men say they're Jesus, one of 'em must be wrong

OlafTheBent: Too bad... I saw SRV open for them way back.

/Guitargasm...

At first I was super jealous. The SRV entered the picture and I didn't care as much.

/Does wish he could see Dire Straits

Saw them on tour behind the "On Every Street" album. "Brothers In Arms" was a staple of my childhood, it was seemingly always on my parent's record player.

Needless to say, they were outright incredible live.

Dancin_In_Anson: OlafTheBent: Oh... and I had 15th row floors.

Did I tell you that I hate you?

I'm with you, DIA. SRV and Dire Straits on the same bill? Gives me goosebumps to even think about such an amazing show.

MaxxLarge: Douche. I mean, he's talented as hell, but if you're the only holdout on a reunion tour that would make YOU millions and millions of fans happy? You're a douche.

Maybe he can tour with Robert Plant, or something.

Let me guess..... if he DID do it, you would be calling him a farking sell-out, right?

/just curious

what's a "reuinion?"

MaxxLarge: Douche. I mean, he's talented as hell, but if you're the only holdout on a reunion tour that would make YOU millions and millions of fans happy? You're a douche.

Right cause if you are unhappy doing it you should do it for millions of dollars... if you value your happiness and well-being more than millions of dollars you should do it cause a lot of people would like you to... if trying to go back and relive someone else's glory days doesn't do it for you then you should probably do it cause MaxxLarge will call you names. ... huh... what's that? If you wouldn't do it for the other reasons you surely aren't going to do it for a chump calling you names on the internet? Oh, well good on ya then...

As awesome as Knopfler is, he gets a punch in the balls for the horrible lyrics for the theme to The Princess Bride. The instrumental bit was great, though.

I preferred DS's 1 st 3 albums over all their other work.

Hender: MaxxLarge: Maybe he can tour with Robert Plant, or something.

You just blew my mind. How awesome would that tour be? I think the two of them should tour together and have a rotating list of guests and they can play all sorts of musical styles.

How about an Emmylou Harris, Mark Knopfler, Alison Krauss, and Robert Plant tour? They've all played together in various forms. Throw in the backing band from the Raising Sand tour. Great musicians like Buddy Miller, Stuart Duncan, and T Bone Burnett and I would pay anything to see that.

You just blew my mind. How awesome would that tour be? I think the two of them should tour together and have a rotating list of guests and they can play all sorts of musical styles.

This. I've seen a couple, "oldie but goodie, cash in on our fame," tours. It's pretty boring to see bands bash out a set of tunes you've heard a million times, and then stick in a couple from their new album no one cares about.

To see old horses like Knopfler, Plant and others team up or make all new projects, and stick in a couple of their old tunes on the show, maybe even done in a new way (a la Page and Plant) is much more fun and interesting to see.

You have to take into account that as far as Dire Straits is concerned, Knopfler's been there and done that. He's since worked with Chet Atkins, Emmylou Harris, BB King, Sonny Landreth, etc. He's just moved on, and his focus is on creating new music rather than reliving the past. The guy just got out of a tour in August and is already recording a new album. The guy is awesome.

Inaditch: As awesome as Knopfler is, he gets a punch in the balls for the horrible lyrics for the theme to The Princess Bride. The instrumental bit was great, though.

He didn't write those lyrics. Thank God.

R.A.Danny: Personally, I'd rather see him on his own.

Yeah, I was three yards away from him when he played "Going Home" last summer in Philly--for $80. That would not be possible if it were a DS tour in some stadium. I'd also take his guitar solos on "Are We In Trouble Now" and "Speedway at Nazareth" over any DS song (except "Telegraph Road," otherwise I'd be a liar). His solo stuff is by and large better than the DS stuff.

emocomputerjock: On the Night is probably one of the best albums ever, let alone live albums.

Yes indeed. Flawless musicianship, great selection of tunes.

bv2112: He didn't write those lyrics. Thank God.

Yeah, but he sang them. That's enough.

Inaditch: Yeah, but he sang them. That's enough.

I think that you need to go look up an individual named Willy DeVille.

HeadLever: I think that you need to go look up an individual named Willy DeVille.

Damn it. I didn't know that. Now I feel bad for punching Mark Knopfler in the balls.

Hypothetically.... A reunion with just Illsley from [one of] the original line ups?
like a tour with mark, illsley, and the rest of mark's band?
i dunno if that would "special enough". [if it did happen.... sounds like from the article it isn't gonna happen...]
How would Illsley be any different from his current bassist [hell, they even kinda looked alike in 1996 or so --- see "a night in london".]
Illsley is an ok bassist...

If they could get together the ORIGINAL line up, both Knopfler brothers, Illsley, and Pick Withers, that would be freakin great.
I think i heard that David was willing to do it if Mark asked him to.
[maybe there's too much water under the bridge between them tho... since the falling out in Making Movies sessions].

When Pick left, it left a hole in Dire Straits. Sure, Terry Williams is a GREAT Drummer [see Alchemy Video] but he didn't have the neat drumming style/sound of Pick [although his characteristic sound was starting to fade around "Love Over Gold" anyway, IMHO]. [i think his best performances were on the debut and "Communique" ... man, how i love the production on "Communique" and Dylan's "Slow Train Coming".]

oh and somebody mentioned the "On Every Street Tour" as being great...
I have the live cd, and saw the France concert on TV a while ago... i thought it wasn't the greatest... seemed like they were sleepwalking through some songs, especially vocal wise... and i HATE how they added the pedal lap steel guitar [?] to a lot of the songs [shudder]. And they did NOT Need two percussionists.
In my humble opinion, i think the only good thing about the performances on the dvd/cd is Knopfler's guitar playing.

emocomputerjock: On the Night is probably one of the best albums ever, let alone live albums.

outatime: Saw them on tour behind the "On Every Street" album. Needless to say, they were outright incredible live.

I don't know where to start.

I had front-row seats to the "On Every Street" tour. I was so excited to see my absolute favorite band live and up close. But instead of my favorite 5-piece band, there was the 10-piece Dire Straits Orchestra. With one exception, every song was played in a sterile, lifeless, workmanlike arrangement, with MK putting absolutely no effort in. (The only bright spot was midway through the show when the rest of the session players left the stage and the core 4-piece guys ripped through "Sultans" like they were actually happy to be playing. Then the rest of the band came back, and all the life went out of the show again.) In the 15 years since that fiasco, I can't say that I've broken out a Dire Straits album more than a handful of times. The magic just isn't there anymore.

As for "On The Night," it's just that same lame tour preserved for all eternity on CD. As far as I'm concerned, "Alchemy" is the only live Dire Straits album out there. (I can't speak to "Live At the BBC," because it came out in 1995, a couple of years after the "On Every Street" tour. See above.)

Inaditch
Damn it. I didn't know that. Now I feel bad for punching Mark Knopfler in the balls.

Does he sound like Geddy Lee now? :-P

unremarkable asterisk: CrankMyBlueSax: And, if the rest of the band wants to tour, there are a gozillion guitarists out there that have learned everything Knopfler ever played note for note.

Then they'll be doing the riverboat casino / state fair circuit. Nobody will want to see DS without Knopfler. He is not only the sound of DS, he is also the voice of DS. He IS Dire Straits, the rest of the band doesn't mean jack.

Pretty much this. The band, while consummate musicians to be sure, really didn't add too much in the way of an identifying texture. A lot of times when I set my entire DS/Knopfler solo folder to shuffle, I sometimes struggle to remember which is which. Not often, as Knopfler is more sonically diverse on his own. But enough to realize that, yup, that dude IS Dire Straits. Conversely, even Helen Keller knows the difference between Plastic Ono Band and The Beatles.

Somewhat relevant: Lost in a lot of DS/Knopfler discussions is the production value, of which Knopfler is also a part of IIRC. Listen to Brothers and Every Street, plus just about all the solo output. Dayum that is some fine engineering. I think that Brothers In Arms, in particular is just a good a 'reference album' (testing high-end gear) as the more famous benchmarks like Dark Side.

Dancin_In_Anson: OlafTheBent: Too bad... I saw SRV open for them way back.

I so hate you right now.

/Guitargasm...

Hate me more-I worked follow spot for a Stevie Ray show in a 1000 person room at UGA. Funny thing, I really wasn't that into him.

MaxxLarge wrote:

"Douche. I mean, he's talented as hell, but if you're the only holdout on a reunion tour that would make YOU millions and millions of fans happy? You're a douche."

For an artist of any sort to follow their own muse, to do their own thing, is good. The ones who are only in it for the money (and there are plenty) are the ones responsible for low-grade top-40 garbage, because that's what sells and "makes millions and millions of fans happy".

GibbyTheMole: For an artist of any sort to follow their own muse, to do their own thing, is good. The ones who are only in it for the money (and there are plenty) are the ones responsible for low-grade top-40 garbage, because that's what sells and "makes millions and millions of fans happy".

Exactly! Knopfler has long ago decided that playing 250 days per year in sold out arenas was not really his cup of tea. To him, he spent more time paying attention to the attention than to the music. He still walks the line where he plays all of the ealy hits for the enjoyment of his fans, but you can tell that he does not enjoy it as much. I think that if it was up to Knopfler, he would never play Sultans again (although he does seem to like playing Telegarph Road).

Also, Knopfler has not pissed his fortune away as most in the business do; so playing for money is mute (althought having the chicks for free would be a positive fringe benifit).

/Oh, right! He is married also
//Music must be the only thing left

Everyone yammers on about Clapton being god, while it's generally understood that Knopfler is more a niche guy. But a great artist must also be a great songwriter. I've seen Clapton live, and while it's an incredible experience, the sheer musical prowess of it all, I can't actually listen to Clapton on a stereo. It's kinda boring. Knopfler on the other hand weaves a lyrical story and a lush, intimate soundscape while ALSO being a guitar god, even if most of his awesomeness lies in subdued picking rather than wailing solos. Therefore, Knopfler is the overall King.

This thread inspired me to revisit my Knopfler solo collection while 'working' on the computer today. You know how you sometimes forget just how good a certain album is because it gets lost in your rotation? Today I rediscovered "Shangri-La," and it's just f*cking brilliant. As of right now it trumps "Sailing to Philadelphia," which is also a great one (though I could do without that James Taylor vocal just neutering the title cut).

/back to 'work.'

I would go into serious debt to see a Dire Straits concert. That is one of the greatest bands ever.

/would have loved to see the show where "Alchemy" was recorded
//Telegraph Road is perhaps the greatest rock epic song of all time

Knopfler scotched the idea of a reunion years ago. He said he currently had a band that could play DS better than DS ever could, so why would he go back? I'd dig up the quote if this wasn't a fading thread.