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| Privateering Review; Magazines, TV etc | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sunday, 26. August 2012, 10:57 (1,143 Views) | |
| qjamesfloyd | Sunday, 26. August 2012, 10:57 Post #1 |
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Today I read a review of Mark's new album in Guitarist magazine, I did not buy the magazine, I read it in the shop <_< But they love the album, they gave it 4 stars out of 5, and said it was Mark's best solo album yet. A couple of headlines I remember are: Master songwriter, Awesome guitarist They said the standout track for them is Gator Blood. I'm even more excited now to hear the album. They also said that Redbud Tree has an unusual chord progression and time signature. Be interesting to find out more about that. |
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"Yeah, me and my mate like ac-dc Hot & sweaty, loud & greasy" Mark Knopfler. | |
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| MarkKnopflerBelgium | Sunday, 26. August 2012, 22:15 Post #2 |
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This gets me even more excited (yes, I know, who knew it was possible?! :blink: ), because from what I gather, critics aren't te nicest when it comes to MK. I don't know why, perhaps it's just in Belgium? |
| It's volcanic desire, the unquenchable fire, it isn't a question of having a choice... | |
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| Magoli | Thursday, 30. August 2012, 13:06 Post #3 |
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It`s good to know that they are writing good reviews about the new album. The three songs that are in mk.com are very good and crafted. In Guy Fletcher`s diary, he posted a lot of pictures of different musicians, instruments, etc; so I am guessing the album will have many variations of classic MK sound. |
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| qjamesfloyd | Friday, 31. August 2012, 07:06 Post #4 |
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I always feel reviewers don't give Mark much credit, when compared to the like of Clapton, etc. But In my view what makes Mark more unique, is his ability to be able to write all his own songs, to an amazingly high standard, including meaningful lyrics, be a first class producer, and amazing guitarist. Now as good a guitarist someone like Eric Clapton is, he is not in Mark's league in songwriting terms. |
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"Yeah, me and my mate like ac-dc Hot & sweaty, loud & greasy" Mark Knopfler. | |
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| 3Pints | Saturday, 8. September 2012, 05:06 Post #5 |
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Old Pigweed
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Hi QJF, In my honest opinion, most reviewers don't understand the craft of song-writing very well, ...if at all. And Mark's song-writing is really what sets him apart from the rest. But my personal feeling is that Eric Clapton is not as good a guitarist as Mark either. Some of my friends refer to him as "Generic Eric" because he plays a pretty standard, and rather ordinary style. There's nothing particularly interesting or innovative about it, and he completely lacks the taste and feel of someone like Mark. He's certainly good at what he does, but his reputation far exceeds his actual talent or his technical ability on the guitar. Indeed there are thousands of other more talented guitar players out there who don't get the recognition they deserve. But that's fodder for a whole other thread...... :winky: |
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Cheers, 3Pints "It’s a quiet life from here on in, You’ve dropped your poisoned cup The telephone is ringing, but you’re not picking up" | |
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| MarkKnopflerBelgium | Saturday, 8. September 2012, 21:07 Post #6 |
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Mark's more subtle and deeper than most of the musicians out there. That's what keeps me coming back for more. It's never the same, though always his very own unique style. Eric Clapton's indeed overrated, don't get me wrong, I own quite a lot of his albums, but he, unlike MK, doesn't mind his "superstar" status. He uses it, like the Clapton Winwood tour of 2010. Unlike, MK, who the very idea of getting back with Dire Straits is probably one of his biggest nightmares. Also, and formost, there is NO comparison when it comes to them as songwriters. Clapton can't really write about anything deep, or intellectual. Not really. Another good review: The Telegraph |
| It's volcanic desire, the unquenchable fire, it isn't a question of having a choice... | |
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| 3Pints | Monday, 10. September 2012, 01:52 Post #7 |
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Hi MKB, Thanks for linking the Telegraph review. Nice. Yes, I didn't mean to totally disrespect Eric Clapton. He has made some great records and like you, I have a lot of them too. He was a big influence for me when I started playing guitar. I'm also very happy that he was able to survive the drug-addled days of his "youth" and settle into being a respected performer. But you're right about him - he's most definitely a guitarist first, and (a few minor exceptions aside) not a song-writer. |
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Cheers, 3Pints "It’s a quiet life from here on in, You’ve dropped your poisoned cup The telephone is ringing, but you’re not picking up" | |
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| suprlinda | Thursday, 8. November 2012, 19:11 Post #8 |
Making Movies
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I was looking to see if last night's concert in St. Paul, having lived there for over 30 years, was reviewed in the local papers. I didn't find it, but did the one in Madison, Wisconsin. I have included the link as it was such a great review, along with a beautiful video. Enjoy! :lol: Edit - When I went back to my search, a new one popped up that looked promising, called City Pages Blog, from Minneapolis - sister city to St. Paul. It headlined Mr. Bob, then in a sub-head, mentioned Mark appearing with him. I looked through the review and other than the mention of MK in the sub-head, the only other mention it made of him was that he had joined BD for a song! It went on and on about how bad Mr. Bob was, though! But urged people to go see Bob if they had always wanted to because they were fans, basically for history's sake! :wallbang: Concert review: Mark Knopfler enchants Dylan crowd with super-sized opening set I can’t remember an opening act getting to play a full 75-minute set in a long time. And I can’t remember an opening act that deserved it more than Mark Knopfler at the Alliant Energy Center Coliseum on Monday night. Opening for Bob Dylan can’t be the easiest slot, given how slavish the devotion of some Dylanphiles. But the former Dire Straits singer/guitarist and his excellent seven-piece band delivered an eloquent set that showcased but never overplayed Knopfler’s well-earned title as a Guitar God. Knopfler also sat in and played a few songs with Dylan during his set. Knopfler was touring behind his new 2-CD set “Privateering” – sort of. Due to a legal dispute with his long-time label Warner Bros, “Privateering” is available everywhere in the world except the United States. Which is, frankly, nuts. It was for sale at the merch table in the lobby, and can be bought online through third-party sites, and continues Knopfler’s enthusiastic exploration of roots music, from American blues to Celtic folk. With “Privateering,” Knopfler has made more albums without Dire Straits than he has with, and has spent more time on the road with his current band of “happy wanderers” (his words) than he did with his arena-filling old band. Because of that, Knopfler seemed to feel justified in focusing on his solo material and not play any of the Dire Straits song requests that came wafting in from the crowd. (I guess when you open for Dylan, you can do whatever you want onstage, assured that no matter what you’ll only be the second crankiest person on the bill.) The show began with the Celtic rocker “What It Is,” which has Knopfler’s elegant electric guitar work in full bloom, but then downshifted into a lovely flute solo. Then the band went into the chugga-chugga blues-rocker “Corned Beef City,” a truck-driving song, of all things. Knopfler’s band has serious chops, able to shift from potent straight-ahead rock to softer folk and back again with ease. The band includes Madison native Glenn Worf on upright bass, and although he’s played with Knopfler in Milwaukee a couple of times, I believe this was his first hometown show with the band. He got a big ovation upon being introduced by Knopfler, and there were hugs all around at the end of the show. In his lyrics, Knopfler isn’t much for personal confessions, instead inhabiting the voices of other characters, often working-class folks living through history. The title track off “Privateering” is a lovely ode from a captain to his ship in the British fleet, while the Celtic “Done With Bonaparte” tells of a French soldier tired of following Napoleon into the hell of a battlefield. The set closed with the gorgeous “Marbletown,” a tale of hobos spending the night in a cemetery that stretched out for over 10 minutes, the music ebbing and flowing like the tide, at one point reduced to just Worf and the violin player softly picking together. You could have heard a pin drop from the reverent audience, which is almost unheard of for an opening act. Perhaps pleased by the enthusiastic response, the band huddled after “Marbletown” and decided to do one more, relenting to the Dire Straits fans and playing “So Far Away” to close the show. 2) Comments Former Govt Worker - November 06, 2012 10:34 am I ponied up the $87+ for last night's concert, primarily to see and hear Mark Knopfler. In my 50+ years, I've never gotten to see either him or Dylan in a live performance, so the opportunity to see two icons of my youth in one evening was too good to pass up. While I was a bit shocked at the ticket price (it's been years since I went to a live concert), the fact that there were 14 musicians involved in the performances, sort of puts the cost in perspective. Dylan was ok; Knopfler was stellar! I didn't know most of Knopfler's tunes, but the one that literally brought me to tears was the piece featuring 4 or 5 mandolins at about the halfway point of the concert. So to have him do an encore of "So Far Away" was just icing on the cake, though I would have preferred "Romeo & Juliet". Norwood44 - November 06, 2012 8:22 am I went to the Coliseum last night to see Dylan and a Mark Knopfler concert broke out. He upstaged Dylan in every way. As disappointing and nearly fraudulent as Dylan was, Knopfler was just the opposite. A beautiful revelation of a man and a band flourishing with age and experience, rather than becoming a sad clown incapable of singing his own songs, and charging exorbitantly for it. Article, Video, Photo :yay: I thought the two comments to the article were pretty interesting, too. But I'm kind of confuesed by the first comment about a song that had 4 or 5 mandolins in it. I wonder what song was that one? :unsure: |
| A pack of dog jackals and a rabble of ravens | |
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| 3Pints | Monday, 12. November 2012, 02:22 Post #9 |
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Old Pigweed
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Nice! Thanks very much for searching out this review and posting it, Linda! The person who commented about 4 or 5 mandolins has, by their own admission not been to a concert in years and is therefore, I suspect, someone who is probably not too familiar with musical instruments aside from being able to recognise a drum kit and an electric guitar. They've probably never seen a cittern or a bouzouki before, and might even have a hard time with the difference between Glen's electric bass and Mark's electric guitar! :unsure: |
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Cheers, 3Pints "It’s a quiet life from here on in, You’ve dropped your poisoned cup The telephone is ringing, but you’re not picking up" | |
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| suprlinda | Monday, 12. November 2012, 02:55 Post #10 |
Making Movies
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Well, that's kind of what I suspected. I could envision a bouzouki and a couple citterns, but no mandolins. Although I think Mark may have played one on a song in the past, I think he leaves them to someone he considers expert, like Tim O'Brien. What surprised me about the review was that of the other Twin City reviews I noticed, they were all over the map about Mr. Bob. Some said how much better he was than the last time he was there and others were very scathing. Almost all of them totally ignored Mark completely, except for one that seemed to think Mark should have stuck with Dire Straits material! Good grief! :hehe: What was the most surprising is that Bob is a home town boy for the Twin Cities, although he actually grew up in Duluth. When I started reading the review, I expected about the same treatment, so it was really refreshing to read one that was primarily aimed in a positive manner at Mark. And the reviewer reviewed the new songs almost more than the tour itself. Did you get any sense of who had provided the video? It almost looked, with the type of credits appended, that it could have come from MK.com, but I don't think that is really likely. Whoever, they did a pretty good job with the shots of Seattle in the rain. :waytogo: |
| A pack of dog jackals and a rabble of ravens | |
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| qjamesfloyd | Tuesday, 13. November 2012, 08:21 Post #11 |
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Thanks for that review Linda, I have read several reviews of this tour, and mostly they are down on Dylan and his performances, but really excited about Mark, which is great, because we fans on forum's like this know about Mark, and what he can do, and know the songs, but for a lot of Dylan fans, they may know Mark's name, but after a few DS song's would be lost, so for them to hear Mark and his songs for the first time, it must be amazing. Even though Privateering isn't being released in the USA, I'm sure Mark is gaining more new fans, and subsequently, his album sales are going up. Is that irony I hear? :yay: |
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"Yeah, me and my mate like ac-dc Hot & sweaty, loud & greasy" Mark Knopfler. | |
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| suprlinda | Tuesday, 13. November 2012, 15:04 Post #12 |
Making Movies
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I'm glad you liked the review. I also liked the comments that were posted at the end. :waytogo: I'm sure you are correct in your thought that Mark is gaining exposure to fans he wouldn't otherwise. But I'm afraid that if they were interested in buying the CD and didn't at the merchandise table at the concert, for whatever reason, they may not be impressed enough after this first outing to actually search it out somewhere else. If that happens, I think it will leave a sour taste in their mouth and they will give him a go-by the next time around, remembering that they couldn't find his album in stores. :angry: That is why it seems so critical to me that when he tours over here, there aren't any barriers to converting non-fans into fans. Not having the product available to easily purchase at a later date would be a big deterrent, IMHO. :( |
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| qjamesfloyd | Tuesday, 13. November 2012, 15:12 Post #13 |
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That's true, but I'm sure that only applies to Privateering? can't they still buy his other solo albums? or does the dispute extend to them too? |
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"Yeah, me and my mate like ac-dc Hot & sweaty, loud & greasy" Mark Knopfler. | |
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| suprlinda | Tuesday, 13. November 2012, 15:31 Post #14 |
Making Movies
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Well, I have noticed that certain albums, especially Dire Straits albums don't seem to be available, new, anywhere. And stock on some of the older ones seems to be problematic. This may, of course, be attributable strictly to marketing - watching what is selling and what isn't. One reason I haven't gotten Alchemy, though; it seems less than easy to get ahold of. Some things are still available through MK.com, but not all, so who knows? :( I would have thought his back catalog would be available. I was putting together some ideas for Christmas for my sons yesterday, and noticed that some of the commercial outlets that hadn't previously carried the import versions of Mark's music, now have some - all from Universal Japan. What surprised me was that the one I noticed yesterday had the Get Lucky box set, and when I looked at what it included, it was supposedly 5 CDs and the Bonus DVD. It just now dawned on me that I'm betting 2 of the CDs were actually the LPs instead. I couldn't figure out why there would be duplicates! Anyway, they had a huge price attached to it, as they also did with the Privateering offerings, all imported. |
| A pack of dog jackals and a rabble of ravens | |
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| qjamesfloyd | Wednesday, 14. November 2012, 08:32 Post #15 |
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Maybe it is all his albums then :( that would be sad. Your right about the box set, I bought it, It's nice to have a box set, but I don't always have the money, hence not buying the Privateering box set. But in the Get Lucky deluxe set: Deluxe Edition in presentation box, to include: - 3 x engraved poker chips - 2 x branded poker craps - Guitar tab for the title track "Get Lucky" - 2x 180g vinyl - Facsimile gig ticket DVD: - 1 track performed live/acoustic - Video tour of British Grove + Interview - DVD short 20min film I just went on Amazon.com, and you can buy all Mark's solo albums, Privateering is listed as an import for $18.58 but the other albums are not listed as import, and so are cheaper. All DS are listed as non import too, so I'm thinking the dispute must only apply to Privateering!!! |
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"Yeah, me and my mate like ac-dc Hot & sweaty, loud & greasy" Mark Knopfler. | |
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| suprlinda | Wednesday, 4. September 2013, 11:13 Post #16 |
Making Movies
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I thought I would resurrect this thread as I ran across an older review of Mark's work this morning. Parts of it seem familiar to me, so maybe I have read it before. I couldn't find that we had discussed it here previously, but if we have, I hope you will all forgive me for bringing it up again. It is a review from OxfordAmerican, The Southern Magazine of Good Writing. The gal who wrote it did a nice job discussing Mark's writing skills across his whole career and introducing his newest album, Privateering. Not much is said about it, and maybe she hadn't heard the songs yet, just seen the cover. Here is the link: OxfordAmerican Review |
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| qjamesfloyd | Wednesday, 4. September 2013, 17:37 Post #17 |
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I had read review before but it was good to read again. I do like to read things about mark where the writer is as enthusiastic about Mark as I am even if some of what was written was not accurate. |
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"Yeah, me and my mate like ac-dc Hot & sweaty, loud & greasy" Mark Knopfler. | |
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| suprlinda | Thursday, 5. September 2013, 13:34 Post #18 |
Making Movies
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I noticed and forgot to mention that bit about Mark never using a pick! I guess the writer hadn't seen him play with one, or she wouldn't have made that comment, She also must not have seen that interview where he mentions that he always makes some time to play with one, so he doesn't forget how. |
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| ElinaFinn | Thursday, 5. September 2013, 16:07 Post #19 |
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And she thinks that Silvertown Blues is about a mining town in America. But isn't it about a place in London? :unsure: |
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| superval99 | Thursday, 5. September 2013, 17:29 Post #20 |
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Hi Elina! Yes, your're correct - it is about he Millennium Dome in London. The mistake about the pick sprang out at me too! |
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