SPOILERS: John Illsley will publish a book about Dire Straits

[quizzaciously]

To me, it's pretty obvious a lack of inspiration which takes him so long. It's not good for Mark's output to lock in with Guy alone for months, fiddle around with all kind of nonsense gear and and try to find inspiration that way. Also his song writing has become more of a habit than real art during the last decade, it seems he doesn't know what else to do with his time. Sometimes time frames are good for creativity. When he was in rented studios, the work was much more concentrated and therefore the output was better - from my point of view of course. He should change Guy, change the band, change the studio. Ragpicker was recorded in a very short time compared to everything after and seems to be his best one still.

That last wherever album was testament to an artist not having new ideas, polished by a Guy (pun intended) who dreams of doing his own stuff but lacking creativity. It was never so clear to me that MK has lost interest after that last album.

I really don't even expect anything from this new effort. I used to hope for surprises but today it's just fear that it gets even more cringe. For me, Tracker was a good album with some outstanding tracks. I loved listen to it complete and enjoyed it very much. With the tour things were already getting worse. He should have stopped after that.

LE

I think this is true to some extent. I believe Mark is very lucky since he discovered his main talent and still develop it after 50 years. You can do it for the rest of your life as many people did, leaving their newest works unfinished when they died, so I don't think what's happening with MK is a lack of inspiration. I think the guy never had a single day of writing block and is the most consistent songwriter I know.

He's just in an extremely peculiar position right now, I can imagine how he feels. A couple of his closest relatives recently died, as well as some of his friends, his touring is either dead or alive, nobody knows, he struggles with playing, yet he obviously wants more time to spend with his family but also writing songs, time moves away faster and faster. Everybody expects another brilliant album from him, filled with great songs, another staple of great recording and mixing, so the pressure on him is going all over the place from every conceivable angle.

As I'm not a fan of Guy's overproduction, I wish they would turn back to simpler recording but I don't this is even possible in Mark's own studio because they have everything in this world. Everything, except time! So, given these extreme conditions, I reckon the next album will be Mark's best one, or at least as best as he is able to do at the moment, so I'd rather wait for as long as needed, even if it will be out in 2025.

[Robson]

To me, it's pretty obvious a lack of inspiration which takes him so long. It's not good for Mark's output to lock in with Guy alone for months, fiddle around with all kind of nonsense gear and and try to find inspiration that way. Also his song writing has become more of a habit than real art during the last decade, it seems he doesn't know what else to do with his time. Sometimes time frames are good for creativity. When he was in rented studios, the work was much more concentrated and therefore the output was better - from my point of view of course. He should change Guy, change the band, change the studio. Ragpicker was recorded in a very short time compared to everything after and seems to be his best one still.

That last wherever album was testament to an artist not having new ideas, polished by a Guy (pun intended) who dreams of doing his own stuff but lacking creativity. It was never so clear to me that MK has lost interest after that last album.

I really don't even expect anything from this new effort. I used to hope for surprises but today it's just fear that it gets even more cringe. For me, Tracker was a good album with some outstanding tracks. I loved listen to it complete and enjoyed it very much. With the tour things were already getting worse. He should have stopped after that.

LE

No inspiration? I cannot agree with that. It's always worth waiting for the new MK album

[Robson]

"Also his song writing has become more of a habit than real art during the last decade"

I can't believe you wrote this. Really?

[dmg]

"Also his song writing has become more of a habit than real art during the last decade"

I can't believe you wrote this. Really?

Really.  I must agree with the majority of LE's post.  Surely this is a fact?

I also think spending all that time in the studio playing the songs over and over will make them stale and the arrangements will become overthought and dull instead of spontaneous and edgy.  That's just my opinion.

Of course I'm hoping Mark and Guy aren't going to be judging the SQ due to high frequency deafness, especially on Mark's part!  I'm pretty sure the majority can hear better than both of them.

[Robson]

Not for me.

[Love Expresso]

And that's perfectly fine, Robson 

I don't have too much time on my hands daily  so that I can only come back occasionally here and read it all. Writing my opinion (plus language barrier) takes its time, too! So if it sounds harsh for some people it's maybe just because of that, rush.

LE

[Robson]

My language barrier is bigger

[cannibals]

On topic again  any word on the book being published in other languages or still not the case?

[dmg]

On topic again  any word on the book being published in other languages or still not the case?

Not answering your question I'm afraid, but if buying in English I got a copy yesterday in the bargain bin with £8 off from Tesco. 

[superval99]

On topic again  any word on the book being published in other languages or still not the case?

Not answering your question I'm afraid, but if buying in English I got a copy yesterday in the bargain bin with £8 off from Tesco. 

Oh dear - that doesn't bode well!  I suppose it was unsigned? 

[superval99]

To me, it's pretty obvious a lack of inspiration which takes him so long. It's not good for Mark's output to lock in with Guy alone for months, fiddle around with all kind of nonsense gear and and try to find inspiration that way. Also his song writing has become more of a habit than real art during the last decade, it seems he doesn't know what else to do with his time. Sometimes time frames are good for creativity. When he was in rented studios, the work was much more concentrated and therefore the output was better - from my point of view of course. He should change Guy, change the band, change the studio. Ragpicker was recorded in a very short time compared to everything after and seems to be his best one still.

That last wherever album was testament to an artist not having new ideas, polished by a Guy (pun intended) who dreams of doing his own stuff but lacking creativity. It was never so clear to me that MK has lost interest after that last album.

I really don't even expect anything from this new effort. I used to hope for surprises but today it's just fear that it gets even more cringe. For me, Tracker was a good album with some outstanding tracks. I loved listen to it complete and enjoyed it very much. With the tour things were already getting worse. He should have stopped after that.

LE

I do agree with you about Ragpicker's and Tracker.  Both of those are in my top four albums, the other two being KTGC and Shangri-La.

[Knopflerfan]

On topic again  any word on the book being published in other languages or still not the case?

Not answering your question I'm afraid, but if buying in English I got a copy yesterday in the bargain bin with £8 off from Tesco. 

This is common now dmg, all new release books are sold at a much reduced price at various supermarkets these days...

[Knopflerfan]

On topic again  any word on the book being published in other languages or still not the case?

Not answering your question I'm afraid, but if buying in English I got a copy yesterday in the bargain bin with £8 off from Tesco. 

Oh dear - that doesn't bode well!  I suppose it was unsigned?

Signed copies were only available at Waterstones I believe...

[dmg]

On topic again  any word on the book being published in other languages or still not the case?

Not answering your question I'm afraid, but if buying in English I got a copy yesterday in the bargain bin with £8 off from Tesco. 

Oh dear - that doesn't bode well!  I suppose it was unsigned?

Yes, but if anyone buys a Tesco copy I'll happily sign it for <£8 

[MagicElliott]

My idea is that MK and co could record the same album in half the time if they wanted -- covid appart. Thing is, MK likes to take his time and it's perfectly fine I suppose. But we all have albums (big names or not) recorded much faster and which sound as good as Mark's. Just my opinion. 

Inclined to agree with this one.
The funny thing about the Beatles and their speed is that they would do 50+ takes on a song. Whereas Guy frequently tells us how many of MK’s songs were done in one take.

Too much microphone choice perhaps??

In regards to John, there is no doubt that’s he’s not a polished lyricist in the same way MK is. Compare Young Girl (which just seems to me the most basic of songs and rhyming schemes) to the brilliance of 5.15am (one of MK’s finest lyrical pieces IMO)