A Mark In Time
Mark Knopfler Discussion => Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Best Brown Baggies on August 25, 2008, 11:11:39 PM
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As much as i love 'On The Night', i just LOVE Alchemy sooooooooo much more. ;D
I'll never forget the day i bought it.
I was at school at the time, and i went to my local record store at my lunch break.
I remember buying it, and thinking WOW, what a cool front cover.!!!!!!!
In my last lesson of the day, which i even remember was cookery, i just remember looking non stop at the cover, finding something different everytime i looked at it.
I couldn't wait to get it home.
When i did, i remember removing it from it's clear plastic covering, and sniffing the LP cover. (yes i've always been a bit strange like that).
It had a great gatefold sleeve, that revealed even more fantastic art.
Next, i waited till i was completely on my own, put my earphones on, then...........
What a great opening to the concert. "Would you welcome to the stage please.... Dire Straits"
Then the slow build up to the opening chords to OUATITW. !!!!!!!!!!!
My god.!!!!!!!!! An aural ORGASM.!!!!!!!!
Alchemy is pure gold to the ears, perfect versions of all the songs.
SOS & TR WOWWWWWWWWWW.!!!
On the way to Amsterdam in the car for the opening 08 gig with Ingrid & Pottel, we listened to this. We were all singing at the tops of our voices. Myself & Pottel comparing how big our goosebumps on our arms were.!!!!!!
Listening to it now. 8)
We could not have a forum without at least one mention of the question........
'Why the hell has this never been released on Dvd'. :'( ??? >:(
A quick mention for the 'On The Night' Cd.
Great pedal steel on WOL.!!!!!!!!!!
Pity no 'Planet Of New Orleans' :'(
Might add some more info later.
Cheers BBB.
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BTW. My 3rd DS related tattoo is going to be the Alchemy arrows on my upper chest, or on my upper left arm. ;D
Call me mad, but it's gonna look GREAT.
Cheers BBB
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you and your friend on OTN.....aaaahhhhh
but besides that, and a not so bad BIA, Slchemy is the real deal.....
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aLCHEMY all the way for me!!! As a kid I 'took' ownership of my Dad's copy on double cassette!! Then he got it on double CD, which somehow made it into my collection as well ;D
aLCHEMY on DVD would be awesome...
BTW. My 3rd DS related tattoo is going to be the Alchemy arrows on my upper chest, or on my upper left arm. ;D
Call me mad, but it's gonna look GREAT.
Cheers BBB
What does the missus think of all the tattoos?
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What does the missus think of all the tattoos?
She's absolutely fine with them.
She's the one who keeps egging me on to get them done.
She knows how passionate i am about MK/DS. 8)
My family always comes 1st though. ;)
One day, i may have my wife and kids names tattoo'd, if i've got any room left. ;D LOL LOL
Cheers BBB.
Go on Ian, go and get one done.!!!!!!!!!! :o
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Alchemy, no question.
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Although I love "On the Night", it has to be "Alchemy" for me! :)
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yip, me too, although On the Night has a special place in my heart because that tour was my first ever (and second) MK gig, Alchemy is so much more "live" as in alive.
And Alchemy is also the first DS album I heard, before I became obessed, and of course the first time I saw DS in concert (albeit on my parents' little TV). I remember kicking everybody out of the living room to put the video on and spent 2 hours in heaven watching it!
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Yes, Nat, that's pretty much the same for me too! "Alchemy" was the first DS video I saw and it was when I became smitten with MK. I watched that video every day and just couldn't get enough of it! The atmosphere of the concert had a sort of aura about it which stays in the mind. At the time, I thought I was the only person who felt like that, but now I know different! ;) A DVD of the whole concert would be wonderful and is well overdue!
"On the Night" I loved too, but I agree that it didn't seem quite "live" or alive. At around the same time as OTN I recorded "On Every Street" from Basel, which was televised and I was glued to that too. I think that seemed a lot more "real" somehow.
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Alchemy, definitely.
DS were on top of their game then, but by the time of OTN it's clear that MK had become pretty jaded.
And that's before you even talk about all the "production" on OTN.
I would much rather listen to, say, the Basel 92 show than OTN to be honest, much more "real" sounding.
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aLCHEMY, no doubt, any chance to put *Love Over Gold* video fron the *Sultans of Swing* compilation into aLCHEMY and make a DVD of that night????? I have fan-made aLCHEMY in DVD format but without LoG, a bloody pity.
Wishes
Allen
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the only thing that really makes the OTN worhtwhile imho ia You and your friend....
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ALCHEMY!!!!!!!! ALCHEMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALCHEMY!!!!!!!!!!!!
i remember removing it from it's clear plastic covering, and sniffing the LP cover. (yes i've always been a bit strange like that).
OOOOhhh, Nigel....that is a little weird. Good thing I love you....
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Alchemy without any doubt!
Feels a lot more "live" than On The Night.
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Well, I like Alchemy a BIT more then On The Night, but both are very good in my opinion. I offen play On The Night when I want to show to my friends how "big" and famous band I listen to ;D ;D ....and everyone knows and likes WOL, you know...
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Hmmm, good question.
Overall, I think Alchemy has a much better selection of songs than OTN. The sense of atmosphere is far more apparent on Alchemy too. However, I find the playing on Alchemy to be just a little too loose at times. I like things a little less cluttered. OTN has some fantastic playing, especially - as already noted - the pedal steel. I think it has slightly better sound too, although some of the life seems to have been sucked out of it in the process. Neither album has great sound to be honest.
That all sounds very negative, when really I enjoy both albums a lot. I think Alchemy wins though.
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Alchemy !!!! It was my veotry very first possession of DS I ever owned. Believe it or not, I got it in Cassette tape back when I was living in Bangkok, Thailand. And that was also when I first heard and instantly fell in love with DS. It was Sultans of Swing. Still had the cassette tape which had travelled with me from Thailand , to Japan , and now to the US. 25 some years. It's now become my treasure. Love Alchemy to death. Got the VHS version and converted it to DVD. Now I am trying to work on collecting all the MK's soundtracks.
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They are both good concerts, but show a very different DS in my view, Alchemy was DS at the height of their powers, and because it was pre Brothers In Arms, it shows them before they went huge, and Mark is on fire for the whole show, it shows the enery he used to have as a performer, shows why people were so impressed when they first saw him back in the early days.
On The Night shows the band at what turned out to be the end of there career, and it shows how big they got, and what Mark was not liking anymore, it still has some great performances though, Private Investigations is great, so is Calling Elvis, and Local Hero, and i love the performance of Solid Rock too, but for me the standout song is You and Your Friend, the control and emotion in his playing is astounding, watching him play that song is a real lesson in blues guitar playing :)
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I think that's a great point qjamesfloyd, MK didn't seem as happy towards the end of DS. I think going solo was a great decision for him personally.
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Thanks.
Yes, it was a great decision to go solo, and that is why I think we will never see Dire Straits again as they were, Mark has just moved on, and I can't blame him really, I get fed up of seeing the likes of The Rolling Stones trapsing out for yet another "World Tour" Mark is better of being solo, and keeping it more low key.