A Mark In Time

Mark Knopfler Discussion => Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum => Topic started by: tobi777 on October 30, 2020, 07:56:13 PM

Title: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: tobi777 on October 30, 2020, 07:56:13 PM
Anyone heard the new song "PS Please" by Sir Cliff?

https://youtu.be/1gUgZwD7p1g (https://youtu.be/1gUgZwD7p1g)

The guitar sounds very much like MK to me.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: K-alberto on October 30, 2020, 08:20:13 PM
I'd be surprised to find out he's not ;)
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: quizzaciously on October 30, 2020, 08:34:59 PM
Anyone heard the new song "PS Please" by Sir Cliff?

https://youtu.be/1gUgZwD7p1g (https://youtu.be/1gUgZwD7p1g)

The guitar sounds very much like MK to me.

A great find! Definintely sound like MK though EXTREMELY strange there was no any news and his name isn't mentioned. Like, yeah, I had Bonnie Tyler, The Bellamy Brothers, Sheila Walsh, The Piano Guys, Albert Hammond and this strange session musician, who likes to record guitar for people via email in his recording studio...

There's a slight possibility of a session musician being told "record it with Mark Knopfler sound", but it's unlikely. But still, possible.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: pitx on October 30, 2020, 08:56:27 PM
The song 'PS Please' on Cliff's new album released today, tells the story of a father leaving letters for his daughter to read after his premature death, it also features Mark Knopfler on guitar. #CliffRichard

Cliff Richard twiter
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: quizzaciously on October 30, 2020, 09:20:42 PM
The song 'PS Please' on Cliff's new album released today, tells the story of a father leaving letters for his daughter to read after his premature death, it also features Mark Knopfler on guitar. #CliffRichard

Cliff Richard twiter

Wow, that's quite a sad song premise actually! And great to see this great news on the quote from Twitter instead of Mark's website :lol
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: Banjo99uk on October 30, 2020, 09:29:11 PM
Sad song, but MK sounds like he’s doing early DS. What a great sound.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: Pierre on October 30, 2020, 10:11:27 PM
Good song, great sound!
I bet it wasn't cold in the studio when Mark did his part!  ;D
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: Darling Pretty on October 30, 2020, 10:47:40 PM
Yep. Great song. Thank you guys.
MK's playing is also very cool. Like in the old days.
Cannot believe it is from 2020 ;D
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: 2manyguitars on October 31, 2020, 12:35:33 AM
Prefect example of the very tasteful guitar that Mark is still capable of and absolutely perfect for the song.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: Kris-b on October 31, 2020, 09:07:48 AM
Love the lead guitar. And it also features a well known drummer!
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: qjamesfloyd on October 31, 2020, 09:42:28 AM
A lot of it musically reminds me of Sailing to Philadelphia, really good guitar from Mark too.

The musicians involved with this track:

Strings: Amy Stanford
Bass: Chris Dodd
Vocals: Cliff Richard
Strings: Clifton Harrison
Strings: Daisy Spires
Strings: Dunja Lavrova
Strings: Eleanor Stanford
Keyboards: Graham Harvey
Drums: Ian Thomas
Assistant: Jamie McEvoy
Additional  Producer: Jochem van der Saag
Instrument  Programmer: Jochem van der Saag
Synthesizer: Jochem van der Saag
Vocal  Co-production: Jorge Vivo
Mastering  Engineer: Keith Bessey
Strings: Laura Stanford
Backing  Vocals: Laura Vasiliou
String  Orchestra: London Symphonic Rock Orchestra
Electric  Guitar: Marcus Bonfanti
Pro-tools  Editor: Marcus Locock
Lead  Guitar: Mark Knopfler
Vocal  Engineer: Nick Valentin
Strings: Paloma Deike
Strings: Phillipa Mo
String  Arranger: Rupert Christie
Engineer, Producer: Rupert Christie
Instrument  Programmer: Rupert Christie
Pro-tools  Editor: Sam Burden
Backing  Vocals: Shean Williams
Acoustic  Guitar: Simon Johnson
Assistant  Engineer: Tom Archer
Composer: Matt Prime
Composer: Seye Adelekan
Composer: Timothy Woodcock
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: TheTimeWasWrong on October 31, 2020, 10:38:52 AM
Great find! Classic STP lick at 1:30.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: Billy’s Tune on October 31, 2020, 10:56:09 AM
Great song. Superb playing by MK; as others have said a very STP era sound. Nice to hear a strat for a change rather than the LP.
I’m not a Cliff fan but he’s back on form with this. Not bad for an 80 year old.  :thumbsup
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: quizzaciously on October 31, 2020, 11:11:47 AM
Great song. Superb playing by MK; as others have said a very STP era sound. Nice to hear a strat for a change rather than the LP.
I’m not a Cliff fan but he’s back on form with this. Not bad for an 80 year old.  :thumbsup

And great to hear them together, Mark and the guy who brought the first Fender Stratocaster in the UK!
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: superval99 on October 31, 2020, 11:44:07 AM
Not really a Cliff fan, but this is a nice song and MK's guitar is gorgeous!   I wonder if he's also on other tracks.  :think
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: PensaGhost on October 31, 2020, 03:12:39 PM
A lot of it musically reminds me of Sailing to Philadelphia

yes, that's why he called MK
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: KnopfleRick on October 31, 2020, 05:22:39 PM
Mark's guitar sounds so brilliant.  :thumbsup Reminds you of the old days of DS. Wish he will play like this on the new album, as well.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: Robson on October 31, 2020, 06:29:05 PM
Beautiful song.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: Elin N on October 31, 2020, 06:29:41 PM
Very nice! And such sad lyrics.. Makes me think of all the dads out there who for different reasons don't get to see their children  :-[
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: dmg on October 31, 2020, 11:35:55 PM
Prefect example of the very tasteful guitar that Mark is still capable of and absolutely perfect for the song.

I would agree with this but always feel it's a waste to get Mark Knopfler and not give him more to do.  A bland song with  some fills isn't of much interest and rather a waste.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: quizzaciously on November 01, 2020, 12:17:50 AM
Prefect example of the very tasteful guitar that Mark is still capable of and absolutely perfect for the song.

I would agree with this but always feel it's a waste to get Mark Knopfler and not give him more to do.  A bland song with  some fills isn't of much interest and rather a waste.

Yes, somebody needed to say that. And it's not about moaning, and of course it's much better than inviting Mark to play rhythm guitar. To be honest, I barely listen to Mark's guitar collaborative tracks. I love when he's singing or 'do more' like, for instance, in this track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI4SSZ6k_3Q
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: Knopflerfan on November 01, 2020, 09:35:09 AM
I'm not a Cliff fan by any stretch, but this track with MK is rather good - it's so reminiscent of StP.....lovely Strat sound as ever....

Good to see that it was Ian 'Ianto' Thomas on drums too!

Dont suppose MK is on any more of Sir Harry's new album?
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: Love Expresso on November 01, 2020, 06:46:29 PM
Prefect example of the very tasteful guitar that Mark is still capable of and absolutely perfect for the song.

I would agree with this but always feel it's a waste to get Mark Knopfler and not give him more to do.  A bland song with  some fills isn't of much interest and rather a waste.

To be fair, this time his playing is much more prominent than during the last couple of times. It's unmistakably MK, you hear it from the first moments, and that's more he offered in many other contributions.

LE
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: 2manyguitars on November 01, 2020, 09:48:57 PM
Prefect example of the very tasteful guitar that Mark is still capable of and absolutely perfect for the song.

I would agree with this but always feel it's a waste to get Mark Knopfler and not give him more to do.  A bland song with  some fills isn't of much interest and rather a waste.

With all respect I disagree.

I would use the artist analogy. The painter creates a piece and chooses appropriate colours.

You and I as critics may feel it's bland,  of dislike it for any number of reasons but it doesn't invalidate the choices.

Yes this song is very middle of the road, but if I were going to take the concept of loss/premature death and write, arrange, record, mix, and master a song for Cliff Richard to sing then this would be the perfect example 😉

You've got some very prominent musicians on this particular recording, do you think a 5 minute drum solo, or a 7 minute string quartet bridge would be appropriate? 😀

Sorry DMG, I'm half joking really 😀 and it could have done with a little bit of extra mark as a final full stop but his contribution certainly wasn't wasted and it is one of the better 'mail in' things I've heard in recent times, but I admit, I'm a sucker for cheesy emotion.

Please don't ever play Mike and the Mechanics living years anywhere near me unless you want floods of tears 😀😂
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: qjamesfloyd on November 02, 2020, 09:51:52 AM
I'm sure Mark only does what Cliff and the producer ask him to do, and he plays for the song, that is what he has done to my ears, I think it's a good contribution from Mark.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: KnopfleRick on November 02, 2020, 10:33:38 AM
Prefect example of the very tasteful guitar that Mark is still capable of and absolutely perfect for the song.

I would agree with this but always feel it's a waste to get Mark Knopfler and not give him more to do.  A bland song with  some fills isn't of much interest and rather a waste.


I think it never is a waste when Mark picks up his guitar and starts playing.
There is always something magical about it - even when he is doing a short one like this. I love it!
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: superval99 on November 02, 2020, 10:39:26 AM
I watched the performance of the song on "Songs of Praise" yesterday and I'm pretty sure Cliff was miming.  He had a band with him, but if they were actually playing, they did a good job, but the guitar sounded less obvious to my ears.  :think
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: dustyvalentino on November 02, 2020, 12:29:17 PM
Beautiful song, bravo Cliff.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: Adz on November 02, 2020, 12:32:43 PM
They've just played it on Ken Bruce's BBC Radio 2 show, with Ken commenting on MK in the background.I think he's actually a a fan of Mark, and would probably play more of him if he could. Lovely to hear some new guitar work, though
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: dmg on November 02, 2020, 08:33:49 PM
Prefect example of the very tasteful guitar that Mark is still capable of and absolutely perfect for the song.

I would agree with this but always feel it's a waste to get Mark Knopfler and not give him more to do.  A bland song with  some fills isn't of much interest and rather a waste.

With all respect I disagree.

I would use the artist analogy. The painter creates a piece and chooses appropriate colours.

You and I as critics may feel it's bland,  of dislike it for any number of reasons but it doesn't invalidate the choices.

Yes this song is very middle of the road, but if I were going to take the concept of loss/premature death and write, arrange, record, mix, and master a song for Cliff Richard to sing then this would be the perfect example 😉

You've got some very prominent musicians on this particular recording, do you think a 5 minute drum solo, or a 7 minute string quartet bridge would be appropriate? 😀

Sorry DMG, I'm half joking really 😀 and it could have done with a little bit of extra mark as a final full stop but his contribution certainly wasn't wasted and it is one of the better 'mail in' things I've heard in recent times, but I admit, I'm a sucker for cheesy emotion.

Please don't ever play Mike and the Mechanics living years anywhere near me unless you want floods of tears 😀😂

Living Years - LOVE that!  :'( :'( :'( :'( :lol :lol :lol :lol

Seen Carrack at the Festival Theatre last year.  Great show.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: 2manyguitars on November 03, 2020, 12:25:09 AM
Prefect example of the very tasteful guitar that Mark is still capable of and absolutely perfect for the song.

I would agree with this but always feel it's a waste to get Mark Knopfler and not give him more to do.  A bland song with  some fills isn't of much interest and rather a waste.

With all respect I disagree.

I would use the artist analogy. The painter creates a piece and chooses appropriate colours.

You and I as critics may feel it's bland,  of dislike it for any number of reasons but it doesn't invalidate the choices.

Yes this song is very middle of the road, but if I were going to take the concept of loss/premature death and write, arrange, record, mix, and master a song for Cliff Richard to sing then this would be the perfect example 😉

You've got some very prominent musicians on this particular recording, do you think a 5 minute drum solo, or a 7 minute string quartet bridge would be appropriate? 😀

Sorry DMG, I'm half joking really 😀 and it could have done with a little bit of extra mark as a final full stop but his contribution certainly wasn't wasted and it is one of the better 'mail in' things I've heard in recent times, but I admit, I'm a sucker for cheesy emotion.

Please don't ever play Mike and the Mechanics living years anywhere near me unless you want floods of tears 😀😂

Living Years - LOVE that!  :'( :'( :'( :'( :lol :lol :lol :lol

Seen Carrack at the Festival Theatre last year.  Great show.

Yep, definitely one of THE Great British voices....
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: hunter on November 03, 2020, 10:33:27 AM
That was a nice surprise. The song might be a little "light" for the subject matter, but overall I think it was pretty good. Nice to hear some proper Strat tones from Mark again; it's really been a while. As others mentioned, it sounds a bit like the sound from the STP era, but it also reminds a bit of the Schecter sound in the 80s. Say what you will, in my book Mark will always be a Strat man.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: Jules on November 03, 2020, 11:25:16 AM
That was a nice surprise. The song might be a little "light" for the subject matter, but overall I think it was pretty good. Nice to hear some proper Strat tones from Mark again; it's really been a while. As others mentioned, it sounds a bit like the sound from the STP era, but it also reminds a bit of the Schecter sound in the 80s. Say what you will, in my book Mark will always be a Strat man.

he's now a Kemper man  ::)
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: qjamesfloyd on November 03, 2020, 11:53:37 AM
That was a nice surprise. The song might be a little "light" for the subject matter, but overall I think it was pretty good. Nice to hear some proper Strat tones from Mark again; it's really been a while. As others mentioned, it sounds a bit like the sound from the STP era, but it also reminds a bit of the Schecter sound in the 80s. Say what you will, in my book Mark will always be a Strat man.

I know what you mean, Mark, was always known as a Strat player, but with his solo work he has heavily leaned towards the Les Paul, with a diversion of the Pensa between DS and solo, I have always considered him a Strat player first, but he really is a cross between the 2, after all he wanted the Pensa to be a cross between the two.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: Jules on November 03, 2020, 12:08:57 PM
That was a nice surprise. The song might be a little "light" for the subject matter, but overall I think it was pretty good. Nice to hear some proper Strat tones from Mark again; it's really been a while. As others mentioned, it sounds a bit like the sound from the STP era, but it also reminds a bit of the Schecter sound in the 80s. Say what you will, in my book Mark will always be a Strat man.

I know what you mean, Mark, was always known as a Strat player, but with his solo work he has heavily leaned towards the Les Paul, with a diversion of the Pensa between DS and solo, I have always considered him a Strat player first, but he really is a cross between the 2, after all he wanted the Pensa to be a cross between the two.

He was a Strat man during the late 70's, then he changed to the Schecters early 80's which were Strat alike but he started to add other kind of guitars, including LP during the BIA tour, then added Pensa Shur as main guitar at the 90's, and on 1996 he was mainly a LP man, from then, he was using all kind of guitars, but mainly a mix between LP and Strats...
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: qjamesfloyd on November 03, 2020, 12:11:56 PM
Yes, I know all that, but I mean for the general music public, he was thought of as a Strat player.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: JF on November 03, 2020, 12:49:35 PM
in this article, I tried to sum up his MAIN guitars through the years.

not an exhaustive list, but the main ones, and a global view on different eras

https://textes-blog-rock-n-roll.fr/mark-knopfler-70-ans-et-toutes-ses-grattes/
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: superval99 on November 04, 2020, 07:32:00 AM
The performance from Songs of Praise;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r96WVPiK76E
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: quizzaciously on November 04, 2020, 10:29:19 AM
The performance from Songs of Praise;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r96WVPiK76E

Great song, totally in MK style I have to say. A perfect choice for a lead guitar player from Sir CR :wave
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: TheTimeWasWrong on November 04, 2020, 10:32:24 AM
His miming is a lot better than MK's, who really sucks at it and doesn't even try. Probably a compliment to both of them.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: superval99 on November 04, 2020, 10:37:30 AM
Was it playback or were the band actually playing?    :think  If so they did a good job!
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: TheTimeWasWrong on November 04, 2020, 10:47:49 AM
Was it playback or were the band actually playing?    :think  If so they did a good job!

The guy with the blue guitar does a fantastic job. I've watched it twice, and it's remarkable how well-rehearsed he is.

edit: the sound is a bit different from the Spotify release, but that's mostly EQ and compression, it's the same take.
Title: Re: New Song by Cliff Richard - MK involved?
Post by: Dutchessy on November 04, 2020, 05:55:30 PM
Nice song! Some Redbud Tree licks in it