A Mark In Time

Mark Knopfler Discussion => Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum => Topic started by: daphwhite84 on February 20, 2025, 09:11:47 AM

Title: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: daphwhite84 on February 20, 2025, 09:11:47 AM
Mark Knopfler is known for his unique fingerpicking style and iconic solos that define Dire Straits and his solo work. From the legendary "Sultans of Swing" to the emotional "Brothers in Arms", his solos have left a lasting impact on fans.

Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: rmarques821 on February 20, 2025, 09:20:04 AM
Speedway at Nazareth and Are We In Trouble Now
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: Chris W on February 20, 2025, 09:28:03 AM
Sultan's is the solo everyone wants to learn. It has the most rememberable hooks (like the 16th arpeggios at the climax) and I think will be the guitar solo people remember and love in 20 to 30 years time.
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: dustyvalentino on February 20, 2025, 10:55:55 AM
Well it might end up being a nice discussion, but the OP has the clear hallmarks of a spambot :)
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: dustyvalentino on February 20, 2025, 11:11:09 AM
PS, I'll say Tunnel of Love, although oddly, when I pick up a guitar I usually play the solo from You Don't Know You're Born.
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: naif on February 20, 2025, 12:00:27 PM
Tunnel of Love. But İt Never Rains has a very good guitar too.
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: Peter1981 on February 20, 2025, 12:26:57 PM
The first guitar solo in Telegraph road. Period.
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: peterromer on February 20, 2025, 01:07:03 PM
Well it might end up being a nice discussion, but the OP has the clear hallmarks of a spambot :)
Exactly my thought.  :D     
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: 3Strats on February 20, 2025, 04:53:09 PM
Entirely agree about the spambot.
so I'm not going to commit myself, because who knows what information they are gathering and the purposes to which it will be used !  ;D
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: straitsway75 on February 20, 2025, 05:40:12 PM
for me solo in Follow me Home
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: dmg on February 20, 2025, 08:20:04 PM
Tunnel of Love has always been the most lyrical for me and, being one of is trademarks, I think that is his best.

I've also always enjoyed the 2nd solo in Telegraph Road (after "three lanes moving slow").  Perfectly suits the lyrics at that point.
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: ds1984 on February 20, 2025, 09:28:00 PM
PONO Dublin 1991.
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: nando_5994 on February 21, 2025, 05:01:15 PM
SOS live, PONO live, SAN live
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: fan no more on February 21, 2025, 09:54:42 PM
Really, we are responding to bots now? AMIT has hit rock bottom.
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: rmarques821 on February 22, 2025, 12:48:19 PM
Really, we are responding to bots now? AMIT has hit rock bottom.
No, we hit solid rock.
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: mariosboss on February 24, 2025, 04:22:21 AM
1. All the solos in Telegraph Road particularly the last instrumental run - outstanding tone and vibe
2. Tunnel Of Love end solo - very emotional
3. It Never Rains
4. Expresso Love - Middle Guitar Solo - superb interplay with Sid McGinnis
5. Sultans Of Swing
6. Solid Rock
7. Lady Writer
8. One World
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: Pottel on March 03, 2025, 10:53:11 PM
Really, we are responding to bots now? AMIT has hit rock bottom.
a spam message was turned into a good idea. no whining :-)
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: Pottel on March 03, 2025, 10:53:29 PM
You and your friend, live..
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: Rolleyway Man on March 03, 2025, 11:38:26 PM
There are many contenders but I think it might be the solo outro of Are We in Trouble Now. It is so effortless, yet played with an extraordinary amount of heart, and the quality of tone is incredible. It is utterly gorgeous. I get emotional listening to it. That is probably the one for me.
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: Pottel on March 06, 2025, 11:26:35 PM
that's allright mama, or steelrail blues from the snape concert. reminded me again why i absolutely love this man('s playing)
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: rmarques821 on March 07, 2025, 01:47:30 PM
There are many contenders but I think it might be the solo outro of Are We in Trouble Now. It is so effortless, yet played with an extraordinary amount of heart, and the quality of tone is incredible. It is utterly gorgeous. I get emotional listening to it. That is probably the one for me.
Absolutely, I mentioned it too. I get the same feeling when I listen to it
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: superval99 on March 07, 2025, 03:14:01 PM
There are many contenders but I think it might be the solo outro of Are We in Trouble Now. It is so effortless, yet played with an extraordinary amount of heart, and the quality of tone is incredible. It is utterly gorgeous. I get emotional listening to it. That is probably the one for me.
Absolutely, I mentioned it too. I get the same feeling when I listen to it

Same for me too!    :thumbsup
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: Rolo on March 07, 2025, 08:20:15 PM
I think MK's best guitar solo is based on the listener mood.

Mark has a variety of well crafted songs and these songs are very well produced and have the best musicians that they could had at those times. Without those musicianship brilliance from all involved, maybe those solos would be just solos.

Every little detail of Mark's guitar work seems to me that was very carefully created. There is a good amount of improvisation too, however there was great landing points created to guide the impro. So, because of that, there are so many amazing guitar solos on his entire career. Even the solos on Six Blade Knife are great. Tone, ambience, intensity...

Well, tha first album is full os amazing solos there are offuscated by Sultans. Just because SOS, in my opinion, is THE guitar song. Every little detail is simply astonishing.

Tunnel Of Love have my fav MK guitar solo. However, there a bunch os solos that I always consider his 'best' like Sultans, Love Over Gold, Private Investigations, Skateaway, Brothers In Arms, Once Upon A Time In The West...

Seems to me that Telegraph and It Never Rains have 2 or 3 different takes on the final solo.

Are We In A Troube Now have one of the most sensitive solos from Mark. It's funny that the Randy Travis band almost replicate the whole song and the final solo (whichis also good) doesn't got any close from Mark's solo. Proof that MK is a very gifted player.

And I testify that, this particular song, which seems to be a easy one, it's hard to improvise and get THE feel for it. Same applies to Feel Like Going Home. I make a lot of effort to play these particular songs with the proper feeling.
Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: Love Expresso on March 07, 2025, 10:18:15 PM
Some very tasteful ones during the solo years which I love and enjoy very much with every single listen:

Don't You Get It
Imelda
One More Matinee
You Don't Know You're Born
Punish The Monkey
Redbud Tree
Occupation Blues

But in the end there are those milestones which are not very original to choose but pure genius:

Setting Me Up
Southound Again
Sultans Of Swing
Tunnel Of Love
Telegraph Road
It Never Rains

Impossible to choose just one. If I HAD to, it would be Tunnel Of Love album version.

LE
 

Title: Re: Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?
Post by: Rolo on March 08, 2025, 12:18:26 AM
Yes!
If I HAD to take one, it would be, indeed, Tunnel Of Love, the studio version. 20+ years listening to this song and STILL having goosebumps. Everytime.

Despite all the famous solos, there are some sections that always impressed me:

- Rudiger final section when Mark play some great licks.
- The trading licks section with Sonny at the end of Je Suis Desole (studio one)
- Vic And Ray have a great guitar work and solo
- What It Is. From the solo until de very end.
- Fade to Black and that jazzy kind of phrasing
- How Long. Little notes that made the song more cool
- Back To Tupelo. Deep soloing
- Terminal Of Tribute To. This song is not easy to solo on.
- Smooching. This song is a true lesson.
- Your Lastest Trick. Mark's rhythm guitar is something from another planet.

However, there are things that give much more deepness to Mark solos. Most of them played by Alan.

- The organ and the Piano thru It Never Rains are simply fantastics.
- The layers on Brothers In Arms
- Roy Bittan's piano thru the TOL solo
- Mike Mainieri's marimbas thru Love Over Gold final solo

Funny that DS most sucessfull album doesn't have THE solo.
I mean, the guitar song, in my opinion, is defietenely Brothers In Arms. However, all songs have a amazing guitar work but there is no catching solo.