A Mark In Time
Mark Knopfler Discussion => Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum => Topic started by: wakeywakey on January 15, 2021, 06:47:24 AM
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There is a new book coming at the end of January:
> Dire Straits On Track revisits, re-evaluates and contextualises the entire recorded output of one of the true giants of Rock music.
Seven ex-members of the band have been interviewed for the book, which provides fresh perspectives and insights into a commercially massive, creatively fascinating, yet infrequently discussed catalogue.
Available here:https://burningshed.com/store/sonicbond/andrew-wild_dire-straits-on-track_book (https://burningshed.com/store/sonicbond/andrew-wild_dire-straits-on-track_book)
There is also an interesting interview with Chad Cromwell and Mark is discussedl:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/chad-cromwell-drummer-interview-neil-young-mark-knopfler-joe-walsh-1112767/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=RollingStone_Daily&utm_content=249132_01-14-2021_drummer-chad-cromwell-on-his-years-&utm_term=6033422 (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/chad-cromwell-drummer-interview-neil-young-mark-knopfler-joe-walsh-1112767/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=RollingStone_Daily&utm_content=249132_01-14-2021_drummer-chad-cromwell-on-his-years-&utm_term=6033422)
Lots to look forward to this year :thumbsup
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Pre-ordered, I'm gonna give it a try, specially since 7 ex members were interviewed...
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There is also an interesting interview with Chad Cromwell and Mark is discussedl:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/chad-cromwell-drummer-interview-neil-young-mark-knopfler-joe-walsh-1112767/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=RollingStone_Daily&utm_content=249132_01-14-2021_drummer-chad-cromwell-on-his-years-&utm_term=6033422 (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/chad-cromwell-drummer-interview-neil-young-mark-knopfler-joe-walsh-1112767/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=RollingStone_Daily&utm_content=249132_01-14-2021_drummer-chad-cromwell-on-his-years-&utm_term=6033422)
Lots to look forward to this year :thumbsup
Can't read the Cromwell interview :smack
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Can't read the Cromwell interview :smack
How did your Mark Knopfler chapter begin?
Well, that was 1995. Mark had been coming and going to Nashville for a few years to interact with Chet Atkins and do stuff with him. He was on the heals of the [1991] On Every Street record. That was the last Dire Straits record. He was ready to move on with his career. He didn’t want to do Dire Straits any longer. He felt it was time for a change.
He started recording and interacting with Nashville session guys. He did several different sessions with different combinations of players. And then he found the rhythm section that became what we affectionally called the Ninety-Sixers. That was a pet name for our first tour together. [Keyboardist] Guy Fletcher from Dire Straits was also part of it.
The very first record we did was all Nashville-based guys, called Golden Heart. We met at a studio called Emerald Sound. We started cutting Golden Heart and it was just instant band. It felt so great. We became fast friends and were having a ball together. That started a 10-year run with him.
Dire Straits was this massive band. He could have just called this new thing Dire Straits and continued to play stadiums. The lineup always changed a ton anyway and nobody cared. But clearly he wanted to massively downscale.
Yeah. He wanted to separate and distance himself from arena/stadium rock & roll. He wanted to get back to the intimacy of writing songs and telling stories and having the ability to do that in infinite environments.
A decision like that is very rare in rock since it meant making a lot less money.
Yeah. But when a guy has sold over 100 million records and he’s the sole writer on every song, I don’t think he has to worry about whether or not he’s going to make his rent. I think it really became a matter of creative control. It was also a matter of his family life where he wanted to maybe redirect his energies to accommodate for them as well.
How was he a different sort of bandleader than Neil Young?
Completely different. Neil is pure instinct. He captures lighting in a bottle. And even if it cracks the bottle, it still caught the lightning, so it’s awesome. It might be a shitty performance of the song, but it’s a perfect delivery of the vocal and the lyric, which is what matters.
Mark is different. Mark is more deliberate about the performance of the music and the subtleties of the music and the dynamics and control of notes and interaction of all the different musicians involved. It’s a much slower, deliberate, drawn-out process. It probably leans more towards the high-fi end of production.
I love all the records, but Sailing to Philadelphia is a real favorite of mine. There’s a magic to that record.
That’s a great record, man. We cut that at a place called the Tracking Room in Nashville. That’s just a beautiful record, a real beauty.
During the concerts, there were brief moments where he’d do “Sultans of Swing” or his old arena-rock thing, but they were brief, almost the bare minimum.
I think he did that as an homage to his audience. Most people that go see him perform want to hear songs that changed their lives. If that happens to be “Money for Nothing,” but he doesn’t want to sing that, there are days where we’d go, “You know what, man? You gotta do that. You gotta give the people what they’ve given you.” That’s just the way it goes.
I think he serviced that as long as he could. I’m pretty far out of touch with Mark now. I don’t know what he’s doing with his recording and live performing. I can only relate to my time with him. I know that where we started on Golden Heart and where I dropped off at the end of my tenure with him, he had transitioned considerably in the direction of more of a folk songwriter kind of guy than a rock & roll guy.
You left the 2005 tour during the tour. What happened there?
That was personal things that were going on in my life that needed pretty intense attention. It was family-related. It wasn’t music-related. There were some professional issues that were unfortunate, but none of them would I ever direct to Mark. Mark was great. I still love Mark. But I needed to take a break during that tour.
The handling of all that got really tricky for me and it came necessary for me to say goodbye at that point. In all fairness to everyone involved, I can’t go too deeply into all that, but that was my jumping-off point.
That same year, 2005, you jump back to Neil Young after 16 years off and cut Prairie Wind.
That’s exactly right. It was right on the heels of that. A lot of people think I quit Mark so I could go play with Neil. That wasn’t the case. Neil had actually contacted me about recording while I was on tour with Mark. I just said, “I can’t do it, man. I can’t do it.” He moved on and started recording Prairie Wind [with Karl Himmel on drums]. When I left the tour, shortly thereafter, Neil decided to resume the recording again and Long Grain [Ben Keith] was aware of the fact that I was back in Nashville. Then he said, “Neil has come to town. Can you come record?” I said, “Of course I can. I’m here.”
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Thank you for both, the book and the CC interview.
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Thanks Binone!
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Thanks for the Chad interview. Very strange, I guess we'll never know what happened.
Seems like he fell out with someone other than Mark? Great drummer anyway. And great that Danny stepped in at such short notice.
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Thanks for the Chad interview. Very strange, I guess we'll never know what happened.
Seems like he fell out with someone other than Mark? Great drummer anyway. And great that Danny stepped in at such short notice.
As Chad says in the interview, I recall from 2005 that Chad had to leave because of personal family problems and that Danny would take the drums until the RAH concerts, that Chad would be back, but Danny stayed, according to Guy because they felt he was doing it ok and wanting them to stay.
Could it be that back in Nashville Chad started to record and play with Neil Young so he told MK he wasn't to be back or maybe MK told Chad not to come back as everything was ok with Danny, and then Chad accepted to record and tour with Neil Young?
Apparently they are not in contact since that.
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He says there was a professional problem, but not with MK so could be anything...
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He says there was a professional problem, but not with MK so could be anything...
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He actually says this:
That was personal things that were going on in my life that needed pretty intense attention. It was family-related. It wasn’t music-related. There were some professional issues that were unfortunate, but none of them would I ever direct to Mark
- Firstly, that he had family-related personal things, not music-related. I guess this is what he told MK to leave.
- Secondly, some proffesional issues he didn't direct to Mark. I guess here he means he got offers he had to reject, but not the reason he asked MK to leave.
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I read it as there were professional issues as well as family issues, but the professional issues weren’t related to MK.
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Thanks for sharing!
If that happens to be “Money for Nothing,” but he doesn’t want to sing that, there are days where we’d go, “You know what, man? You gotta do that. You gotta give the people what they’ve given you.” That’s just the way it goes.
I'd love to have footage of that discussion ;D
I think he serviced that as long as he could. I’m pretty far out of touch with Mark now. I don’t know what he’s doing with his recording and live performing. I can only relate to my time with him. I know that where we started on Golden Heart and where I dropped off at the end of my tenure with him, he had transitioned considerably in the direction of more of a folk songwriter kind of guy than a rock & roll guy.
I can't believe he isn't updated on Mark's doing. He probably still meets Glenn and Richard now and then in Nashville. And with all modern techniques, he probably gave some of the latest records a spin or looked up a performance on YouTube, although 2019 and 2005 are worlds apart.
After reading Pick's interview lately, I already suspected Chad's leaving wasn't directly related to Mark. Maybe except for the OES-tour, he does care about his band members.
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Thanks for the info about the book and for posting the interview.
At least something cheering to be expected this year.
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I'm very curious as to who those seven ex-members are.
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I'm very curious as to who those seven ex-members are.
I fear they might be those musicians who just play some additional instruments on the records, like Dave Plews who played sax in "ride across the river"
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I'm very curious as to who those seven ex-members are.
Tells you something about the band, isn't it? Count seven ex-members and there are still about 50 left lol.
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I almost feel I can't live without Chris Whitten's or Mel Collins' opinion about, say, Water of Love or Skateaway. Please.
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I'm very curious as to who those seven ex-members are.
I fear they might be those musicians who just play some additional instruments on the records, like Dave Plews who played sax in "ride across the river"
:o it's not Brecker ???
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I can't believe he isn't updated on Mark's doing. He probably still meets Glenn and Richard now and then in Nashville. And with all modern techniques, he probably gave some of the latest records a spin or looked up a performance on YouTube, although 2019 and 2005 are worlds apart.
He was not there to listen to Mark's music but to perform it.
It was just a job and once the job has been over he has moved on.
So I can understand that he is simply not interested by what Mark Knopfler has done since.
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I'm very curious as to who those seven ex-members are.
I fear they might be those musicians who just play some additional instruments on the records, like Dave Plews who played sax in "ride across the river"
:o it's not Brecker ???
No, Brecker played on "your latest trick"
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It does make you wonder if some are hired, and some are family. Matt Rollings is a classic example. Guy has confirmed that they don’t really see or speak to him anymore. No bad blood, no tension or anything. They just served their purpose and then moved on.
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On the positive side guys, its possible to get some anecdotes and stories that Mr. MK or G. Fletcher might not want to tell, regardless of being harmless or not. Until proven otherwise I think it could be a good one.
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There are anecdotes that are not flattering sometimes, the other day I was watching a live Facebook post by Phil Palmer and people were asking questions about writing On Every Street and Phil was telling how Mark was making him play the final set of arpeggios on several Statocasters and he was telling him to repeat over and over again ... a bitter memory according to Phil.
That is to say that his legendary perfectionism might have frustrated more than one musician, more than 7 musicians.
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There are anecdotes that are not flattering sometimes, the other day I was watching a live Facebook post by Phil Palmer and people were asking questions about writing On Every Street and Phil was telling how Mark was making him play the final set of arpeggios on several Statocasters and he was telling him to repeat over and over again ... a bitter memory according to Phil.
That is to say that his legendary perfectionism might have frustrated more than one musician, more than 7 musicians.
That's actually a great idea. So I assume Phil was playing the riff while Mark was fiddling with amps and settings in real-time to get the desired sound. Nothing too crazy to me, and since the riff is so great absolutely nothing to cry about here. If that's too crazy for Phil, no wonder he had bitter memories overall.
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There are anecdotes that are not flattering sometimes, the other day I was watching a live Facebook post by Phil Palmer and people were asking questions about writing On Every Street and Phil was telling how Mark was making him play the final set of arpeggios on several Statocasters and he was telling him to repeat over and over again ... a bitter memory according to Phil.
That is to say that his legendary perfectionism might have frustrated more than one musician, more than 7 musicians.
I guess Mark learned a thing or two from the Steely Dan guys ha-ha
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I'm very curious as to who those seven ex-members are.
I fear they might be those musicians who just play some additional instruments on the records, like Dave Plews who played sax in "ride across the river"
:o it's not Brecker ???
No, Brecker played on "your latest trick"
yes of course, but I thought he played on ride across the river too.
is Dave Plews mentionned in the sleeve credits ?
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I'm very curious as to who those seven ex-members are.
I fear they might be those musicians who just play some additional instruments on the records, like Dave Plews who played sax in "ride across the river"
:o it's not Brecker ???
No, Brecker played on "your latest trick"
yes of course, but I thought he played on ride across the river too.
is Dave Plews mentionned in the sleeve credits ?
Yes
https://www.direstraits.com/discography/brothers-in-arms/ (https://www.direstraits.com/discography/brothers-in-arms/)
Actually, I was wrong Dave Plews played trumpet on "Ride Across The River" and Malcom Duncan was the one who played sax on that song.
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Just got the book, luckily without any problems with customs. Had a short look inside, members are Alan, Guy, John, David, Tommy Mandel, Phil P, Jack and Hal. And two guys from Brewers Droop.
Will start exploring more over the weekend!
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Interesting, will have to pick this up.
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members are Alan, Guy, John, David, Tommy Mandel, Phil P, Jack and Hal.
Some key members there. Could be an interesting read indeed.
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Yes, I will have a closer look over the weekend.
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I have received the book. It's poorly setup as the text is in most of the page, looks quite amateur...
But the content is good. It takes info from the Michael Oldfield book, also from the Myles Palmers, many interviews from the past with all the musicians and also special interviews and questions to 9 musicians involved with the band, the real ones not just studio musicians. It's a very interesting read and I totally recommend it.
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I have received the book. It's poorly setup as the text is in most of the page, looks quite amateur...
But the content is good. It takes info from the Michael Oldfield book, also from the Myles Palmers, many interviews from the past with all the musicians and also special interviews and questions to 9 musicians involved with the band, the real ones not just studio musicians. It's a very interesting read and I totally recommend it.
Thanks, jbaent. Sounds good. Is there anything written by Mark in the book?
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I have received the book. It's poorly setup as the text is in most of the page, looks quite amateur...
But the content is good. It takes info from the Michael Oldfield book, also from the Myles Palmers, many interviews from the past with all the musicians and also special interviews and questions to 9 musicians involved with the band, the real ones not just studio musicians. It's a very interesting read and I totally recommend it.
Thanks, jbaent. Sounds good. Is there anything written by Mark in the book?
Not specifically but lots of words by MK from interviews along the years.
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I found a very big mistake in the book...
It says that "In My Car" was written by David Knopfler, but it was written (and sung) by MK, confirmed by David himself.
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I think it is a good book, pretty up front and packed with lots of well referenced detail
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I think it is a good book, pretty up front and packed with lots of well referenced detail
Absolutely. It`s a very enjoyable read even for a long time fan like me. Always a pleasure to read about DS and MK.
Once you have started you hardly can stop. ;)
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The author has copied, word by word, fragments from an interview I did to Joop de Korte years ago, and didn't mentioned at all the source, not in the text in the book, not in the bibliography...
Very uncool from him.
This is the interview I made to Joop de Korte, if you check the fragments in the book, you will notice its the same word by word.
http://mural.uv.es/jubria/index.htm
I don't matter he uses it, in the contrary, but he could had mentioned the source at least.
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Speak to a lawyer.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210228/7b98bb2054e504ccee858fc797a96641.jpg)
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The author already messaged me, he will include the references at a second edition.
In the end what's important is that info reach the fans, but credit the sources is important. Sometimes you can forget one when you are working.
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The author already messaged me, he will include the references at a second edition.
In the end what's important is that info reach the fans, but credit the sources is important. Sometimes you can forget one when you are working.
Shit happens sometimes but I'm glad you both could sort things out at the end.