ADELE & MARK KNOPFLER - ALBUM and/or CONCERT together - is that plausible ??

[peterromer]

Hi
As the subject says - do you think ADELE and MK would do something together in future ??

I would certainly hope so with such an amazing voice, with so many levels and the best songwriter and guitarist in the world, our own MK.
I think it could happen in one way or the other. MK

[twm]

The answer is that I don't know. It could happen, I guess, but I'm not sure which MK song or songs you think would suit Adele's style.

Of course, she had huge success with Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" but, when "Time Out Of Mind" (the album on which it first appeared) was released, I published some notes on the album. I ended by saying that a couple of songs on the album could become standards and would argue that Adele's version of "Make You Feel My Love" has proved my point.

I'm just not sure that MK has written a song that might attract her. I'm less familiar with the Knopfler Songbook than most people here but no one song particulalrly leaps to mind. That is not a criticism of MK, of course, just my feeling.

Also, this not to say that Knopfler could not write a suitable song in the future, of course. On the other hand, his more recent songs have seen him venture into folk-inspired and Celtic-influenced music styles. I'm not sure that these would suit Adele's voice or her inclinations. I forget her background but, from her accent and language, I'd guess it to be urban south-east England - not exactly a hotbed of folk and Celtic-tinged music.

[Pottel]

i believe she grew up in some poorer part of london.

[Jackal]

Very doubtful. Even that she would be interested, I have a hard time seeing Mark doing, both in view of his personal musical interests and his inclination to shun whatever is popular.

[Love Expresso]

I think it is not very likely, not only when it comes to Adele but to any other artist at the moment. I think it was stated by Guy that Bob would be the only person that Mark would do that for, I know that was related to touring and doing the support act, but that makes MK's point pretty clear in my opinion.

What's more, I really hope that he doesn't waste anymore time with duets, soundtracks, and other people's stuff but concentrates working on his own stuff. He is 62 now, and the usual release schedule for a new production needs two years on average, so the end of MK's musical output is within reach for the most of us - which sounds harder than it is. I for my part came to the conclusion to see anything that MK does as a bonus for me, a bonus generated from an already great and wide oeuvre. Nevertheless I hope for more and don't want him to waste his power, energy and inspiration on other people's dreams.

LE

[Jackal]

I don't know, LE. I'd rather see Mark take his time and make something truly remarkable. I think he's been too productive recently. By having such a tight release schedule, he's been--in my opinion--floating on routine and skill rather than being truly inspired. Consider the three new songs he played during the Bob tour. Nice? Yes. Well crafted? Yes. Similar to a lot of other things he's done? Yes. I certainly hope those songs were not chosen because they represent the high points of the new album. You know the reviews already: three or four out of five stars. "Superbly crafted folk-rock by a master, but which stays too close to a safe and proven formula." But maybe he's fooled us?! Maybe he chose the weaker tracks to blow our socks off when the album is released? If his guitar playing during the Bob tour is an omen of things to come, then I feel thrilled already. Fingers crossed.

[Love Expresso]

Well, I think that he indeed is taking his time for this new album now.. seems to be a hard nut to crack... About the new tracks: I really think that Haul Away and Privateering are two of the prettiest song that MK has ever written. You can say that "pretty" is not the right criterion for a song of MK...    You are right about him and his abstince of taking risks in terms of searching for new musical territories, while Guy would say that EVERY of the last few albums has visited new ones... But he is what he is. It is that what I like about him.. To produce another man's album or another movie score would take some of the precious time that he has left to do his own stuff was what I wanted to say. If doing his own stuff needs five years and it turns out to be genius, I am willing to wait for five years anytime!  

LE

[dmg]

When she performs live - when I saw her on TV anyway - she had an orchestral string section with her so I don't think an electric guitar would suit her songs at all.  Personally speaking I don't like her at all anyway and think she is just flavour of the month.

For accuracy, she's a Cockney; from east end of London.  She's also pretty crude on stage, swearing and the like.  No lady.

[Pottel]

who says Mark wants a "lady"? maybe he likes his companion a bit rufffff... :-)

[twm]

Gee, I never thought I'd ever have to look Adele up on Wikipedia, which says that she was born in Tottenham (North London), moved to Brighton (south coast) at 9, then to Brixton (South London) at age 11 and, soon after, to South Norwood (also South London).

So, she's a Londoner for sure but not truly a Cockney, as this term traditionally refers to the East End of London and just about edges its way across the River Thames to Bermondsey.  In my youth, it was said that a true Cockney was born within the sound of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow church), though this definition was applied in a more geographical sense than a literal sense.

Incidentally, Dobells, the rather well-known jazz, blues and folk record shop (no longer with us), used to advertise that the tru jazz fan was born within the sound of Dobells.

Culturally, the term Cockney refers to people from working class districts of London not just in the geographical areas of London that I've indicated above but also in some of the adjoining areas.

Linguistically, the Cockney accent, patter and speech patterns (especially the fast-talking, quick-witted and fairly chipper style) has spread even further.

As a West Londoner and even as someone from a working class background in West London, I would never be considered a Cockney by anyone from other parts of London, especially by a true Cockney. That said, Brits from other parts of Britain often consider anyone from the London area (and sometimes anyone from the South-East of England more broadly) to be a Cockney.

Finally, I did once buy a couple of Adele CDs but they were presents for someone else.

[Love Expresso]

Another excellent and most informative post from you, twm! Thanks! Always open for more of this "surround" informations, and I very much like the "bell" context.

In fact, you can't escape from Adele in Germany at the moment, when switching on the radio and going through the stations you will hear at least  hear this voice one or two times. I thought about her voice lately. Can she sing? Yes of course. Does she have a very unique and recognizable voice? Yes! Is she touching my soul when singing? Not a bit. She has two different ways of express her feeling, going a) into diva mode or b) doing this scratchy half arsed muttering... And that goes onto my nerves after some weeks now. But she is young, she obviously is able to write some good stuff and makes a lot of people happy. There is this other lady with a more or less similar way of singing, the one from Gossip, I think she calls herself Beth Ditto, she is much more able to work with her voice and reaches different levels of emotional impressions, at least from my point of view.

And Bob's voice in contrast DOES reach my soul when singing indeed, even when you of course can call his voice "scratchy" in any case these days.
And of course there is Mark. His voice (for me) is one of the best thing you can hear in popular music in the last 50 years. I sometimes thing that there
is far too little talk about his unique voice and still too much about his guitar tone.

LE

[xxFordiexx]

When she performs live - when I saw her on TV anyway - she had an orchestral string section with her so I don't think an electric guitar would suit her songs at all.  Personally speaking I don't like her at all anyway and think she is just flavour of the month.

For accuracy, she's a Cockney; from east end of London.  She's also pretty crude on stage, swearing and the like.  No lady.

Totally agree... in fact when she first cropped up I quite liked her but now her voice just grates on me.

[Pottel]

overkill is the word we're all looking for. prolly a bit like BIA in 85

[vgonis]

I believe with the right orchestration, every song in the world can fit another musician or singer. I thing that the albums of the "group" Nouvelle Vague has proven that. They have successfully transformed songs by Dead Kennedies, Echo and the Bunnymen, Depeche mode, Tuxedomoon and many many others, in songs of almost leisure but not throw aways. Beatles songs have had treatments, from metal to rap, but I don't think that the original artists would care to co-operate for such versions. (eventhough Martin Gore and Terry Hal have)And it is a nice think to speculate or imagine, but maybe if there were grounds for such talks, it would certainly be more intriguing. That is why, even though I do not like Bob's voice live, (his studio outings are much better) I think I can place a bet on a Bob co-operation with MK.  

[twm]

I didn't mean to suggest that MK's songs could not be adapted to provide a vehicle for Adele, only that none really came to my mind as being particularly suitable for her style of singing. Nevertheless, it would be intriguing to have her adopt and adapt an MK song.

Going back to peterromer's original post, I'm not sure, however good I consider MK's songwriting, that I would regard him as the best in the world. That's quite a claim and one I find difficult to sustain.

Back to Adele. I think I did record her Royal Albert Hall concert off the TV some weeks back, just out of curiosity, but I've not watched it yet. I have a number of similarly-recorded music and other programmes sitting on the TV hard-drive box awaiting viewing that will get a greater priority on my time.