David Knopfler - Favorite Albums, Songs...

[Eddie Fox]

Can't imagine being David honestly. If I were him, I'd pursue a completely different walk of life, excuse the term. Probably out of music. If only his songs were on par with Mark's, then no problem. I know he has his audience, but I usually listen to all of his songs only once and never again. And yes, the thinking that he sounds like an MK cover band without an accent never escapes me. It's like listening to Frank Sinatra Jr., you just know it's not "the real deal", but only a relative.

I agree and i disagree.
It's clear that DK has pursued a different way in music to not to be compared with we know who.
He is not a band leader, seems to me that he is no leader at all.
So, i agree that, DK maybe should made his way out of the music. But... Music is his passion.

I don't think DK music sound like a MK cover band. Both has the same influences and some similarities are impossible to escape.

The problem is that MK is a genius.
Mk is a genius and a leader surrounded by great people that follow his ideas.

Wow, that's a long answer Rolo! Barely fits into my 27" 5K display.

Yes, I think David's leaving was a mistake, and I personally think that's why Mark disregarded him for so long. It's like he wanted to "make it" just like MK, and MK never wanted it. The problem with brothers is that you are either forever together like Phil and Tommy Emmanuel, or forever apart. And even Phil and Tommy made different things together, Phil would always play solos and Tommy played rhythm, and the fact that Tommy is way more successful and famous never made their relationships go stale.

And instead of going through DS together with his brother and enjoying life now like John, David make records by selling guitars his brother played on. That's ridiculous indeed! But everybody pays to play.

David is also politically active, something that Mark has always avoided. He can be quite rude to people who disagree with his political view which doesn’t tend to help someone in that kind of position.

[Rolo]

Wow, that's a long answer Rolo! Barely fits into my 27" 5K display.

Yes, I think David's leaving was a mistake, and I personally think that's why Mark disregarded him for so long. It's like he wanted to "make it" just like MK, and MK never wanted it. The problem with brothers is that you are either forever together like Phil and Tommy Emmanuel, or forever apart. And even Phil and Tommy made different things together, Phil would always play solos and Tommy played rhythm, and the fact that Tommy is way more successful and famous never made their relationships go stale.

And instead of going through DS together with his brother and enjoying life now like John, David make records by selling guitars his brother played on. That's ridiculous indeed! But everybody pays to play.

I don't believe that David would play at high level like during the LOG tour, for example. He is much more a enthusiast than a player. So, he made his own thing.

About his personal life, i think very strange the way that he, sometimes, is very harsh with some DS/MK fan and sometimes he looks to his past with passion and desiring to play with Mark one more time. If when he is not selling some guitars around the web.

Good example about Tommy and Phil.
Tommy is a master and there was no competition between these two.
In case of DK, i think that existed an imaginary competition between him and his big brother. (in his head, of course)

On stage, David is very shy.
He don't know his own lyrics, he never got a real band...
His long time partner Harry Bognadovs is not quite a great player.
David sells his guitar/voice concerts because that is his only way to make money.

David is also politically active, something that Mark has always avoided. He can be quite rude to people who disagree with his political view which doesn’t tend to help someone in that kind of position.

Agreed!

[Robson]

"He don't know his own lyrics"

Screen with texts?

[Rolo]

"He don't know his own lyrics"

Screen with texts?

Paper! 

[jbaent]

I always wondered myself what would had happened if MK would had been more open to others contributions, in the sense of allow one song ot two by David or John even for b-sides of singles. Their songs are good, not excellent as Mark's, but good in their own way, and I'm sure that arranged by the whole band, with MK guitar, it would had worked.

Take "Bernadette" for example, a song by David, which is not excellent but it's good on its own way, with the rythmic by John and Pick, and with MK guitar solo and lead guitar, the song sounds quite well, and as a b-side for any song it would had worked, even it would had fit in any DS record. It would had been less good than the rest, but every album has some excellent songs, and some others that are less good, but good on their way.

Also thinks that "Sacred loving" was on the demo of the band. Think in a band that has very little money, and they expend the one they have (from a money that John inherid) recording five songs, between them, one by David. If it wasn't good enough, why spend time and money recording a song by him, instead of doing just four MK songs? That sonng was different from the others but had an excellent work by John and Pick, and also an excellent guitar work by MK, so it would had fitm as minimum, in a b-side.

I'm one of David's patrons on patreon, and in one of his podcasts he said that first thing he did when left NY (and the band) and arrived to London was buy a house for himself, and buy a piano, and started playing things, and one of the first things he came with was the piano melodies that starts his song "Soul Kissing". In that podcast he played on the piano that melodies and first thing I thought was "that would had fit very well in a DS records with the help of MK guitar arrangements". His piano skills are far from the ones by Alan Clark, for example, but would had added something extra to the band.

Funnily, John Illsley played bass on that song, and he's on the videoclip as well, a quite bizarre videoclip in my opinion

https://youtu.be/4BwSPd5BFu0?t=157

[Rolo]

nicely spotted, Julio.

I think some DK songs would fit in DS records or B-Sides as well. Even in singles would be nice do hear some DK songs.

My dear friend Brunno Nunes said to me that DS rehearsed Southside Tenements between, 1977. I don't imagine this song in the first DS album.
In other hand, i believe that Bernardette easely would fit in the Communiqué album.

I believe that Maddona's Daughter would be part of the Making Movies album if David not quited the band. This song is cleary a dire Straits type of song.

[quizzaciously]

This discussion once again makes me dream of a world where Dire Straits doesn't exist and the Knopfler brothers are two separate solo artists.

I think that would be strange for Mark to sing David's songs and he didn't want to transform Dire Straits into multiple singers band because the composer should sing his song, like "Bernadette". And having more David songs that would be inevitable. I think giving this opportunity to sing a couple of his brother's songs was merely a "present" to David or MK trying to cheer him up a bit. Didn't last for long though, as history shows, and the songs didn't end up on any of the records anyway.

Or imagine there was no Dire Straits at all and it's all Mark Knopfler solo from the start, and all of the sudden somebody else steps in mid-show and sing his songs instead of MK. Feels strange? Because it is.

I can't imagine the situation where free contribution and democracy would work in Dire Straits because that was pretty much MK solo project from day one.

MK's songwriting, singing and guitar playing was always superior to David's, no wonder he refused to give him more space, especially since Mark wrote enough songs. More than that, guitar parts became harder to play and David struggled to follow even that, so his departure is as natural as any departure can be. John's story about it in his book made it especially clear.

[jbaent]

I don't think David struggled to play guitar really, there is a demo of Solid rock with David that sounds perfect to me, also Les Boys was played live with David, even Twisting by the pool, and all were OK. The problem is not he was struggling, but losing interest, losing feeling part of the band, losing the illusion. He was just fading, he was just don't mind about anything.

I remember that Bicknell said in an interview that the first time they played Tunnel for him was in Woodwharf, and it was spectacular, like they were playing for a stadium full of people. And it was David on second guitar at that occasion.

He wasn't as good as MK on guitar, obviously, but apparently he was enough for a second guitarist, except he didn't want to be that. He lost interest and wasn't able to play as it was expected because of that.

[peterromer]

I always wondered myself what would had happened if MK would had been more open to others contributions, in the sense of allow one song ot two by David or John even for b-sides of singles. Their songs are good, not excellent as Mark's, but good in their own way, and I'm sure that arranged by the whole band, with MK guitar, it would had worked.

Take "Bernadette" for example, a song by David, which is not excellent but it's good on its own way, with the rythmic by John and Pick, and with MK guitar solo and lead guitar, the song sounds quite well, and as a b-side for any song it would had worked, even it would had fit in any DS record. It would had been less good than the rest, but every album has some excellent songs, and some others that are less good, but good on their way.

Also thinks that "Sacred loving" was on the demo of the band. Think in a band that has very little money, and they expend the one they have (from a money that John inherid) recording five songs, between them, one by David. If it wasn't good enough, why spend time and money recording a song by him, instead of doing just four MK songs? That sonng was different from the others but had an excellent work by John and Pick, and also an excellent guitar work by MK, so it would had fitm as minimum, in a b-side.

I'm one of David's patrons on patreon, and in one of his podcasts he said that first thing he did when left NY (and the band) and arrived to London was buy a house for himself, and buy a piano, and started playing things, and one of the first things he came with was the piano melodies that starts his song "Soul Kissing". In that podcast he played on the piano that melodies and first thing I thought was "that would had fit very well in a DS records with the help of MK guitar arrangements". His piano skills are far from the ones by Alan Clark, for example, but would had added something extra to the band.

Funnily, John Illsley played bass on that song, and he's on the videoclip as well, a quite bizarre videoclip in my opinion

https://youtu.be/4BwSPd5BFu0?t=157

Why bizarre jbaent ?   

Its just amateurish right ?   

[JF]

the composer should sing his song

it's not always the case : Pete Townshend, Bob Robertson, Roger Waters, Brian Wilson for example were the main writers/composers in their bands but not always lead singers
Even some Brian May's songs are sung by Freddie Mercury (Prophet's song, Tie your mother down, we will rock you...) while he sings mayn of his songs

even Ringo sung songs written by Paul and/or John 

[qjamesfloyd]

Your correct, but in Mark's case, I believe he is the best singer for his songs.

[superval99]

Your correct, but in Mark's case, I believe he is the best singer for his songs.

Absolutely! 

[JF]

Your correct, but in Mark's case, I believe he is the best singer for his songs.

totally agree, but I was thinking of him singing David's or John's songs, as the subject was to imagine if John's & David's songs could have been released on DS albums.

another example : John Deacon wrote several Queen's hits (you' re my best friend, another one bites the dust, I want to break free...) but never sung one

so we could imagine Mark being the lead singer, but not the only one composer in the band. I guess it was Jbaent's suggestion 

[quizzaciously]

Your correct, but in Mark's case, I believe he is the best singer for his songs.

totally agree, but I was thinking of him singing David's or John's songs, as the subject was to imagine if John's & David's songs could have been released on DS albums.

another example : John Deacon wrote several Queen's hits (you' re my best friend, another one bites the dust, I want to break free...) but never sung one

so we could imagine Mark being the lead singer, but not the only one composer in the band. I guess it was Jbaent's suggestion 

Absolutely, and what I meant was it's not in every case the composer should sing his song, but rather in Mark's band that has to be that way since I doubt he would sing one of David's or John's songs himself.

I think the only way some of their songs may have ended up on the record is if MK would struggle to write enough new material, and the guy seems to experience no writing block at all in his whole career.

MK is not the only one to be so "selfish" about it, I think. Many people just love when on their album there's a line "All songs written by John Doe". That means the album is really your little masterpiece.

[MagicElliott]

Your correct, but in Mark's case, I believe he is the best singer for his songs.

totally agree, but I was thinking of him singing David's or John's songs, as the subject was to imagine if John's & David's songs could have been released on DS albums.

another example : John Deacon wrote several Queen's hits (you' re my best friend, another one bites the dust, I want to break free...) but never sung one

so we could imagine Mark being the lead singer, but not the only one composer in the band. I guess it was Jbaent's suggestion 

MK is not the only one to be so "selfish" about it, I think. Many people just love when on their album there's a line "All songs written by John Doe". That means the album is really your little masterpiece.

I always think of “you got to have something” on this subject. How it isn’t credited to the writer of Rollin’ and Tumblin’ is beyond me!