Mark Knopfler’s Best Guitar Solo – What’s Your Pick?

[mariosboss]

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

[Pottel]

Really, we are responding to bots now? AMIT has hit rock bottom.

a spam message was turned into a good idea. no whining :-)

[Pottel]

You and your friend, live..

[Rolleyway Man]

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.

[Pottel]

that's allright mama, or steelrail blues from the snape concert. reminded me again why i absolutely love this man('s playing)

[rmarques821]

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

[superval99]

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!   

[Rolo]

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.

[Love Expresso]

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
 

[Rolo]

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.