Author: Jernej Vene
Artist: Knopfler, Mark
Label: Mercury Records
Released: 2009
Length: 52:50
Rating: 3.6/5
The British band Dire Straits remains a giant of pop rock. They quietly called it a day in the mid-90s, and their boss, the one-of-a-kind guitarist and singer Mark Knopfler, went solo. On top of a pile of film soundtracks and assorted collaborations, he has put out six solo albums. Mark Knopfler’s solo career isn’t as much in the spotlight as his Dire Straits days, since many people still expect the band to get back together someday. That day is a long way off, though, because Knopfler is firmly set on his own path, even if you never know. On Get Lucky, Mark Knopfler still holds on to a thread from Dire Straits, which you can mostly sense in a few of those trademark guitar solo passages. Get Lucky looks back at the legacy of Scottish and Irish folk music, pouring its influences into his own musical voice. Compared to his earlier records, especially Ragpicker’s Dream from 2002, the pull of American country and folk is also weaker here. Mark Knopfler doesn’t need to prove himself every time out. It’s enough for him to conjure a musical mood that can convince weary souls it makes sense to rest and take a break from the daily madness. Knopfler tries to beat life’s troubles by escaping to calmer, more orderly surroundings. The songs are mostly very mellow and built around the acoustic guitar, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. At times they grow into British folk, at others into rhythmically broken-up tunes that often recall the ballads of the Dire Straits era, where Mark was, of course, the main songwriter.
Get Lucky is a polished piece of work that impresses both as songwriting and as a listen. The new music is deeply inspiring and unobtrusive, since Knopfler is a true master at creating a huge sonic impact with very few notes. That slowly brings him close to the greatest in that field, his idol J.J. Cale. With Get Lucky, Knopfler has built himself a new monument. He’s enriched the instrumentation with wind instruments, accordion, strings and banjo, which gives the record a broader sound. In his mature years, he’s dug deeper in his lyrics into all kinds of characters, telling us stories of the little people, often pushed to the margins, of the British Isles. So we get observations on the troubles of workers, sailors and craftsmen. Speaking of those mature years, let me mention that this August, in 2009, the man turned sixty.
Get Lucky offers a subtle look into the craft of one of today’s greatest pop rock musicians. A convincing storyteller, he reaches back into the old days and into the present. Despite a tempo that’s mostly slow, it’s precisely that which gives his music the intensity it badly needs.
Only a musician with his experience can afford to deliver notes and feelings like this. Mark Knopfler will help you drift off into another, calmer world. Get Lucky also tries to offer listeners at least a bit of the joy he’s been lucky enough to experience in a rich career. The music on Get Lucky came straight from the heart, and he demanded the same from all the partici¬pating musicians. Together they managed to put together a very pleasant and refreshing record that will appeal to old and new fans of Mark Knopfler, one of the most interesting and renowned musicians and guitarists around.
Line-up
Mark Knopfler – vocals, guitars, mandolin
Richard Bennett – guitars
John McCusker – violin, zither, whistles
Matt Rollings – piano, organ
Guy Fletcher – keyboards
Glenn Worf – bass guitar, double bass
Danny Cummings – drums, percussion
Production
Mark Knopfler, Chuck Ainlay, Guy Fletcher
Track list
1.Border Reiver 4:35
2.Hard Shoulder 4:33
3.You Can’t Beat the House 3:25
4.Before Gas and TV 5:50
5.Monteleone 3:39
6.Cleaning My Gun 4:43
7.The Car Was the One 3:55
8.Remembrance Day 5:05
9.Get Lucky 4:33
10.So Far from the Clyde 5:58
11.Piper to the End 5:47
