Privateering

Author: Jernej Vene

Artist: Knopfler, Mark
Label: Mercury Records
Release: 2012
Running time: CD 1 45:16, CD 2 44:51
Rating: 3.4/5

British guitarist, songwriter and singer Mark Knopfler is an extremely open-minded musician, and no genre is foreign to him.  On the double album Privateering he serves up the tried-and-tested formula from his earlier records. The flavor of local musical traditions is just as strong as before, and in all his laid-back glory Knopfler may be a notch calmer this time around. A remarkable serenity flows from every note and every sung word. Privateering is the term for a ship’s captain who escorted other ships carrying valuable cargo over long voyages. The practice goes back to the end of the eighteenth century and really took off in the nineteenth. Mark Knopfler draws a parallel with the title in that he loves to perform  and travel around with his crew, who play his music with devotion. Along the way he doesn’t forget everyone who comes to his shows. And of course he likes to keep as many things under his control as possible. Still, there’s no need to take it literally, it’s just the direction Mark Knopfler has been leaning in lately.

 In keeping with the times, the record is available in several editions, the most luxurious being the one with double vinyl and three digital discs. Mark’s new album is already a double in its standard form, which means twenty tracks. Three years after Get Lucky, the old tomcat is back with a bag full of music that is very interesting in what it offers precisely because it’s all gathered in one place. This isn’t about constantly sniffing around for everything similar that’s ever been recorded. Music is a living organism, just like language. Something new sometimes grows out of any foundation, sometimes something similar to what someone already created in the past, but the new author has to make sure the novelty isn’t a fleeting copy of established patterns. Plenty of times that can hurt someone or bring success. Mark Knopfler has simply found, in the legacy of his people, threads that he devotedly and thoughtfully weaves into new sonic tapestries. He offers up things that weigh on his soul and that, like any true artist, he has to get out among the people. He was lucky enough to win over millions of people around the world with his approach already in Dire Straits, but that isn’t and shouldn’t be some goal he has to chase with a solo career. As a solo artist he can of course offer what he does best. There’s no point in writing and saying that times are different in music too. To a degree that’s true, but we have to realize there’s nothing wrong with someone not being on the charts and being known to everyone for their work in some other band. After all, we have to admit to each other that it’s simply nice to have someone among us who can, at a given moment, help the listener sink into his experience of the world. To reach that goal, though, he has to keep engaging with the world and with himself, no matter what. And the music speaks for itself, and combined with words it comes alive in a completely different, perhaps higher, way.

Privateering is a record that can thrill and put off in equal measure. Even though it’s flawlessly recorded and produced, for many it may be a bit too much to swallow, at least in one sitting. In terms of the nature of the music, there’s no difference between the two albums. Knopfler has made sure a fairly wide range of genres is represented. How much of a concept there is here is hard to say. It’s especially thankless to draw conclusions and claim something is true when the record’s creator may think completely differently. Here the listener can go wrong in an instant, unless the interpretation of the musical and lyrical message is meant to be completely free. It’s best to apply that last thought to Privateering too. I can say that Privateering is yet another solid Knopfler record. The ease in his voice and guitar playing is remarkable.

With the tone of his guitars and his calm baritone, Mark Knopfler subtly tells deep stories about everyday events and people. The album gets its soul from mid-tempo numbers (Redbud Tree) and ballads (Bluebird), while he slides into boogie on the blue-collar Corned Beef City. He’s properly swaggering in a manly way on Hot Or What, full of bitterness on Yon Two Crows, and critical on  Blood And Water, where he talks about the dying out of the countryside.

With the help of an excellent crew of musicians from Nashville and Scotland, Knopfler has once again conjured up lovely musical pleasures. For Knopfler it’s enough to create a musical mood that can convince weary souls of the sense in rest and respite from the everyday madness. Privateering offers a deep look into the work of one of the greatest pop rock musicians of our day. With the tone of his guitars and his calm baritone, Mark Knopfler subtly tells bittersweet stories about everyday events and people.

Lineup

Mark Knopfler – vocals, electric, slide and acoustic guitars

Richard Bennett – guitars, bouzouki

Guy Fletcher – keyboards, vocals, bass guitar, string arrangements

Paul Franklin – pedal steel guitar

Jim Cox – piano, organ

Phil Cunningham – accordion

Glenn Worf – bass guitar

Ian Thomas – drums

John McCusker – fiddle, cittern, whistles

Michael McGoldrick – flute, whistles

 

guest musicians:

Kim Wilson – harmonica

Ruth Moody – vocals

Chris Botti – trumpet

Nigel Hitchcock – saxophone

John Charnec – clarinet

Production

Mark Knopfler, Chuck Ainlay, Guy Fletcher

Track List

CD 1

1. Redbud Tree
2. Haul Away
3. Don’t Forget Your Hat
4. Privateering
5. Miss You Blues
6. Corned Beef City
7. Go, Love
8. Hot or What
9. Yon Two Crows
10. Seattle

CD 2

1. Kingdom of Gold
2. Got to Have Something
3. Radio City Serenade
4. I Used to Could
5. Gator Blood
6. Bluebird
7. Dream of the Drowned Submariner
8. Blood and Water
9. Today Is Okay
10. After the Bean Stalk