Mark Knopfler
Golden Heart

THE REVIEW

I find myself dutifully filling a gap in Mark Knopfler's discography: this is the first solo CD by the Glasgow guitarist (of course, no one would consider his film soundtracks as part of his official discography). Five years after his last studio album with Dire Straits, that anthem to Jeff Porcaro's drumming (take note), which was "On Every Street," Mark returns with an album reminiscent of past and aforementioned soundtracks. In particular, I'm referring to albums like "The Princess Bride" and that little gem that is "Cal" (for those who can handle it all, and unfortunately, I am not among them).

The album opens with a catchy opener selection (a choice that would remain on all future MK albums): "Darling Pretty" is upbeat and quite catchy, with a good solo at the end; "Imelda" has so far been overly compared to "Money For Nothing," while in my humble opinion, it's an excellent filler; the title track sends shivers down your spine with its slow pace over a magnificent keyboard carpet and its subsequent slight acceleration; "No Can Do" makes your head sway nicely, while with "Vic and Ray," we drift off a bit. Fortunately, an exceptional "Don't You Get It" arrives, with its chorus that sticks in your head, its pounding drums, and its slightly "dirty" guitar. A sweet and intimate moment with "A Night In Summer...", with the Celtic folk of the Chieftains taking the lead, while for "Cannibals" the same can be said as for "Imelda": this is practically Mark's self-homage to his famous "Walk of Life," with the same keyboard sound played this time by Guy Fletcher (divine Alan Clark, where are you now?). "I'm the Fool" is nice but unpretentious, "Je suis désolé" personally took me a while to digest, with Mark's not exactly appropriate French, while "Rüdiger" is an ideal jazz-oriented background for relaxation. And we come to the masterpiece, "Nobody's Got the Gun": as I have already said on this site, the Fender guitar in this song, a guitar back in Mark's hands after years of not using it (finally!), moves me deeply every time, I'm not ashamed to say it, because it's something that truly makes you cry, be sure of it. It ends decently with "Done With Bonaparte," where we return to folk, and with "Are We In Trouble Now," which moves almost as slowly as "Rüdiger."

What can I say in the end, except that this is an album where perhaps Mark had yet to find his dimension as a solo artist, but precisely because of this, it's really a good "collage" of singer-songwriter songs, with peaks that border on genius.