Ayer Mark Knopfler presentaba en directo uno de los temas de su nuevo disco, "Down the road wherever", por desgracia nada que ya no hubiéramos oído, aunque desde una perspectiva diferente:
Ciertamente nos quedamos con ganas de escuchar mas de sus nuevas canciones, y con la pregunta de "¿A qué sonarán?"
Varios fans cuyas profesiones se cruzan con el periodismo han conseguido acceder a un enlace de la discográfica y compartir sus impresiones.
Las opiniones coinciden en que es indudablemente Mark Knopfler. No el de Dire Straits, sino el Knopfler en solitario, y que como ha ocurrido en otras ocasiones, de nuevo rompe un poco con lo que nos tenía acostumbrados. Sí, suena a él, pero también es diferente.
Podría decirse que la elección del single de alguna manera nos prepara para lo que nos trae de nuevo este disco. Sintetizadores, coros, percusiones, vientos, sonidos próximos al jazz, al soul y al funk en ocasiones, entremezclados con los ya familiares aires folk y americana de sus discos previos.
Los que buscan escuchar al Knopfler en solitario, el de "Get Lucky" o "Privateering", lo van a encontrar, pero a la vez van a descubrir una faceta nueva. Es un disco con mas guitarra, mas presente, pero no la que buscan los fans que quieren volver a oir a Dire Straits, sino ese tipo de guitarra que preside el single "Good on you son", muy prominente, marcando la canción, destacando fraseos, pero una guitarra al servicio de la canción, no al contrario.
Los dos primeros temas son un tiro, te ponen enseguida en la pista de lo que vas a ir escuchando, y sin embargo, las canciones te van sorprendiendo, cada una de manera diferente. El final es simplemente perfecto, Knopfler sólo con su voz y guitarra, contandonos sus desventuras de juventud, cuando se cruzaba medio país con tal de poder tocar allá donde sea.
Parece que Knopfler tiene intención de dar buena muestra de este disco en directo, ya que incorpora a su banda una percusión y además del saxofón, un trompetista. El disco lo podremos juzgar nosotros mismos en dos semanas (sale el 16 de noviembre), para los conciertos deberemos esperar a finales de abril de 2019.
Mark Knopfler - Down the road wherever - Release date November 16th
Mark Knopfler Announces Ninth Solo Studio Album ‘Down The Road Wherever’
The first single is called: "Good On You Son" and features images of the forthcoming documentary by Henrik Hansen
The
follow-up to 2015’s ‘Tracker’ features many of the musicians Knopfler
has worked with in recent years, and a guest appearance by Imelda May.
Published on September 19, 2018
By Paul Sexton
Mark
Knopfler will return with his ninth solo studio album, Down The Road
Wherever, on 16 November. The follow-up to 2015’s Tracker, it will be
released on his own British Grove label via Universal/Virgin EMI and
features 14 new Knopfler compositions recorded at his west London
studio, also called British Grove. Contributors to the album include
Irish star Imelda May.
“’Down The Road Wherever’ is a line from ‘One Song At A Time,’”
says Knopfler, referring to the album title and one of its tracks. “I
remember my pal Chet Atkins once saying that he picked his way out of
poverty one song at a time, and it just stuck in my mind. You get to an
age where you’ve written quite a few songs.
“But Down The Road
Wherever seems to be appropriate for me, just because it’s what I’ve
always done. I’ve always tried to make a record and also to keep my own
geography happening in the songs.”
With Knopfler’s ever-present
eye for compelling narratives and striking characters, the new songs
cover such subjects as his early days in the south-east London area of
Deptford, when Dire Straits were a fledgling band; a man out of time
reflecting on his circumstances in his local “greasy spoon” café; and a
stray Liverpool Football Club fan who finds himself in Newcastle (where
Mark himself grew up) on ‘Just A Boy Away From Home.’
That’s the only track on which Knopfler is not the sole writer, as it
features the melody of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘You’ll Never Walk
Alone,’ also well-known as Liverpool FC’s own anthem.
The team
that Knopfler assembled around him for the recording sessions includes
many of the musicians who have been with him in the studio and on the
road for years. Among them are keyboardist Guy Fletcher, who has worked
with him since Dire Straits days and co-produced Down The Road Wherever
with Mark; Jim Cox, also on keyboards; Nigel Hitchcock on saxophone, Tom
Walsh on trumpet, John McCusker (fiddle), Mike McGoldrick (whistle and
flute), Glenn Worf (bass), drummer Ian ‘Ianto’ Thomas and Danny Cummings
on percussion.
There are also appearances by Richard Bennett and
the widely-travelled Robbie McIntosh on guitar and Trevor Mires on
trombone. Along with May, the album has backing vocals by Lance
Ellington, Kris Drever, Beverley Skeete and Katie Kissoon.
Down
The Road Wherever will be available on digital DL, CD, double vinyl
(with one bonus track), deluxe CD with two bonus tracks, and as a lavish
box set including the album on both vinyl and deluxe CD. The box will
also contain a 12” vinyl EP with four bonus tracks, a 12” print of the
artwork and a 12” guitar tablature of a selected song.
“I think
the business of making a record, from having written a song and then
bringing it to musicians, it can be quite a bendy route,” says Knopfler.
“It’s not just motorways all the way…and you can end up in the
occasional cul-de-sac, then you have to do a 16-point turn to try to get
your truck back out on the main road, as unobtrusively as you can.
That’s part of the fun of it.”
And I’ll be out of this place And down the road wherever There but for the grace, etcetera I’ll see you later somewhere down the line I’ll be picking my way out of here One song at a time
Mark Knopfler
Down The Road Wherever
Ask
Mark Knopfler to explain the title of his ninth solo studio album and
he will tell you that Down The Road Wherever is a line from one of the
tracks: “One Song At A Time.” He'll give the credit for that title
phrase to a sadly departed friend with whom he shared a lifelong love of
songwriting and guitar playing, and their endless potential to change
lives.
“I remember my pal Chet Atkins once saying that he picked
his way out of poverty one song at a time, and it just stuck in my
mind,” says Mark. “You get to an age where it is a few songs. But Down
The Road Wherever seems to be appropriate, just because it’s what I’ve
always done. I’ve always tried to keep my own geography happening in the
songs, that applies there as well.” In “One Song At A Time” that autobiographical geography pinpoints Deptford, England, where the up-and-coming Dire Straits began to make their way, one song at a time.
The
unassuming spirit of the itinerant songsmith is still Knopfler’s pilot
light, inextinguishable through more than 40 years at the absolute
pinnacle of his profession. Down The Road Wherever is the latest,
elegant evidence of that steadfast hunger, a bold and often surprising
songbook of 14 selections (more on the deluxe editions) boiled down from
twice as many that went into the workshop.
Mark’s apparently
limitless creativity was further extended by simultaneous compositions
for the upcoming Local Hero musical. That’s a subject close to his heart
too, as the 1983 movie version became his first of several soundtrack
projects and included the talismanic instrumental theme “Going Home,” to
which his beloved Newcastle United still take the field.
Just as
with its 2015 predecessor Tracker and others before it, Down The Road
Wherever was created at Knopfler’s own West London recording space,
British Grove Studios. Instrumental compadres include longtime
collaborators such as co-producer and keyboardist Guy Fletcher, bass
player Glenn Worf, pianist Jim Cox, guitarist Richard Bennett, drummer
Ian “Ianto” Thomas and percussionist Danny Cummings. Mark’s ten-year
association with top folk players John McCusker (fiddle) and Michael
McGoldrick (whistles) continues, while additions to the group include
saxophonist Nigel Hitchcock and Tom Walsh on trumpet.
As ever,
Knopfler found that the pleasure of birthing a new song is complemented
by the process of what to do with it. “I enjoy the whole thing, of being
inspired to write something, of working on it at home, writing it, and
then taking it to a studio to try to make it work as a record,” he says.
“I’ve got to make a decision as well: shall I just bring it here (to
British Grove) and work on it on my own, or should I take it straight to
the band? Because it’ll be a different thing if you do that. So you’re
trying to decide which school to send your child to.”
Female backing vocals also abound on several tracks, along with a notable name on the door for “Back On The Dancefloor” in the form of Irish force of nature Imelda May.
“It was great to have Imelda on that song, I think she’s fantastic,”
says Knopfler. “She really did add a lot of color to it. She’s so
creative, and that was fun. It’s a kind of a mystery song to me but I
like it, that’s one of my favorites.”
“Female backing vocals are
something that was going to happen. [I’ve] probably been meaning to
feature that for a long time. And I’ve been enjoying having the brass
element in quite a lot of the songs. When I go out on tour, I’m thinking
I’ll have the elements I’ve always had but add brass to the line-up.
It’ll just be more people on the bus.”
Longtime fans of this
giant among singer-songwriter guitar heroes will note some palpable
changes of mood on Down The Road Wherever, which stays true to the folk
and roots-inflected ambience of his solo oeuvre but introduces new
elements of jazz, funk and even a hint of the rockier leanings of
earlier days.
“It will be different because whether you want to
or not, you develop,” says Knopfler. “That’s just what happens.
Sometimes the songs will tell you after you’re done, what it is you’ve
been doing wrong, or where you’ve been going. So that’s a never-ending
source of amusement. You can even find out from doing them what they’re
about, or what you’ve been thinking about, perhaps.”
Other sonic surprises include the sparse and deeply romantic ballad “When You Leave” and the playful “Heavy Up,” inspired by a fellow songwriter who told Mark that his response to being told to “lighten up” was “I’ll lighten up for you if you’ll heavy up for me.” There is further inspiration from close to home in “Just A Boy Away From Home,” which rose from a memory back home in Newcastle, when his father was in hospital after a heart attack.
“He
was in Newcastle General, which as anyone from the Northeast of England
will know is very close to the football ground. He was lying awake in
the middle of the night feeling a bit sorry for himself, and he
heard a lad walking on the deserted street outside singing ‘You’ll
Never Walk Alone.’ Of course, he was a Liverpool fan and he’d been to
the match—or who knows, he might have missed it somehow. But
there he was in Newcastle singing his song. My dad found it inspiring,
the spirit of it.” The track includes a full, stirring reprise of the
famous melody. “It just felt good to play it on the slide,” says Mark.
“I thought, ‘I’ve started, so I may as well finish.’ And it’s fun for
the band to play.”
The completion of another momentous entry in
Knopfler’s catalogue is the prelude to another joy of his life: the
chance to perform some of it along with his endless supply of classic
songs on the road. “You do find yourself thinking about being on a stage
and playing a song,” he says. “I’ll be thinking about everybody, about
having Mike McGoldrick and John McCusker, the folk musicians, as part of
some songs, and Nigel and Tom as part of the brass thing on others. I’m
looking forward to it.”
Down The Road Wherever concludes with “Matchstick Man,”
another personal memory that poignantly captures Mark Knopfler as he
was, and as he remains. “That’s me,” he confesses readily, “a
young idiot with a guitar and a bag, climbing up into trucks and
hitchhiking. I was trying to get back from a Christmas Eve gig in
Penzance early on Christmas Day. I thought I’d hitch home. I don’t think I really knew it was 500 miles from there.”
“I
got a lift up the old A1 and he let me off at a high crossroads in the
Midlands. The sun was shining, there was snow everywhere and I could see
for miles. There was nothing moving anywhere. I’m standing there with
my guitar case and bag and this realization of what I’d chosen to do
with my life. To me, it was exactly what I wanted to do. It’s just a
snapshot of me then. From the air I would have been a tiny matchstick
figure in this vastness of snow with his dream of being a musician.”
“You
need some energy to make these things happen,” he concludes. “You’re
not going to last if you haven’t got enough to get you through all the
tougher times. I feel the same way I always felt. When I come in here
and I see a couple of guitars in the corner, I get the same buzz that I
had when I was a kid, and you’ve got to have that. It’s almost a
childish attitude that keeps you fired up about turning up.”
STANDARD EDITION
1.Trapper Man 6.00
Ian Thomas, Drums
Beverley Skeete, Background Vocalist
Nigel Hitchcock, Tenor Saxophone
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Piano
Katie Kissoon, Background Vocalist
Tom Walsh, Trumpet
Trevor Mires, Trombone
Danny Cummings, Percussion
Guy Fletcher, Synthesizer
2.Back On The Dance Floor 5.30
Ian Thomas, Drums
Imelda May, Background Vocalist
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Organ
Danny Cummings, Percussion, Background Vocalist
Guy Fletcher, Synthesizer
3.Nobody’s Child 4.16
Ian Thomas, Drums
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Organ
Danny Cummings, Percussion
Guy Fletcher, Synthesizer
4.Just A Boy Away From Home (featuring "You'll Never Walk Alone", by Rodgers & Hammerstein) 5.12
Ian Thomas, Drums
Robbie McIntosh, Guitar
Nigel Hitchcock, Tenor Saxophone
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Organ
Tom Walsh, Trumpet
Danny Cummings, Percussion
5.When You Leave 4.12
Richard Bennett, Guitar
Ian Thomas, Drums
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Piano
Danny Cummings, Percussion
Guy Fletcher, Vibraphone, Recording Engineer
6.Good On You Son 5.37
Ian Thomas, Drums
Lance Ellington, Background Vocalist
Beverley Skeete, Background Vocalist
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Organ, Piano
Katie Kissoon, Background Vocalist Tom Walsh, Trumpet?
Nigel Hitchcock: Tenor Sax
Danny Cummings, Percussion
Guy Fletcher, Synthesizer, Background Vocalist
7.My Bacon Roll 5.35
Richard Bennett, Guitar
Ian Thomas, Drums
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Organ, Piano
Danny Cummings, Percussion
Guy Fletcher, Synthesizer
Kris Drever, Background Vocalist 8.Nobody Does That 5.15
Richard Bennett, Guitar
Ian Thomas, Drums
Lance Ellington, Background Vocalist
Beverley Skeete, Background Vocalist
Nigel Hitchcock, Tenor Saxophone
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Synthesizer
Katie Kissoon, Background Vocalist
Tom Walsh, Trumpet
Danny Cummings, Percussion
Guy Fletcher, Keyboards, Recording Engineer
9.Drovers’ Road (apparently not in the US version or not in the standard version according MK.com) 5.05
Richard Bennett, Guitar
Ian Thomas, Drums
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Piano
Danny Cummings, Percussion
Guy Fletcher, Synthesizer
John McCusker, Fiddle
Kris Drever, Background Vocalist
Mike McGoldrick, Whistle
10.One Song At A Time 6.17
Richard Bennett, Guitar
Ian Thomas, Drums
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Organ
Danny Cummings, Percussion, Background Vocalist
Guy Fletcher, Synthesizer
John McCusker, Fiddle
Mike McGoldrick, Whistle
11.Floating Away 5.02
Richard Bennett, Guitar
Ian Thomas, Drums
Imelda May, Background Vocalist
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Piano
Danny Cummings, Percussion
Guy Fletcher, Synthesizer
12.Slow Learner 4.34
Ian Thomas, Drums
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Piano
Tom Walsh, Trumpet
Danny Cummings, Percussion
13.Heavy Up 6.00
Richard Bennett, Guitar
Ian Thomas, Drums
Lance Ellington, Background Vocalist
Beverley Skeete, Background Vocalist
Nigel Hitchcock, Tenor Saxophone
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Piano, Synthesizer
Katie Kissoon, Background Vocalist
Tom Walsh, Trumpet
Trevor Mires, Trombone
Danny Cummings, Percussion
Guy Fletcher, Organ, Recording Engineer
14.Matchstick Man 2.52
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
BONUS TRACKS IN DELUXE CD
15.Every Heart In The Room 4.30
Ian Thomas, Drums
Robbie McIntosh, Guitar
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Piano
Danny Cummings, Percussion
Guy Fletcher, Synthesizer
Kris Drever, Background Vocalist 16.Rear View Mirror 2.29
Ian Thomas, Drums
Nigel Hitchcock, Tenor Saxophone
Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cox, Organ
Tom Walsh, Trumpet
Danny Cummings, Percussion
BONUS TRACKS IN THE BOX (VINYL)
17.Don’t Suck Me In 18.Sky And Water 19.Pale Imitation
