While Mark Knopfler’s latest album is on Blue Note Records, don’t expect any tributes to Grant Green or Kenny Burrell here. Still, Knopfler’s both selection of and use of various guitars on each of the songs is impressive in its own right, able to create a mood for his always thoughtful lyrics.He teams up with friends Jim Cox-Guy Fletcher/key, Glenn WORf/b, Ian Thomas/dr and Richard Bennett/g along with a Agatha Christie collection of guests coming and going. Knopfler’s mastery is his ability to create informal late night moods, sometimes in the Cumberland Gap as on the acoustic “Nobody’s Child” or taking you to a swampy juke joint in Memphis as his deep voice and slide guitar weave a yarn on “Just A Boy Away From Home.” A trip to a Dublin pub mixes strings and a fuzzy guitar for “Trapper Man” and a trip to the local VFW on “One Song At A Time” has soul strutting keyboards and rural atmospheres chugging down a brew or two. Tom Walsh’s muted trumpet creates a late night 3rd set feel at the local jazz club on “When You Leave” with “Slow Learner’s” relaxed piano not far behind. Knopfler closes out with an intimate tale of “Matchstick Men,” telling a story like you’re the last person to leave the bar. As with all Knopfler albums, the songs themselves make you wonder what books he’s been reading lately, as the lyrics are the reflection of a man deep in thought.
He’s hitting the West Coast in mid-September, so try not to miss the latest chapter to his book.