CD Odyssey Disc 1412: Mark Knopfler

I love this next artist, but on his last release he almost lost me.

Disc 1412 is…. Down the Road Wherever

Artist: Mark Knopfler

Year of Release: 2018

What’s up with the Cover? A very desolate looking road. I like my roads with a few more curves in ‘em which is one reason living on the prairies does not appeal to me.

How I Came To Know It: I am a huge Mark Knopfler fan so I bought this on spec when it came out.

How It Stacks Up: I have nine Mark Knopfler albums (plus assorted albums where he collaborates with other artists). Of the nine “pure Knopfler records” “Down the Road Wherever” comes in dead last. Here’s a full accounting:

1. Golden Heart: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 448)
2. Sailing to Philadelphia: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 136)
3. Privateering: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 748)
4. Shangri-La: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 740)
5. Get Lucky: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 129)
6. Tracker: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 1025)
7. The Ragpicker’s Dream: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 128)
8. Kill to Get Crimson: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 836)
9. Down the Road Wherever: 2 stars (reviewed right here)

Ratings: 2 stars

One of the best things about Mark Knopfler’s solo career is just how laid back he’s become in his approach to music. However, “Down the Road Wherever” is so laid back that it practically fades into the wallpaper. As the album progresses there are still some gems that simply will not be covered over, but it takes a patient ear to seek them out.

It was hard to write that lede because I have loved Mark Knopfler’s music long and deeply. I still do. But “Down the Road Wherever” takes the album’s title a bit too much to heart, his natural gift for ambling in the just the right direction often replaced with mere ambling for its own sake.

The record is not without ambition. Knopfler brings together the full gamut of musical styles he’s explored and mastered over his decades-long career. There is rock, blues, folk and even a little funk thrown in here. He pulls in a plethora of different instruments into the arrangements as well. Most notably of this is the horn section, with mixed results.

When the horns work, they present as a blast of trumpet in the more rock-leaning tunes, evoking classic Rolling Stones. However, more often than not they arrive as either jazz-centric noodles or annoying sax riffs that recall the bad old eighties. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – not everyone can be Clarence Clemons. Clemons is a master of the art, throwing the musical equivalent of a semicolon, artfully dressing things up with a well-timed break. Most other saxophone ends up like most semicolons, getting in the way of a perfectly good sentence.

As for the ambling, it is all over the place, with many five- and six-minute songs that ought to be three or four. Knopfler is intending to set a mood, but the mood he sets is sleepy. The players are all amazing, but it is kind of like a mid-day jam session at the bar, where everyone is welcome to join. There are too many cooks on stage, and no one is throwing anything spicy into the broth.

It is not all bad news. Those trumpets in “Heavy Up” knock out a solid groove, and even though the song is a too long and lyrically humdrum, it has an undeniably catchy swing to it.

Also, Knopfler is in no danger of losing his guitar talent. In recent years he sits the guitar humbly back in the mix, but he remains the best guitar player on earth.

Also, there are a few gems on this record. “Nobody’s Child” is a somber exploration of when alone and abandoned children grow up to become fearsome and damaged adults. The song has a lone prairie quality to the production, stark as the tale it tells. Knopfler’s guitar walks you through the story with a grim grace, splashing a rich palette of colour out of his guitar to underscore each verse.

"One Song at a Time” is also a gorgeous tune and while it sounds a lot like things he’s done on many of his earlier solo albums, that’s only because it sounds good. More of this kind of Knopfler is definitely something I can live with.

Knopfler has a propensity to end a record with a stripped-down number which is often one of the better tunes on the record. “Down the Road Wherever” reinforces this trend with “Matchstick Man” a gorgeous bit of acoustic playing as Knopfler reminds us there is no guitar style of which he is not master. The song paints a vivid scene of a man riding across a lonely stretch of snow-covered landscape, guitar in hand. It is clear that even at the not-so-tender age of 71, Knopfler still sees himself as a wandering, itinerant artist with a heart full of wonder. While “Down the Road Forever” is not his best effort, it has enough of that spirit in it that I’ll be keeping it around a while longer, hopeful for more of that good stuff on his next release.

Best tracks: Nobody’s Child, One Song at a Time, Matchstick Man