Fanboy Honor Roll: Mark Knopfler - Shangri-La
For those of you keeping score at home, this is BC’er #4 who is getting public praise on these Fanboy pages. We tipped our cap to Sir Saleski for his guidance through my quest for vinyl. We thanked A.L. Harper for The Bittersweets. We praised El Bicho for Back Door Slam. Now we heap hosannas on Tom Johnson, who was right on about Mark Knopfler’s Shangri-La.
I spent a good portion of the day yesterday listening to Knopfler. 11 and I spent a fair amount of Friday morning discussing “Speedway At Nazareth” from Sailing to Philadephia. It’s a great story of a song, rich in detail. I spent a good portion of the day listening to Knopfler’s music and that reminded me of Tom’s comment about Shangri-La, so I decided to roll the dice that SatanBestBuy might have a copy. I was pleasantly shocked because they sure enough did, and that’s what I’m listening to this morning.
I got to listen to the first half of it last night and declared victory. That first half is worth the price of admission alone. I instantly recognized “Song For Sonny Liston” from the concert. Our boy Knopfler must be a sports fan. Anyway, Tom was right on about this being a great record.
I think I’ve crossed the line and moved from casual fan to Knopfler fan. I walked into Ryman Auditorium on Tuesday thinking, “I’m glad I’m doing this. I probably won’t do it again.” Now I’m not so sure. If he comes back around, I may well be there and I’ll now a few more songs a little better if I do.
Filed under: Tags: Mark Knopfler, Music of the Moment, Satan Best Buy
Sweet! Be careful - if you’re anything like me, you’ll find this album addictive. It’s one I tend to listen to again and again, which is unfortunate for his other great albums.
I’ve been listening to it a lot today. It’s a very good record. You need to hear Crimson soon. Do yourself that favor. It’s a fine, fine album.
Oh, I’ve got that one, had it since the day it came out, but that’s one that I’ve been having a hard time connecting with, a bit. Not a bad album, per se, just seems to not be perking-the-ears the way the others had. I’ve seen some complaints that it sounds like all the rest, but personally I know it’s simply because I am in Shangri-La mode. I’ve held off picking up The Ragpicker’s Dream only because I want to get it right when I want it, not simply to fill an empty slot in the collection and result in similar feelings toward it. It is very difficult for my completist nature to not feel anxious due to this. I will likely not last much longer - I only have this and the last couple of Dire Straits albums to pick up.
Boy you said it, Chewie. I’ve done that pick it up for completists sake and it took a long time to dig into it or sometimes I never did. I’ve seemingly locked in pretty heavily on Knopfler now, so devouring the back catalog is making a lot of sense for me. I like Shangri-La better than Crimson, but that’s more a complement to the former than a dig at the latter.
I really like Ragpickers Dream. More lovely Knopfler music in there.
Lately I’ve been listening to his duet album with Chet Atkins - Neck and Neck. It is mostly instrumentals but it is all just wonderful.
I’ve just ordered Ragpickers and I’m interested in that Atkins duet record.
It’s really nice in a very Knopfler way. In that it won’t really knock most people out, but careful listening reveals some simply lovely moments. It is a very laid back record and you can tell the two are having a lot of fun.