I don't own the first Dire Straits or Knopfler solo or soundtrack but had a hand in selling quite a few. Super saturation on radio and MTV if I ever wanted to hear any. Doesn't mean I didn't like them, just knew I would never play one on a personal level. After leaving the retail biz in '03, I never bothered to search his work out until "Get Lucky" in '09. Some good tunes but still didn't pull the trigger on a purchase. Saw "Privateering" on my release schedule, noted it was a double disc, sampled a few of the tracks......wait, was that blues?...then another...and another...wait, is that Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds blowing harmonica?........well, I'll be damned. I'll take it!
Since I purchase from an international site, I come across many recordings unavailable in the US, but I never dreamed this was one. I bought it a couple of weeks after its early Sept. release and was truly digging the record as a whole. Wondered how it was doing domestically and pulled up the Billboard Top 200. Scrolled through the entire list and nada. Knew that couldn't be right as he's been a fixture on the Top 200 with all his solos. Well, I'll be damned, again! It's available in every country in the world EXCEPT America...WTF! It has to be a major label spat as the album is Mercury/Universal and his US company is Warner Bros. When are the old coots at WB going to join the 21st century? Crying shame, too, since this record positively screams Grammy.
Multiple nominations and probable wins, that is. Certainly the most complete album of his career and the old farts in NARAS love to reward the long-time musical veterans. Besides the large dollops of the blues, there is plenty to like for the faithful. He doesn't abandon the Celtic-tinged songs...
...folk stories or the rocking tunes, they just aren't as predominant this time around. And I love it! The record sounds like it was fun to make. Knopfler said this is his best band ever and thoroughly enjoying the supporting tour. He has two more weeks in the States with Bob Dylan (I'll bet this CD is for sale at the merch table) before going back to Europe. I'd love to see this tour if he was coming to FLA and I'd guarantee my early arrival to see his set and early departure to miss Dylan's (past his prime by at least two decades).
There isn't a lot of quality footage online but I want to play one of the blues tracks from the record, so here is one using stills from the tour...
Oh, yeah, the guitar work is pretty good, too. There isn't a turkey in the twenty tracks. One day I'll check out all the additional selections from the deluxe versions.
One of 2012's best.
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