Mark Knopfler: One Deep River

A review of the latest from erstwhile Dire Straits leader; his first in over a half-decade

Mark Knopfler

One Deep River

British Grove / EMI

You’ve heard this sound before. In fact, that’s why you’re here. The Mark Knopfler of One Deep River, his first album in six years, is in fact the Mark Knopfler of Get Lucky (2007) and Tracker (2015) and Down The Road Wherever (2018) — and though some overzealous fans are calling this his gentle masterpiece, I’d reserve that title for Ragpicker’s Dream (2002) or Privateering (2012), or of course the earliest non-soundtrack solo albums, Golden Heart (1996) and Sailing To Philadelphia (2000).

The laconic delivery that is always so effortlessly summoned, strums into place on Smart Money, and is reminiscent of even the back-half of the final Dire Straits album, or the Notting Hillbillies. Knopfler is never going to escape his own sound, and why would he (or you) want that.

Opener, Two Pairs of Hands puts him in the middle of the road, chugging quietly on the sort of J.J. Cale-esque phrasing he stole and largely made his own so long ago, Ahead Of The Game keeps that country-fied groove moving, and we start to hear the really classic Knopfler electric soloing and riffage on Scavengers Yard; the sort of song he’s been serving across every single solo album.

This is the case for much of this album. It’s subtle so as you might miss the gems on a first few listens. Black Tie Jobs being a stoic standout, Tunnel 13 yet another effortless conjuring of that sound he found so long ago.

My criticism of this on first listen was that I didn’t hear or feel the reason for the record existing. But on subsequent listens, I feel the songwriting is nearly as good as ever. The issue is the production. Knopfler and former Dire Straits hired hand, Guy Fletcher (who was there on many of the soundtracks too) are too out of touch to bring anything new to the production. Some fans might argue that the sound is classic, but I’d love to hear Knopfler surrender to a Rick Rubin or Daniel Lanois; someone that wouldn’t reinvent them too far, nor too silly, but would give the songs a nice wardrobe upgrade. Currently, it’s grandpa tweed forever. And hey, he often makes that work so well (Watch Me Gone) and is clearly in music for he right reasons now off the back of monumental fame.

There’s no urgency or energy around even trying to re-live or capture a mere snippet of that.

I can live with a Knopfler song for years and then suddenly realise it’s a masterpiece. And there are enough examples on One Deep River to add to the time capsule.

This One’s Not Going To End Well seems a wry joke, the album’s penultimate track is gorgeous, with the sublime fiddle of John McCusker, and uillean pipes of Mike McGoldrick. Greg Leisz’ lap and pedal steel guitars a feature too, on so many of the tracks here, just as they’ve been on so many albums across the years. The playing is sumptuous throughout, reminiscent of the last few Robbie Robertson albums. That same sort of understated late-career magic.

The title track which closes the album here is yet another crowning glory. But I can see how someone might hear this and also think “boring”.