Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Not every cowboy is from America. Mark Knopfler (“Down the Road Wherever”) is best known for his role as lead guitarist, singer and songwriter for Dire Straits (“Money For Nothing”). Since Dire Straits disbanded in 1995, Knopfler has gone on to have a flourishing solo career. On April 12 he released “One Deep River,” his tenth solo album. For someone who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and raised in England, Knopfler does an impressive job embodying the heart and soul of the American Wild West. If you did not know he was of Dire Straits fame, you would think he is some classic American Western artist on the country stations you never turn the dial to.
“One Deep River” is not Knopfler’s first foray into the genre of country music. While listening to the more laid-back and vacation-y tracks “Smart Money” and “Janine,” there was something very Jimmy Buffett-esque about them. Sure enough, there was truth to that. According to track listings on YouTube, Knopfler had worked with Jimmy Buffett (“Bubbles Up”) in 2006, as a guitarist on the song “Whoop De Doo” and again in 2013 writing and playing guitar on “Oldest Surfer on the Beach.”
Throughout the album, there is a reflective tone, as if Knopfler is using the country twang to look back on his life. They all contain some sort of melancholy note, but some are more laden with sadness than others. The slow-paced guitar throughout risks blurring the entire work together save for the varying bodies of subject matter song to song. In some songs, he just wants to lay down a story about history, like on “Tunnel 13” where he sings about an old band of brothers from a bygone era in Los Angeles bent on causing trouble. In “Scavengers Yard,” Knopfler drifts the slightest bit towards old and familiar territory with some psychedelic rhythm guitar mixed with classic western bass twanging along. It has a bit of Red Hot Chili Peppers (“Return of the Dream Canteen”) flavor to it, whispering in its undercurrents. It would not be a true country album without a story of a slimy businessman, which Knopfler paints himself as while he sings “I’m not gonna let this one slip / and I don’t intend to lose my grip.”
Knopfler’s deep vocals could easily be mistaken as those of an American born and raised on a cattle ranch. Especially in “Janine,” where he sings of the “big rigs on the highway” over sweet and light chords echoing alongside his soft but deep voice. The way he so easily embraces this genre and style of singing is why he is often recognized as a virtuoso, a legend in the music world. There is nary a hint of his Dire Straits days to be found here, but that is the point. Dire Straits was only one part of his life and he has shown that he is anything but a one-act performer. While it is overall a polished work, it does lull at times and becomes more of a naptime playlist than anything else. It is still a solid album and deserves a place at American garage parties in the coming summertime season.
Image from aherrero via Wikimedia Commons
