It’s easy to forget Mark Knopfler has been a solo artist for a lot longer than his tenure heading Dire Straits, who he took from late ’70s pub rock anonymity to global domination in just a few short years. Since opting out of rock superstardom, he’s concentrated on whatever projects take his fancy, from movie soundtracks to producing and playing on sessions for Dylan and Bryan Ferry (not to mention collaborations with from Chet Atkins and Emmylou Harris). His last few albums were more or less in a similar style that started with 2000’s Sailing To Philadelphia where he perfected a kind of laid-back North West England blues, often with a seafaring or early industrial theme. With long-time collaborator Guy Fletcher on keyboards, his eighth solo album continues in that vein.
Opening track ‘Laughs And Jokes And Drinks And Smokes’ starts out in jazzy mode, almost like Dave Brubeck’s ‘Take 5’, with a melody not a million miles from ‘Philadelphia’ and a lyric that traces Knopfler’s arrival in London to form a band when “we were young, we were broke.”
A sailor’s life is explored on the gently shuffling ‘River Towns’, where “these chicks will take your money, shake a young man down”. Meanwhile Dire Straits fans will recognize the fast finger-picking on the upbeat and pacey ‘Beryl’, a tribute to author Beryl Bainbridge, who wrote about the working class life so prevalent in Knopfler’s work. Elsewhere the sublime ‘Long Cool Girl’ faintly recalls ‘Romeo & Juliet’ while the cinematic textures of ‘Lights of Taormina’ sound like something from the soundtrack of Paris, Texas with hints of Nebraska-era Springsteen and a melody gleaned from ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’.
The album’s closer, a country-folk-ish ballad ‘Wherever I Go’, features a lovely duet with Ruth Moody of Canadian roots outfit The Wailin’ Jennies (who Knopfler spotted singing on TV show Transatlantic Sessions). A fitting ending to one of his most satisfying collections to date.

Key Track - 'Long Cool Girl'