As a follow-up to my Dire Straits deep dive, I wanted to acknowledge the solo career of Mark Knopfler, the band’s lead guitarist, lead vocalist, and sole songwriter.

After Dire Straits broke up, Knopfler went on to record 10 solo studio albums and three EPs, in addition to continuing the soundtrack work he’d been doing since 1983’s Local Hero. His soundtrack for The Princess Bride is a personal favorite, and one that hits harder this week after director Rob Reiner’s horrible death.

Apart from that soundtrack, the only Knopfler solo work I’ve ever heard start to finish is 2000’s Sailing to Philadelphia, his second album. And I’m not sure why I didn’t gobble up everything else he ever did, because that one is a masterpiece.

This collection of smart, seductive folk rock plays like an extension of the best of Dire Straits. Knopfler, in fine voice, recruited even finer voices James Taylor and Van Morrison to duet on a couple of the album’s standout tracks, but it’s too hard to pick a favorite. Everything here is sublime.

Maybe I’ll get around to the rest of Knopfler’s solo catalog next year, and give him his own deep dive. But for now, I’ll sing the praises of Sailing to Philadelphia one more time.