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.
Dire Straits is one of those bands I rarely listen to despite loving everything I’ve heard. The group never found its way into my regular rotation, but that doesn’t stop me from considering Making Movies and Brothers in Arms perfect albums.
I’ve never given Mark Knopfler’s solo career much consideration, either, despite adoring 2000’s Sailing to Philadelphia. That album is an absolute banger, one I would stack up against pretty much anything from either decade it straddled.
Mark Knopfler’s 2000 album Sailing to Philadephia remains one of the best records of that decade. Every single track is excellent.
This is the first time a song from this album has popped up on a Random Weekend, though this is the fifth of its 13 cuts to feature on the blog. If you don’t know the album, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Mark Knopfler’s Sailing to Philadelphia is my third favorite album of 2000. This was Knopfler’s second solo effort (not including soundtrack work) and the first album of his I really dug into since 1988’s Dire Straits greatest hits collection Money For Nothing.
I’ve always loved Dire Straits’ sound, particularly Knopfler’s guitar work, but I’m far from a completist. I own Making Movies and Brothers in Arms — classics both — but other than the early hits, that’s it.
But Sailing to Philadelphia struck a nerve and continues to resonate nearly two decades later.
Back in the early weeks of the Song of the Day series, I did a theme week on duets. I wrapped up with Mark Knopfler and James Taylor singing the title song of Knopfler’s Sailing to Philadelphia.
Nearly a thousand songs later, I’m doing another week of duets, and I’m kicking it off with a track from the same album.
This time it’s Van Morrison joining Knopfler on ‘The Last Laugh,’ another stellar song from one of the most underrated albums of the 2000s.
Meet Me In Montauk 