Mark Knopfler's newest...Privateering

[treitz3]

http://www.markknopfler.com/store/Product.aspx?id=SM001169



Hello, ladies and gentlemen of the forum. Just ordered this today and I was wondering if anybody has heard this yet. If not, I'll offer my impressions when I get it in. Apparently, it is Mark's seventh or eighth solo album [depending on which website you look at] and is a 2-disc release unless you opt for the deluxe or super deluxe versions that add some live rehearsals, DVD's downloadable full length concerts, vinyl and what not. You can read more by visiting the link above. It was released on September 3rd, 2012. I should slap myself over the head for not knowing this in advance. DOH! Hind sight is always 20/20....anyhoo....here's a little bit of information about it.

Disc one

"Redbud Tree" – 3:19
"Haul Away" – 4:01
"Don't Forget Your Hat" – 5:15
"Privateering" – 6:19
"Miss You Blues" – 4:18
"Corned Beef City" – 3:32
"Go, Love" – 4:52
"Hot or What" – 4:54
"Yon Two Crows" – 4:26
"Seattle" – 4:17

Disc two

"Kingdom of Gold" – 5:22
"Got to Have Something" – 4:01
"Radio City Serenade" – 5:13
"I Used to Could" – 3:36
"Gator Blood" – 4:15
"Bluebird" – 3:27
"Dream of the Drowned Submariner" – 4:57
"Blood and Water" – 5:19
"Today Is Okay" – 4:45
"After the Bean Stalk" – 3:54


The Performers....

Mark Knopfler – vocals, electric, slide, and acoustic guitars
Richard Bennett – guitars, bouzouki, and tiple
Guy Fletcher – keyboards, vocals, bass (on "Redbud Tree"), string arrangements
Glenn Worf – bass guitar, string bass
Ian Thomas – drums
John McCusker – violin, cittern, whistle
Jim Cox – piano, organ
Paul Franklin – pedal steel guitar
Phil Cunningham – accordion
Michael McGoldrick – flute, whistle, uilleann pipes
Rupert Gregson-Williams – conducting strings

Along with the guest appearances featured in this album....

Kim Wilson – harp
Ruth Moody – vocals
Chris Botti – trumpet
Nigel Hitchcock – saxophone
John Charnec – clarinet

Followed up with the "end result" team....

Mark Knopfler – producer, design
Guy Fletcher – co-producer, engineer, photography
Chuck Ainlay – co-producer, engineer
Bob Ludwig – mastering, Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland, Maine

Whooo-Hoo!!! With all of those instruments played by well known [probably handpicked] masters of their respective instruments? I'm stoked! I only wish I had ordered it sooner. Anybody out there heard this yet? Throw me a bone.

Tom

 

[DaveyF]

Tom, should be a very interesting album. Bob Ludwig mastering is always a good sign. Do post your thoughts once you have had a chance to listen. BIG BIG Knopfler fan here.

 

[treitz3]

Well, it just hit today. Listening to it at a reasonably low volume tonight as my son is sleeping. I'll be honest. The first 10 seconds didn't sound too terribly good. Don't know whether to attribute this to the rig just being put all back together from an audio event or whether it's from the recording. Regardless, not the best of impressions.

I'm a big Knopfler fan here as well so I'm hoping it was just the rig warming up. I'll let the rig warm up and settle in once again before I offer my observations on sound. From what I have heard so far, I like it for the musical content.

More later. TGIF!

Tom

 

[Lee]

Any updates on this Tom?

 

[treitz3]

Ah, yes. I'm listening too it right now in fact. This will be the 4th or 5th time listening to it in its entirety, if that tells you something . It's not an audiophile recording masterpiece but it is a decent recording. I'll chime in on this more later today with some specifics. I will say this, go ahead and order it if you are on the fence. There is some great music on this album.

It turned out the other night that what I thought was a bad recording, was actually the fact that I didn't have any of my isolation footings installed due to just "slapping" the rig back together to get my listen on. You may have already caught the thread I started on that. If not, it can be found here >>> http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...lation-reminded-once-again-just-HOW-important

Tom

 

[puroagave]

i couldnt find song samples on the net except for youtube. the SQ is great through my grado cans and the music and marks playing is introspective, right up my alley. its on my buy list.

 

[rbbert]

The recording is reasonable. It sounds pretty good, although the waveforms do show some compression and peak limiting, way less than usual for today (for instance, obviously less than Bonnie Raitt's Slipstream or Paul Simon's So Beautiful or..., both recordings lauded (inappropriately IMHO) by TAS for their sound quality.

I'm not that impressed yet by the music; pretty typical Knopfler, which is both good and bad. I'd like to see some more new developments there, but OTOH why mess with what you do well.

 

[treitz3]

Here's a link to the You-tube video puroagave was talking about if anybody is interested in getting an early glimpse of the type of music this album offers. I'll start writing up my review here within the next hour or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U49qiXZGd4

Tom

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

The recording is reasonable. It sounds pretty good, although the waveforms do show some compression and peak limiting, way less than usual for today (for instance, obviously less than Bonnie Raitt's Slipstream or Paul Simon's So Beautiful or..., both recordings lauded (inappropriately IMHO) by TAS for their sound quality.

I'm not that impressed yet by the music; pretty typical Knopfler, which is both good and bad. I'd like to see some more new developments there, but OTOH why mess with what you do well.

If its "pretty typical" then I may pass this up, although I'm most definitely a fan of MK.

Here's a link to the You-tube video puroagave was talking about if anybody is interested in getting an early glimpse of the type of music this album offers. I'll start writing up my review here within the next hour or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U49qiXZGd4

Tom

Before I do I will have a listen though, so thanks for the link Tom!

 

[flez007]

Will try to get it ASAP....

 

[treitz3]

OK, here goes. These are my observations and impressions of Mark Klopfler's newest, Privateering. Please keep in mind that I am not a professional reviewer and that when I make observations that I just jot down whatever comes to mind as I make my observations. If you are interested in seeing what equipment I am using to make my observations on, just take a glance at my user profile as everything is listed there. That said, these are my observations of the newest double CD offered by Mark.

The imaging is good, nothing stellar but nothing to shake a stick at either. The noise floor is quiet enough to hear some subtle details and not really be of concern. I can definitely hear influences of a little bit of blues, jazz and a touch of country in this album. It's definitely relaxed, tight and fun. The instruments and singers are well blended with nothing that really overshadows other singers or instruments playing. There are a wonderful selection of instruments that produce a pleasing sound throughout the album. There are many crescendos within the music and each instrument. Also, each instrument is easily detectable and clearly heard even during busy passages with the exception of the bass guitar which doesn't seem to be clearly defined and is lacking in detail and texture compared to other recordings throughout the album.

The beginning of song one on the first disc, Redbud tree does seem to be a little thick and restricted if you will but does seem to slowly correct over the course of the first minute. Unfortunately, this song is only a 3 minute long song. Overall, the album does seem to shear off a little top end and the overall sound would be what I would consider as relaxed. It doesn't sound bad but it isn't really what you would expect from an in studio recording(s). It almost sounds more like an analog type sound than a digital, even though this review was observed with the CD being played. This is the exact opposite of the first CD's that hit the shelves decades ago. Even though the top end seems to be shaved off, the details and subtleties still exist without exaggeration of anything within the upper registers.

With regards to the percussion, I was impressed, as they were recorded well on this album. Pretty much throughout the entire album. The natural rolloff of the percussion instruments equally impressed me as the recording was able to capture this aspect well. Some of the recordings on this album seem to have been either mastered differently or recorded in different studios even though the only mention of a studio is British Grove Studios which would leave me to believe that all of the recordings were done in the same recording studio. Throughout the album it seems as if no trickery or phasing manipulation was added. Just the music which on songs like "Kingdom of Gold" [one of my favorites] make the background singers sound quite real.

I noticed before I started my review that peak limiting was mentioned. Yes. A lot of times, many instruments will play simultaneously but throughout the album it never seems to get busy or congested as if it were a heavily compressed album. In fact, the album doesn't seem compressed much unless what has been aforementioned is the end result of compression. The musicianship I found to be top notch. The musical content I found to be on par with other MK offerings and like somebody else had mentioned, I was hoping for something a little bit newer with regards to the developments but it is definitely nothing to discount just because we were hoping for something that we didn't get. I will say this, with regards to developments? Maybe this is a good thing because he still plays music and doesn't just sing throughout the entire song like most all of today's "developed" music. Yes, you actually can just sit back and enjoy much of the album's actual music without having the singers constantly taking over the scene. To me, kind of an "old school" type album which some may like while others may not. Overall, it is a very enjoyable album and a must have in any MK collection....even though I honestly feel it's not his best work. Regardless I found that many times during my observations that I was unknowingly tapping my toes often and I find myself yearning to go ahead and order the deluxe set so that I can see more of the rehearsals, live concert footage and outtakes.

Well, there it is. A pure and unadulterated review of Mark Knopfler's newest.

Tom