Mark Knopfler/ One Deep River

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Mark Knopfler/ One Deep River

Genre: Roots-rock

Label: British Grove/ EMI

Rating: ****

The marvellous Mark Knopfler will be 75 this August. He's at an age when many fans would begin nitpicking about changing voice textures and inability to captivate with those pipes. But sorry, that's not the case with Mr MK.

In his 10th solo album One Deep River, released almost 47 years after he's been in the business, Knopfler sounds as glorious as he always did. Maybe there's an extra avuncular zing that makes his current voice all the more charming, as he converses with and serenades his magical guitar in that trademark manner that he's owned.

The 12 songs here are much in the fashion of many of his solo outings. There are no Sultan-like swinging solos or trips down telegraph roads through tunnels of love. Barring the first two tunes, and an odd one later, the songs are laid-back and brooding, using hints of country, Brit-folk and rootsy ruggedness. The formula may not impress some listeners on the first couple of listens, but the songs sink in slowly, with closer attention to the lyrics. The electric guitar is dominant naturally, but there's a fair sprinkling of synthesisers by former Dire Straits colleague Guy Fletcher, who's co-produced the album with Knopfler. Pedal and lap steel here, a bouzouki there, and Uillean pipes and fiddles on another track add to the variety.

Interestingly, the album begins almost like a tribute to American genius JJ Cale, with the chuggy rhythms and smooth guitar licks of 'Two Pairs Of Hands'. Knopfler sounds delightful as he sings, "We are the rollercoaster piling along, the power and glory with the song; Holy moly, where did the time go? I told you baby, now you know".

This is followed by 'Ahead Of The Game', perhaps the closest to Dire Straits on this set. "The sky's big as nowhere, which is where we've been, left a dream behind somewhere, you've got to have a dream".The other uptempo song 'Scavengers Yard' has a chopping rhythm section, blended with innovative guitar riffs and sounds of intermittent madcap laughs.

The tempo slows down and the air becomes remorseful on 'Black Tie Jobs', as Knopfler sings, "So sorry for your trouble, tell me to take a walk, and I would understand, of course it's good to talk, you take my handkerchief, though I don't need it back, please don't worry". An obvious highlight is 'Janine', which goes, "Janine, my heart goes out to you, I know you've been trying, I've been trying too". It's a simple song about reviving a relationship, and it lingers, ending with a short guitar coda.

Knopfler talks of the dreams of a teenage kid on 'Watch Me Gone', impressing on the line, "Well, maybe I'll hit the road with Bob, or maybe I'll hitch a ride with Van, it's all gonna happen and I'll be a happening man". The references here are to Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, who he admired as a teenager. Set against a steady locomotive coach rhythm, 'Before My Train Comes' talks of a last confession, and has a singalong quality. The album ends with the title track, leading into a moody outro.

There are a couple of weak spots. Despite their strong lyrical content, 'Tunnel 13' and 'Sweeter Than The Rain' ramble on as tunes. Maybe they are aberrations in an otherwise consistently magnificent album. Knopfler and Fletcher have good assistance from bassist Glenn Worf, drummer Ian Thomas, percussionist Danny Cummings, acoustic guitarist Richard Bennett and a host of sessions musicians.

One Deep River comes five-and-a-half years after Knopfler's last solo outing Down The Road Wherever, which had the same core team. Like wine, his voice just seems to be maturing with age. Though one may point out that he doesn't attempt the high screams or prance around like some of the other rock frontmen, the truth is that his timbre is in such perfect shape, blending immaculately with those silken strings.