But also one of the best song writers ever.



Song for Sonny Liston

So many mouths
To feed on the farm
Sonny was the second
To the last one born
His mamma ran away
And his daddy beat him bad
And he grew up wild
Good love he never had

He had a left
Like henry's hammer
A right like betty bamalam
Rode with the muggers
In the dark and dread
And all them sluggers
Went down like lead

Well he hung with the hoods
He wouldn't stroke the fans
But he had dynamite
In both his hands
Boom bam
Like the slammer door
The bell and the can
And the bodies on the floor

Beware the bear's in town
Somebody's money says
The bear's going down
Yeah, the bear never smiles
Sonny's going down
For miles and miles
Sonny's going down
For miles and miles

The writers didn't like him
The fight game jocks
With his lowlife backers
And his hands like rocks
They didn't want to have
A bogey man
They didn't like him
And he didn't like them

Black cadillac
Alligator boots
Money in the pockets
Of his sharkskin suits
Some say the bear
Took a flop
They couldn't believe it
When they saw him drop

He had a left
Like henry's hammer
A right like betty bamalam
Rode with the muggers
In the dark and dread
And all them sluggers
Went down like lead

Joe Louis was his hero
He tried to be the same
But a criminal child
Wears a ball and chain
So the civil rights people
Didn't want him on the throne
And the hacks and the cops
Wouldn't leave him alone

Beware the bear's in town
Somebody's money says
The bear's going down
Yeah, the bear never smiles
Sonny's going down
For miles and miles
Sonny's going down
For miles and miles

At the foot of his bed
With his feet on the floor
There was dope in his veins
And a pistol on the drawer
There was no investigation
As such
He hated needles
But he knew too much

Criss-crossed
On his back
Scars from his daddy
Like slavery tracks
The second-last child
Was the second-last king
Never again was it the same
In the ring

He had a left
Like henry's hammer
A right like betty bamalam
Rode with the muggers
In the dark and dread
And all them sluggers
Went down like lead

They never could be sure
About the day he was born
A motherless child
Set to working on the farm
And they never could be sure
About the day he died
The bear was the king
They cast aside

Beware the bear's in town
Somebody's money says
The bear's going down
Yeah, the bear never smiles
Sonny's going down
For miles and miles
Sonny's going down
For miles and miles

I cannot find words to properly express his talent.

Simply amazing musician

Don't know if he is the best but he is great enough to be one of them.

I've always been a huge fan of Mark, but his last two albums have only been meh...

Heck, when you are right = you are right.

Knopfler rules.  

Huge respect for an incredible musician.

He seems like a decent guitar player, but I don't understand why he is so highly regarded.

Sarcasm?

Must be.

Agreed, I find him quite boring myself.

On my list of top 5 songs of all time.

I have to agree. I think a lot of folks just hear other people say he's great and then join the band wagon.

When buying good speakers, you should bring a piece of music that you know and listen to often.

This is the primary song I use.

First time I auditioned Kef speakers, I heard elements in this song I have never heard before.  The I auditioned Paradigm Studio Reference 60's and heard a little more I had never heard.

Went with the Paradigms.  Amazing song when you hear some of the hidden subtle parts.

Txl

same here

 

Here is a veritable who's who of musicians.... wacky Euro-music, though.








Published on Jul 12, 2012 Artist:
VA (Mark Knopfler, Vanessa Mae, Santana, Candy Dulfer, Vlatko Stefanovski, David Garett, Jimi Hendrix, Bratko Bibic, Stefan Milenkovic, Steve Morse, Saša Lokner, Slash, Jean Michel Jarre, Christian Howes, Kirk Hammett, Richard Galliano, James Hetfield...)

Yeah, that's it.

It must be Mark's animal magnetism that has fooled simple minded fans for decades. You totally figured it out.

I always loved dire straits

He is coming to St. Augustine in the fall - guess I need to go find a ticket!

Red

I think it is more his style, than his talent.  (and that is not to take away from his talent).  Much of his music is very quiet and slow and relaxed, like a walk through the autumn woods in New England or the Appalachians.  Like a walk along the pier, just after sunset.

Yep Mark has always been my inspiration as a guitar player.

Knopfler is one of the best most people have heard of, IMO there are plenty of more talented musicians who just haven't hit the big time or chose not to stay in the mainstream.

My example, meet Lawrence Juber, former lead guitarist for Paul McArtney's Wings:

I've always felt he was overrated as a guitarist (although damned good) and underrated as a songwriter.

turn this on and listen for an hour.



He plays a National for Romeo & Juliet... what does this do different than other types?



 

That guy has serious talent on the guitar, no argument here. Thanks for sharing.

But can he write a song like Knopfler?

Like Chet Atkins, technically perfect, but no soul.

I think he's an extremely soulful guitarist that gets dismissed for sounding boring. That doesn't mean I think he's best ever, but I've dabbled enough in guitar to have much respect for him.

"No soul?" I disagree. The song "Brothers in Arms" through the right speakers is downright chilling.

Also agreed that he gets underrated as a songwriter & composer. I submit the soundtrack for The Princess Bride as evidence.

Underrated as a songwriter, definitely.

But overrated as a guitarist? Not even remotely.

There's a reason Chet Atkins called Knopfler a prodigy and why Eric Clapton played backup to Knopfler in concert. It wasn't because they wanted to jump on some schmoe's bandwagon.

Chicks for free

What would you give to be able to attend this concert?

Music is very subjective and personal tastes influence any greatest list . When you get to a certain level who can say  xxxx  is better yyyyy . He is a great guitar player but I'll take Buddy Guy at the top of my list . I'd even put Roy Clark up there  too.

Miami Vice - Brothers in Arms

https://vimeo.com/34824491

He's good, that's undeniable.  To say he's the best?  Well, that's subjective.

Yeah, ok.

Mosty a fan of the Dire Straits stuff...He's at Red Rocks in September..my 50th B-day is in August..hmmmm

Because his playing is tasteful and memorable. While that doesn't necessarily make someone one of the greatest players, it is considered "good form" to go ahead and acknowledge him as such.

That's why you will forever hear the world's most amazing musicians "admit" they'll never be as good as the Beatles of some other super popular and influential bands. They know the can play circles around them, but it actually makes you admirable (and dare I say trendy) to elevate your predecessors, as well as your peers, above yourself.

The man reads a biography on Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's.. This is what he does after finishing the book.




I don't much care for his singing/talking style, but he's a stupid-gifted songwriter and musician.

FPNI

Tone, Tasteful playing and Tunes(as in the ones he wrote).

The "Best" is very subjective and cannot be quantified, no question. There is, however, a upper class of guitarists, and Knopfler is in that class.

"What's that?   Hawaiian noises?!"



 

He's no Buckethead.

Mark Knopfler is fucking awesome.  He just has a "feel" for how to play a great goddam guitar.

I'm a big Dire Straits fan. He's a bad ass.

This...

 
It seems that a lot of people only think someone is a great

guitar player if they can mindlessly shred scales up and down the neck as fast as possible while not doing anything remotely musical.

Leo kotke is the greatest guitar player ever.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Knopfler (certainly among the greats) would say that history's greatest player is Mr. Chet Atkins.

He's great.

I'm a huge Duane Allman fan, though.

I wonder what we could have experienced if he had lived longer than 24 years.

He and David Gilmour are two of my very favorite guitarists. Neither will be considered the best, actually far from it, but their respective sounds are beyond unique. Even most non-musicians can recognize their playing very quickly.

Random trivia: Gilmore owns a Fender Strat with the serial number "001" on it.

And he just oozes class.
Check out the youtube video of him and Chet.

You get a shiver in the dark
It's raining in the park but meantime
South of the river you stop and you hold everything
A band is blowing Dixie double four time
You feel alright when you hear that music ring