CD Review of Get Lucky by Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler: Get Lucky
Recommended if you like
Dire Straits, Eric Clapton, Sting
Label
Warner Bros.
Mark Knopfler: Get Lucky

Reviewed by Jeff Giles

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T
he ‘80s were the decade of the power ballad, a time when otherwise hard-rocking bands and artists were forced to dial down the amps and crank up the melodrama in order to sell a few records. A notable exception to this rule was Dire Straits, the Mark Knopfler-led band that tended toward lengthy, jazz-flavored, contemplative workouts – and that earned its greatest success by upping the tempo and rocking out a little. "Money for Nothing" and "Walk of Life" were two of the punchier Top 40 hits to come out of the rock side of the dial in 1985, and they were also utter anomalies in the Dire Straits catalog; in the years since, both with the band and throughout his decade-plus as a solo artist, Knopfler has embarked on a steady drift toward a place where the music exists mainly as a bare conduit for his stories, heavy on the vibe and very short on hooks.

He may have lost interest in pop songwriting, but Knopfler’s muse hasn’t abandoned him. Always one of rock’s sharper yarn-spinners, he’s deepened and refined his storytelling since kicking off his solo career with 1996’s Golden Heart; as he’s drained his arrangements of what little flash they ever had, he’s introduced his listeners to an ever-more interesting cast of characters, training his focus on everyone from McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc to an organ grinder along the way. After taking five-year sabbaticals in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Knopfler has also discovered something of a workmanlike streak – Get Lucky, his sixth solo LP, is his fifth of the decade, and arrives only two years after Kill to Get Crimson. Unlike most of his generational peers – guys like Clapton, Phil Collins, and Rod Stewart – Knopfler still seems genuinely interested in the songwriting process; even better, he still has plenty to say.

If only he wasn’t so good at making it seem like he’s saying nothing at all.

If you’ve heard any of Knopfler’s previous solo albums, you know what to expect from Get Lucky: namely, loads of snoozy folk-rock grooves, topped off by Knopfler’s relaxed vocals and the occasional stately guitar solo. It’s the kind of album that’s easy to turn on and forget about, in other words – which is a shame, because lyrically speaking, it boasts some of his richest and most finely shaded tales. Patient, attentive listeners will be rewarded with stories of lorry drivers, Scottish army pipers, master luthiers, and itinerant workers, drawn with the empathetic hand of someone who’s either been there himself or knows plenty of people who have. It’s hard not to wish, though, that Knopfler would give you a spoonful of sugar once in a while – a hook, a melody, a chorus to latch onto, something to break up the honey-coated monotony of these 11 relentlessly laid back songs.

In the end, it’s ultimately more of the same from Knopfler – another carefully crafted chapter in a career most people stopped paying attention to a long time ago. They shouldn’t have, but Get Lucky won’t do anything to persuade them of that. You’ve got to give Knopfler credit for following his bliss…but you may need to take a nap first.

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