Mark Knopfler - Tracker (Deluxe Edition) (2015) [192kHz/24bit]

Mark Knopfler - Tracker (Deluxe Edition) (2015) 192-24
Country: UK
Genre: Rock
Format: FLAC (*tracks)
Quality: Lossless [192 kHz/24 bit]
Time: 01:14:40
Full Size: 2.71 GB
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Scaled smaller than 2012's double-album Privateering, Tracker also feels suitably subtle, easing its way into being instead of announcing itself with a thunder. Such understatement is typical of Mark Knopfler, particularly in the third act of his career. When he left Dire Straits behind, he also left behind any semblance of playing for the cheap seats in an arena, but Tracker feels quieter than his new millennial norm. Some of this is due to the undercurrent of reflection tugging at the record's momentum. Knopfler isn't pining for the past but he is looking back, sometimes wistfully, sometimes with a resigned smile, and he appropriately draws upon sounds that he's long loved. Usually, this means some variation of pub rock -- the languid ballad "River Towns," the lazy shuffle "Skydiver," the two-chord groove of "Broken Bones" -- but this is merely the foundation from which Knopfler threads in a fair amount of olde British folk and other roots digressions. This delicate melancholy complements echoes of older Knopfler songs -- significant stretches of the record are reminiscent of the moodier aspects of Brothers in Arms, while "Beryl" has just a bit of the "Sultans of Swing" bounce -- and this skillful interweaving of Knopfler's personal past helps give Tracker a nicely gentle resonance.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

01. Laughs And Jokes And Drinks And Smokes (06:39)
02. Basil (05:44)
03. River Towns (06:16)
04. Skydiver (04:38)
05. Mighty Man (05:55)
06. Broken Bones (05:30)
07. Long Cool Girl (05:05)
08. Lights Of Taormina (06:09)
09. Silver Eagle (05:01)
10. Beryl (03:10)
11. Wherever I Go (06:24)
12. .38 Special (02:46)
13. My Heart Has Never Changed (03:48)
14. Terminal Of Tribute To (05:52)
15. Heart Of Oak (01:43)

All guitars: Mark Knopfler
All keyboards: Guy Fletcher
Fiddle and cittern: John McCusker
Whistle and wooden flute: Mike McGoldrick
Upright and electric bass: Glenn Worf
Drums: Ian Thomas

Guest vocals on tracks 2, 4, 7, 11 and 13: Ruth Moody
Saxophones on 3 and 11: Nigel Hitchcock
Trumpet on 11: Tom Walsh
Fiddle on 1 and 5, acc rhythm guitar on 8 and banjo on 12: Bruce Molsky
Accordion on 1, 5, and 8: Phil Cunningham
Tenor guitar on 1 and 8: Mike McGoldrick
Bass on 3 and 6 and ukulele on 4: Guy Fletcher
Washboard on 4: Ian Thomas
Terz guitar on 2, 3, 5, 11 and 13 and mandolin on 2: Mark Knopfler

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