Music Review – Ron Sexsmith: THE VIVIAN LINE

There are few things I love more than buying myself a new album on CD or vinyl at a record store, getting it home and unwrapping it, poring over the artwork and credits before finally removing the disc and playing it for the first time. To many members of younger generations, this very concept might seem rather alien now, what with downloading and streaming becoming the norm for music playback. Even the idea of listening to an album as a whole seems to be dying out to some extent. As technology has taken over our lives in so many aspects, the ways in which we long-time music fans enjoy our listening experiences seem to be getting increasingly ‘outdated and antiquated’…could be a song, that.

And I’ll tell you another thing that’s seemingly becoming a lost art – that of well thought out, well crafted songwriting. This is another thing being lost to the world of technology. What happened to coming up with a good song, then recording it and making it sound good using one’s talent? It doesn’t even matter if you’re not a very good singer anymore. Just stick some autotune on it, and you can sound exactly like all the other anonymous chart fodder being pumped out by mainstream acts.

Happily, there are still artists out there who can craft a good composition with a good melody and put a whole bunch of them together to create a cohesive collection of songs. One such artist is Ron Sexsmith. I first discovered Ron for myself when tracks from his album Long Player Late Bloomer managed to find their way onto BBC Radio 2’s playlist during 2011. I remember hearing its lead single ‘Believe it When I See It’ a few times, and thinking I should give this album a go. So I did. And at the first listen, I was quite taken aback at the quality of the songs. It was immediately apparent to me that Ron is a top-class songwriter, and so he has proven time and again over the numerous albums he has recorded since that time. Though I am loath to use the term, the best writers out there do have a certain ‘X-factor’ that sets them apart – and Ron has it in spades. His songs are consistently thoughtful, insightful and have great depth both musically and lyrically.

He has certainly been prolific in the last decade or so. Since the aforementioned Long Player Late Bloomer, we’ve had four further albums – Forever Endeavour (2013), Carousel One (2015), The Last Rider (2017), Hermitage (2020) and now his new album, The Vivian Line. Each of these albums has a slightly different production approach, from the rock-orientated Long Player, through the live-in-the-studio feel of Carousel One, to the largely self-recorded, homemade feel of Hermitage. My personal favourite, however, is his 2017 effort The Last Rider. It is an album full of beautiful songs, superbly written, produced and engineered. Quite apart from the quality and emotional depth of its songs, it is perhaps one of the finest sounding albums I have heard in the last seven or eight years. So it’s fair to say his subsequent work has had a lot to live up to from my perspective!

The Vivian Line was recorded in Nashville during the Autumn of 2021 and was produced by Brad Jones, who runs the Alex the Great recording studios there. And he and Ron have certainly proved to be a winning combination. When I first listened to The Last Rider, I somehow knew instinctively from the very first song that the album might be a bit special. And upon placing the needle down on The Vivian Line, I’m glad to report that I had a similar feeling. The opener, ‘Place Called Love’, is a perfectly paced and thoughtful note on which to open the album. First lead single ‘What I Had in Mind’ follows, with Ron reflecting on school days and contrasting those formative years with how far he has come since then. It also serves as a semi-title track, with the final verse referring to the Vivian Line, a rural route near to where Ron lives which he considers “a sort of portal between my old life in Toronto and my new life here [in Stratford]”.

The album has upbeat moments, such as second lead single ‘Diamond Wave’ about those good times in life when everything seems to be coming together. It has light-hearted moments like ‘A Barn Conversion’ or ‘This That and the Other Thing’, with its irresistibly funky groove. But it also has its more emotive moments. With its touching lyric and stripped back arrangement, ’When Our Love Was New’ is one such example. But the stand-out track on this album, for me, is ‘Powder Blue’. Like all great songwriters, Ron has a knack for writing simple but extremely effective melodies, and ‘Power Blue’ features a beautiful clarinet line that is this song’s defining aspect. It only consists of a few notes, but it is played beautifully sensitively and perfectly fits the reflective nature of the song, which once again finds Ron looking back on childhood days.

The album closes with ‘Ever Wonder’, a song perhaps subtly commenting on the precarious nature of the world in which we now seem to have found ourselves, be it in terms of society, politics or otherwise. “Ever wonder // Why our sky’s full of thunder? // Or why the world’s so out of whack? // How is it kindness // Can be seen o’er the blindness? // Ever wonder about that?” It is a thoughtful and appropriate note on which to end this superb album.

At the top of this article, I wrote about how the concept of well-crafted songwriting and putting a cohesive set of songs together seems to be a dying art. There is indeed a song on The Vivian Line entitled ‘Outdated and Antiquated’, about how changing times and trends can leave us behind. Well, if appreciating a disc of great music written by an artist who has such a great sense of song craft is outdated and antiquated, then I am proud to be so! It is artists like Ron Sexsmith who are keeping the flame of artistic integrity lit. He is undoubtedly one of the finest writers in the game, and he really deserves more recognition.

Shania Twain – In the NOW

Ah…Shania. I well remember first discovering her on a Top of the Pops 2 special, way back in 1999. I remember thinking how she was just one of those people who had everything. Not only did she happen to be an incredibly beautiful woman, but she could play guitar and, of course, she had that distinctive, powerful voice. I might have fallen a bit in love. 

Shania Twain performing for the BBC’s Top of the Pops 2 in 1999

 

At that time, Shania was dominating the charts with her record-breaking album Come On Over, which spawned such iconic mega hits as ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’, ‘You’re Still the One’ and ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman’, which was complimented by quite possibly the most memorable video in pop history. Come On Over was followed by 2002’s Up!, which once again produced a plethora of hit singles. But, following this album and the subsequent world tour, she promptly fell off the map.

Much water has passed under the bridge in the thirteen years since that tour. On top of some well documented changes in her private life, Shania contracted Lyme Disease which attacked her vocal cords, threatening the loss of her singing voice.

Happily however, her vocal cords were not beyond repair and with some determination her voice was restored, albeit with a slightly deeper tone than we had been accustomed to. She later embarked on a successful run of shows at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas between 2012-2014, followed by a North American tour during 2015. Eventually, she got around to writing some new songs and the result is Now, her first original studio album in some fifteen years. And if you were expecting the light-hearted, happy-go-lucky Shania of years gone by, this is something almost completely different.

Though there are one or two subtle hints of the bubbly country-pop of her previous albums in songs such as ‘Swingin’ With My Eyes Closed’, Now is a brooding, soul searching affair. Many, if not all of the songs are written very much from the heart, reflecting on the difficulties and the changes that have occurred in her life over the years leading up to this album. Now without her ex-husband and co-writer Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange, Shania has taken it upon herself to write on her own and there are a number of excellent songs on here that do indeed prove what a formidable songwriter she can be. Of particular note are ‘Light of My Life’ with its chorus that will repeat over in your head for days, ‘Poor Me’ and the poignant ‘Soldier’. There are even a couple songs, namely ‘Because of You’ and closing track ‘All in All’, that I can well imagine being sung by the great Emmylou Harris.

Now has its weaker moments, with ‘Roll Me On the River’ and lead single ‘Life’s About to Get Good’ perhaps being examples. But there is one lingering issue I have with this album, and that is the way in which it has been produced. The biggest problem is the use of the dreaded autotune. The modern day charts are flooded with artists using this effect. Whenever I enter a shop or a restaurant, all I ever hear on the jukebox is the robotic sound of somebody’s voice, computerised beyond all recognition. Producers are using autotune on just about every voice in the business now, whether they can sing accurately or not, as a means of achieving absolute perfection. It has become all too common. Here, it is being used on one of the most distinctive voices going and I’m sorry, but with a voice as good as Shania’s, it simply shouldn’t be needed. I want to hear her voice in its natural form. The album is far from a disaster, but this and the rather over-egged production do unfortunately let it down to a certain extent. Producers need to realise that imperfections and inconsistencies are a part of what makes music special and genuine, and artists should never allow commercial demands and trends to dictate how their music is produced.

I love Shania. She’s still the one. As I alluded to earlier, she has certainly proved here that she is an excellent songwriter in her own right and as evidenced by her recent appearance at Hyde Park, she is still as brilliant a performer as she ever was. I very much hope she’ll continue making records in the not too distant future, but I would just love to hear something more band-orientated and rootsy from her the next time around. The building blocks are there.

Cover photo from Shania Twain’s new album NOW

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Sting – 57th & 9th – Live in Chicago

Sting does say he loves to tour. And that certainly rings true, given that he has been touring in one form or another every year since 2004. His desire and enthusiasm to be on the road, be it with a stripped back rock band or the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, is clearly relentless. In Sting’s own words, he likes to “keep the muscle flexible”, in terms of the type and size of the shows he plays. Some tours visit relatively small and intimate venues such as clubs or theatres, whilst others visit large arenas, stadiums and festivals where he plays to tens of thousands of people.

For the opening leg of 2017’s extensive 57th & 9th world tour, supporting his first ‘rock’ album in many a year, Sting went for the stripped back rock band and intimate venue option. Part of one of these shows has been captured on a special vinyl album entitled 57th & 9th – Live in Chicago, which has been released exclusively for members of Sting’s official fan club. It makes for an excellent companion to Live at the Bataclan, released on Record Store Day 2017, for fans who were able to drag themselves out of bed early enough in order to grab a copy of that album. Live in Chicago‘s ten songs were recorded at the Aragon Ballroom on 3rd March 2017.

A refreshed touring line-up consists of Sting’s guitarist of 27 years, Dominic Miller, Dominic’s son Rufus (“just for insurance”) also on guitar, Josh Freese on drums and the man himself on bass and vocals. That core line-up is augmented by the addition of Sting’s son Joe Sumner and members of Tex-Mex outfit The Last Bandoleros on backing vocals, and finally Percy Cardona on accordion. The songs, both old and new, have clearly gained a certain raw energy with this band which has proved extremely popular with both fans and critics alike.

The 57th & 9th gigs thus far have opened with Sting performing ‘Heading South On the Great North Road’, a new song from the latest album, accompanied only by himself on acoustic guitar and Dominic on an electric. The opening acts then play their sets, and Sting then returns with his band, launching into the 1983 Police hit ‘Synchronicity II’, getting the main set off to a decidedly powerful and crowd-pleasing start. This is followed by another Police hit, 1981’s ‘Spirits in the Material World’, featuring one of Sting’s many trademark simple-but-effective bass riffs. Sting is indeed much underrated as a bassist, as is clearly evidenced throughout this live album.

Next up, ‘I Can’t Stop Thinking About You’, the lead single from 57th & 9th, is delivered with as much of the driving rock feel of the original. Side A concludes with a particularly fine performance of ‘Fields of Gold’, which works surprisingly well without keyboards and with Dominic’s guitar solo replaced by an accordion solo.

Three songs from 57th & 9th open Side B, starting with ‘Down Down Down’. Once again Sting’s bass playing on this performance is particularly strong. The rip-roaring ‘Petrol Head’ follows, which has had its outro altered slightly since the album version was recorded. Though the original did not immediately appeal to me, this live version with its much improved ending is arguably much more effective and is perhaps one of the best performances on the record. Another superb performance of ‘Pretty Young Soldier’ wraps up the selections from the new album. Side B closes with two of Sting’s most celebrated hits – ‘Desert Rose’, from 1999’s Brand New Day, and the iconic 1983 Police classic ‘Every Breath You Take’.

Although 57th & 9th has not had anything like the impact that previous Sting albums did in terms of charts and sales, the relatively simple arrangements of its songs clearly translate very effectively to a live context and they are obviously being received well by audiences. One would hope that at least some of them will remain in the set for a good few years yet. 

Though his advancing years have inevitably resulted in him making a few key changes to certain songs in order to make them easier on his voice, the extensive touring over many decades has not in any way diminished Sting’s ability to perform. That distinctive voice of his, surely one of the finest in rock, is still as clear and penetrating in tone as it ever was. Most of all, from listening to this recording, he seems to be more relaxed and having more fun playing live than ever. And having fun is what being in a live band is all about. He is keeping things simple on this tour. There is no spectacular light show and there are no large video screens behind the band. The focus is very much on the music…as it always should be.

Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie – Getting ‘On With the Show’

Rumours (if you’ll excuse the pun) had been circulating since perhaps 2013 that a new Fleetwood Mac album might be on the way at some time or another. The band had been in the studio recording material, and did in fact release a digital EP featuring four new songs, including the brilliantly uplifting ‘Sad Angel’.  Then, out of the blue, Christine McVie rejoined the band in 2014 and the most recognised of the Mac line-ups toured together for the first time since the late 1990s later that year.

Singer Stevie Nicks, however, was reluctant to contribute to the album and decided to focus on her solo work. With Lindsey and Christine continuing to bounce song ideas off one another, the project evolved into a collaboration album between the two of them featuring contributions from Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, so what we have ultimately wound up with here is a Fleetwood Mac album which features all members of the band except Stevie.  And you know what?  Without wishing to belittle what Stevie brings to the band, they have come up something that is as good as any Fleetwood Mac record.

The eponymous album features ten tracks in all, five of which were written by Lindsey, two by Christine and the remaining three are co-writes.  The album was produced by Lindsey, along with veteran producers Mitchell Froom and Mark Needham.  Those familiar with Lindsey’s solo work will be aware that it tends to be a little more on the experimental side than what he brings to the band – the fact that his solo career operates much more ‘under the radar’, compared to the massive exposure Fleetwood Mac attracts, allows him the creative space to make music that is more left-field and closer to the kind of music that he naturally gravitates to.  However, that experimentation has been paired back somewhat here, and other than on two or three of the songs, even Lindsey’s guitar playing has taken more of a back seat than usual in favour of focusing more on the collaboration and the arrangements as a whole.

The album opens with ‘Sleeping Around the Corner’, an extremely catchy tune driven along by a big synth bass line which was originally intended for Lindsey’s 2011 solo album Seeds We Sow.  This gives way to the first of the co-writes, the playful ‘Feel About You’, followed by the instantly memorable lead single ‘In My World’, another of Lindsey’s songs.  The highlights continue with ‘Red Sun’, another co-write which once again provides an unforgettable chorus hook.  The next track, ‘Love is Here to Stay’, is beautifully layered with acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies.  A simple but extremely effective electric guitar hook from Lindsey drives the insanely catchy ‘Too Far Gone’.  Christine’s ‘Game of Pretend’ is one of the more touching songs on the record, with its chorus once again layered with wonderful vocal harmonies.  Lindsey’s ‘On With the Show’, which gave its name to the Mac’s 2014/15 world tour, and Christine’s ‘Carnival Begin’ are odes to the fact that they are still associated with a band that has such a storied history, with the latter closing the album strongly on a characteristically big guitar solo from Lindsey.  There are no throwaway tracks on this album.

One thing you’ll notice about all of these songs is that the lead vocal is sung exclusively either by Lindsey or Christine. There are no ‘duets’ as such, and yet the collaborative feel is still very clear.  Their distinctiveness as writers and performers combines beautifully, as if the thirty years since 1987’s Tango in the Night had never passed.  The legendary duo of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie on drums and bass gives many of the songs a decidedly Fleetwood Mac-esque sound which only adds to it.

This really is a superb album. When you listen to it, and certainly when you see the 15-minute EPK posted on their official YouTube account, the chemistry between these two legendary artists is plain to see. Their partnership is as strong as ever. While there is now very little prospect of a future Fleetwood Mac album, it is wonderful to see that Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie still have plenty of creative juice left in the tank, and after next year’s Fleetwood Mac tour, it will be fascinating to hear what they might come out with next.

A Wonderful Crazy Night at Longleat

Elton John has been among my biggest musical heroes for nearly twenty years.  The first album of his that I heard was The Big Picture, a much underrated album that was released in September 1997 and for which I still hold a great deal of fondness.  I have followed Elton’s output ever since that time and have enjoyed hearing how his music has developed since then.  From the lush, atmospheric sound of The Big Picture, the music became increasingly roots-based in nature over albums such as Songs from the West Coast (2001), Peachtree Road (2004) and The Captain and the Kid (2006).  In recent years, he has been producing with T Bone Burnett, a collaboration that has resulted in three albums – The Union (2010, with Leon Russell), The Diving Board (2013) and his current album Wonderful Crazy Night (2016).  That last album has a distinctly upbeat rock emphasis, and is possibly the finest he has recorded in many years.

Though I have enjoyed listening to Elton’s recording output over the years, I had never taken the opportunity to see him and his wonderful band live until his show at Longleat on 12th June 2016 was announced.  Elton has remained a terrific live performer throughout his career and with Longleat being relatively local for me, I did not want to allow this opportunity to pass.  I am extremely glad that I didn’t let it pass – the reasons for which will become clear over the following paragraphs.

Outdoor shows are new to me – artists I go to see generally play smaller indoor venues but with Elton John having the large following that he quite rightly has, a larger show is in order, and Longleat is a wonderful setting for an outdoor show with the surrounding grounds and house providing the perfect backdrop.  We also had perfect weather for this show, which was somewhat of a relief as the forecast had not looked in any way favourable all week.  The only issue, however, was the traffic congestion in the general area surrounding Longleat coming from all directions.  Many fans, myself included, did not arrive at our seats for the start of the concert as a result.  I could hear the set opener, Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, whilst walking from the car park towards the arena.  Unfortunately, Elton was three or four songs into his set by the time I reached my seat, but it was immediately clear from what I was hearing that he and the band were in superb form – Elton was in excellent voice and sang perfectly throughout the whole two and a half hour show.  He didn’t put a foot wrong.  And, of course, his talents as a pianist are extraordinary to say the least.  His performances on classics such as Rocket Man, which takes on a significantly extended form at his live shows, Burn Down the Mission, Levon and Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting to name but a few, were spellbinding.

I must also mention his band – Davey Johnstone on guitar, Nigel Olsson on drums, John Mahon on percussion, Matt Bissonette on bass and Kim Bullard on keyboards.  Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsson have been integral components of Elton’s sound for over forty years and are still playing with the same fire as they ever did, if not even more so.  Nigel’s bass drum was phenomenally powerful.  Enough to cause a small earthquake.  The interplay between all of them was quite something – the exchange of solos between Elton and Davey on Levon was hugely impressive.  The whole band were clearly having the time of their lives on stage, particularly so on Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.  It was at this point that John Mahon spotted a young girl in the front row and, clearly impressed by her dancing abilities, he lifted her up onto the stage to dance energetically for the 15,000-odd people attending.  Stage fright was clearly not an issue for her.  That will be quite some claim to fame in years to come!  The audience was positively captivated by the whole performance – everyone, without exception, was standing and dancing and singing along for at least the last third of the set.  It is difficult to single out particular highlights.  The entire show was one huge highlight.  Being there was an electrifying experience.

There was, however, an emotional element to this show.  The set featured three songs from Elton’s newest album, Wonderful Crazy Night.  Upon announcing Looking Up, the first of these songs, Elton told us that this album would be his last.  He said that, with it being such an upbeat album, he wanted to go out on a happy note.  This made his performance of A Good Heart, a ballad and highlight from the album, all the more emotional than it already is.  He was also sure to thank everybody for all the years of love and support later on in the show.  If Elton is indeed looking to retire in the next couple of years, Wonderful Crazy Night would be a great way to finish because it truly is a brilliant album which demonstrates the formidable combination of Elton and Bernie Taupin, a legendary songwriting partnership that has endured some fifty years, and the wonderful musicians he tours and records with.  And clearly Elton and his band are right at the top of their game as a live act at this point, so he would certainly be going out on a high.

The show ended with performances of Candle in the Wind, dedicated to those who lost their lives in the horrific attack in Orlando over the weekend, and Crocodile Rock to which we were all made to sing the famous hook – everyone, of course, obliged with the minimum of fuss.

As we all filtered out of the arena, a helicopter was seen departing the venue, evidently taking Elton home directly after completing his set.  I felt mixed emotions as I watched him fly away into the distance.  I was buzzing from witnessing such an astonishing show, but considering all the history he has made over so many years, there was a degree of sadness that this will probably be the first and only time I will ever see the great man live.  Elton John and contemporaries of his like are special.  They are special because they are unique, and with the direction in which the music business is going now, musical uniqueness and genuine talent in the commercial sense has become increasingly rare.  We will probably never see their like again.  So, I would urge you, if you have an opportunity to see him and other legendary artists of his era live, for heaven’s sake take it, because great performers such as Elton John are not going to be here forever.

Mark Knopfler – Live at the Royal Albert Hall – 25th May 2015

There are barely enough superlatives to describe the talents of the great Mark Knopfler. His history with Dire Straits, of course, speaks for itself. His solo career, however, has operated much more under the radar and this way of working has allowed him to record and tour at a much more manageable level than at the height of the success of Dire Straits. Few, if any artists of Mark’s generation are as prolific as he has become over the course of his solo career. He has now produced…now let me think for a moment…a total of nine exquisite studio albums since 1996, all of which are beautifully produced and feature songs which only go to show how perceptive and accomplished a songwriter he is.

Mark has often spoken of how he enjoys the whole cycle of writing, recording, touring and then starting over again and as such, all but one of his solo albums have resulted in a tour. I have been lucky enough to see him and his remarkable band (which has largely remained the same since his first solo tour in 1996) a number of times now, and each show I have seen has been an improvement on the previous tour, even when it seemed impossible that he and the band could possibly get any better. The show at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday 25th May, part of his tour supporting his newest album, Tracker, was no exception.

Ruth Moody during her set at the Royal Albert Hall – 25/05/2015. © Mike Child 2015

Before we get onto Mark’s set, I must mention Ruth Moody who was the opening act for this show. Ruth is touring with the band as a guest up to and including Amsterdam, and has been working with Mark since the Privateering album, released in 2012. Make no mistake, she has the most beautiful female singing voice imaginable. Not just beautiful, but profoundly beautiful. Her contributions to the Privateering album were only very subtle, but on Tracker her voice is more obvious and she duets with Mark on the emotional closing track, ‘Wherever I Go’. Quite apart from being a sublime vocalist, she is a multi-instrumentalist and a formidable songwriter. Her two solo albums, The Garden and These Wilder Things, are highly recommended. A word of warning though – the merest suggestion of her voice may well cause your eyes to water, so please do not listen to her whilst driving!

Ruth’s set at the Albert Hall consisted of a number of songs from These Wilder Things amongst others with her wonderful four-piece band, and demonstrated not only how beautiful her voice is but also how incredibly accurate a vocalist she is. She simply doesn’t put a foot wrong. Every note is delivered with absolute perfection. I feel extremely fortunate to have had the chance to see Ruth live and I can safely say she has a new committed fan right here.

On to Mark’s set. He opened with a new song from the Tracker album called ‘Broken Bones’. This is a very classy, funky little number and the band entered the stage encouraging the audience to clap along, which they duly did with the minimum of fuss. Mark then came on, only playing a simple rhythm part on this song and leaving the lead in the capable hands of his long-time band mate Richard Bennett. Excellent performances of ‘Corned Beef City’ and ‘Privateering’ came next, and were followed by the instrumental ‘Father and Son’ from 1984’s Cal soundtrack, which segued into ‘Hill Farmer’s Blues’, from 2002’s The Ragpicker’s Dream. The power and energy of the live version of this song, as well as Mark’s guitar solo outro, have never failed to impress.

One of my personal highlights of the evening was the performance of ‘Skydiver’, a new song from Tracker which featured backing vocals from Ruth Moody. Much of the texture of the chorus of this song comes from the layers of vocal harmonies over the top of a descending chord progression. Mark’s voice was perfect here and demonstrated how far he has come as a vocalist in recent years. A drum solo from the impressive Ian Thomas then led into another new song, ’Laughs and Jokes and Drinks and Smokes’, featuring Mark’s gorgeous blue Pensa MK D guitar. His vocal on this was strong once again.

As well as Ruth, saxophonist Nigel Hitchcock is guesting with the band until Amsterdam and his remarkable abilities were utilised on the rock ’n’ roll infused ’I Used to Could’. Keyboardist Jim Cox also impressed on this song, as did Mark on lead guitar. This song was particularly well received and showed just how strong the musical chemistry is between the members of this band.

Then followed the first of a handful of Dire Straits classics of the night, ‘Romeo & Juliet’. Once again, Nigel Hitchcock featured on this song and, as was the case when I previously saw the band live at Bournemouth in 2013, the tone he gets out of the saxophone on these more emotive songs is beautifully clear and a joy to listen to. As is now traditional at a Mark Knopfler show, ‘Romeo & Juliet’ was followed immediately by ‘Sultans of Swing’, which resulted in a well-deserved standing ovation.

The next song, another new one called ‘Mighty Man’, for me, was one of the surprises of this show as I had not thought of it as a song that would work well in a live context, due to its slow and relatively sparse nature. In fact, it worked extremely well and featured possibly the best vocal performance of the night from Mark, as well as some excellent slide guitar on his white 1964 Stratocaster. ‘Postcards from Paraguay’, as on the previous tour, was used to introduce each band member in turn during the intro, with each member joining in as they were announced.

Leading towards the encores, ‘Marbletown’, which has been a set regular for some years now, is the ultimate example of how well this band gels. The chemistry between all of them is almost on a telepathic level throughout the extended outro and is a showcase particularly for the skills of John McCusker on fiddle, Mike McGoldrick on whistle and Glenn Worf on upright bass. ‘Speedway at Nazareth’ was as powerful as ever and once again a demonstration of how well this band works as a unit. ‘Telegraph Road’, featuring an outstanding performance by Mark during the guitar solo outro resulted in another standing ovation.

In the encores, the impossibly catchy ’So Far Away’ got the entire audience singing along, and Mark could probably have done with a little help on this song as his voice seemed to get a little lost in the mix here, but it was a superb performance nonetheless with smiles all round on stage at the end of the song. Ruth then returned for the duet on the wonderful ‘Wherever I Go’ – perhaps the most emotional moment of the evening. Mark and Nigel’s duelling guitar and saxophone solo at the end of this song was sublime. The show ended with a triumphant rendition of ‘Going Home’, from the Local Hero soundtrack.

As I have eluded to above, the chemistry between the members of this band is something very special. They consistently better themselves with each tour, and Mark continues to write wonderful new material to add to the set each time. Indeed, the set is now dominated by solo material, and yet the audiences seem to react just as well to the shows as they would if they consisted entirely of Dire Straits songs. This only goes to show that you don’t have to roll out all the hits to maintain the interest of the audience. If you have good songs and the band enjoy playing them, that enjoyment will translate to the audience.

Mark Knopfler at the Royal Albert Hall – 25/05/2015. © Mike Child 2015

Seeing a Mark Knopfler show in person is a special experience and you would honestly be hard-pressed to see a better live band than his anywhere, at any time. Always looking ahead to the next album or the next tour, clearly he enjoys both recording and touring immensely, and one would hope that he will continue doing so for some years to come, because there does not seem to be anybody else out there who can even compare with him.

Don’t forget to check out Mark’s multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire and co-producer Guy Fletcher’s tour diary at http://www.guyfletcher.co.uk, and also his guitarist Richard Bennett’s ‘Notes from the Road’ at http://www.richard-bennett.com.