320 kbps / 179 MB / LINKS
Mark Knopfler’s ninth solo studio album ‘Down The Road Wherever’ released via British Grove / Virgin EMI Records in 2018. Deluxe CD edition.Like Eric Clapton, Knopfler is more concerned about the song than the fret shredding he’s certainly capable of, and that extends to this new 14 (16 on the deluxe edition) track collection. But just when you think this is another lush, lovely, slightly lazy soundtrack for your favorite coffee shop on Sunday morning, the singer-songwriter throws in some changeups that push this into diverse and intriguing territory.
Press play on the opening “Trapper Man” and you immediately hear … nothing. Then softly picked guitar and finally 30 seconds in, the drums kick out, urging the music into moderate rocking territory. Female backing vocals and Knopfler’s trademarked snakelike guitar winds and curls around this story of the titular character as it moves to a funky break creating a groove you wish he would tap into more often. And there’s more similar to it. On “Nobody Does That,” Knopfler employs punchy horns to accentuate the JJ Cale-styled lope on one of the album’s most unusual, jazzy and catchy selections.