A wonderful homage to the nightlife of Auld Reekie, aka Embra. Having visited the Athens of the North many times, even living and working there, this song takes me back to the old haunts. 9 from the Nottingham jury.

I suspect Mark Knopfler secretly wishes he was born in another era.

 springof63 wrote:

what it is, what it is....

 Grayson wrote:

That Lloyd Cole song is also a real classic

I always want 'Rock Steady' by Aretha Franklin to come on after this song. But it never has (so far)  

Superb ❤️ 

Charlotte Street is mentioned in a Lloyd Cole song, too. And in Comoran Strike novels. Evocative place. 

 Foggymountain wrote:

what 'it' is?

My 88 year old father discovered MK while watching U-Tube videos on guitar playing. He LOVES him! 

 Foggymountain wrote:

(insert obligatory "use the PSD button" remark)

Make it stop.

Song is far more exciting than the album art. Though I kinda like both.

 stegokitty wrote:
He's my favorite, by far.

 kweavr99 wrote:
Or his voice

Mark Knopler is guitar man supreme.

favorite track on a fantastic album

And now I will write some poetry and play some guitar for you good folk! Can you imagine following Mark Knopfler on a stage? Telling a pub joke? Whistling Dixie? I cannot. 

No mistaking his guitar. 9

I like Mark Knopler's music on his own better than when he was in Dire Straits although the music sounds so similar. Is that strange? 

 orthomd wrote:

Unique style; aye

Up to 9 it goes!

Oh ya that guitar!!!

He has such a gift. 

that guitar, though. so great. nobody plays like him.

 Milanche wrote:
 
Agree 100%. Absolutely fantastic song.

Pure perfection. Knopfler don't have any single bad song but some of them are perfection. Like this one, for sure.

 Grayson wrote:
 
Could the little Nell be the Charles Dicken's character from Old Curiosity Shop?

 Grayson wrote:
 
You're disappointed that Knopfler failed to predict a character on Killing Eve (not to mention Killing Eve itself) some 14 years prior to the original source material?

Every time this plays I think to myself "it's the Wee Willie Winkie" song.

Happy birthday, on 8/9/19, in advance, to this great guitarist and composer 

Birth nameMark Freuder KnopflerBorn12 August 1949 (age 69)

 Tomasni wrote: 

Sigh. Yet again I look at a prized song's lyrics then kinda wish I'd not. Could have always sworn "Is still in search of Little Nell" was "Is still in search of  Villanelle." And given the delicious, currently-running "Killing Eve" story-series on TV and its jaw-droppingly great portrayal of the character Villanelle by Jodie Comer, well... yeah, a bit of a disappointment there. Why I advise never reading Mark Knopfler's (and R.E.M.'s) songs' lyrics. 

No ones guitar sounds like his

 jmkate wrote: 
MK is such a fantastic story teller.  Although I do wish he would tear it up a little more like he used to with Dire Straits.  It would be nice to hear more than moderately paced ballads from him again.

This was MK solo at its best. Have been a BIG fan since his Dire Straits days. Saw him touring with Eric Clapton (together on stage) way back in the early 90s and he was brilliant then, and then again back on his Get Lucky album. What a showman he is. And his band is as tight as they get. Play more Mark!

Such a good album..

 CHuLoYo wrote: 
HA!  Indeed. 

Talent is God's answer to the eternal question:  "What do I do with my life?" 

You have only to take it and use it to entertain the source that gave it to you.  And by association the rest of us, too.  I'd say MK's done a good job in that regard, eh?  

Highlow
American Net'Zen

 Cannon wrote: 
Kate deserves better, but you could have done a lot worse.

 Stratocaster wrote: 
Now there's a  person who is a guitar afficionado 
Unworthy thought........or a Fender Bender.

One of the best knopfler solo tracks.

 

flutgos wrote: 

 nance wrote: 
We care about your political views.

Got here from Kate Bush...thanks, PSD!!!

 nance wrote: 
Great memories of this tour

listen to that guitar  kinda makes me forget about trump and feel happy

 Ahnyer_Keester wrote: 
Me too. Radio Paradise has my permission to play Knopfler at least once an hour.

I kind of feel like I should get on a Mark Knopfler subscription service that just automatically buys me every album he makes as soon as it comes out. Just love this guy's sound. 

 Dog_Ear wrote: 
Except, MK is not really associated with the Tele. He was mostly a Stratocaster player in the early days, Les Paul in the middle and Pensa in later years. He is now also playing Monteleone handmade guitars from New York.

I've seen him play a Tele a few times but his "Mark Knopfler sound" really comes from the Strat (think 'Sultans') and Les Paul (think 'Brothers In Arms'). 

---

 S-curvy wrote:  


VV wrote: 
And again. But who cares.

Godlike to the heaven 

I'm away off to the civilised country North of the Border soon, and this really gets me into the mood. It immediately evokes to me a frosty Saturday night in Auld Reekie, and people stuffed into pubs drinking Deuchar's and 80/- chased with uisge beatha. Embra is a great place to be out at night, particularly outside of the tourist season.

Knopfler is absolutely brilliant at describing everyday life and things in poetry. He could sing about emptying the bins and grab my attention.

 fran_tarkenton wrote: 
Yes, they should have run deeper deficits.

Ahh Rick MacInnes-Rae, another casualty of the Harper damn regime ! 

I have a HUGE collection of telecaster slayers. MK still my favorite.

I usually shy away from any guitar heavy music, but his style is an absolute pleasure!

 NCEyeballKid wrote: 
Took me a while to warm to him as well, now he's one of my favorite artists.

One of those rare musicians who just "own" their instrument. His tone and style are always distinctive. 

Another great road trip album...

Rick McInnis Ray!

 S-curvy wrote: 

Looks like this playlist from Feb. is being repeated right now (more or less)...

 ppopp wrote: 
Where?  On the east shore of Lake Turkana?    (Lake Rudolph for the really ancient among you.)

Not a Mark Knopfler fan until this album came out. Had to rethink everything after this.  

 ppopp wrote: 
That's a fun simile. Now draw it ;-)

oh yeah,

 Cyclehawk wrote: 
...... me to

Never get tired of this one... turning it up!
 

RP:  hats off!  A flat-out wonderful set, at least for me....

Mark Knopfler
What It IsSailing to Philadelphia (2000)8.1 7:33 pm
Faithless
EvergreenOutrospective (2001)7.2 7:30 pm
Fleetwood Mac
AlbatrossEnglish Rose (1969)8.1 7:27 pm
Arctic Monkeys
FiresideAM (2013)7.1 7:22 pm
The Cure
Fascination StreetDisintegration (1989)7.7 7:19 pm
The Police
Invisible SunGhost In The Machine (1981)7.7 7:15 pm
Dengue Fever
Kiss Of The Bufo AlvariusCannibal Courtship (2011)6.5 7:11 pm
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros
Get Down MosesStreetcore (2003)7.4 7:06 pm
Siouxsie & the Banshees
Kiss Them For MeSuperstition (1991)7.5 7:02 pm
Afro Celt Sound System
ReleaseRelease (2000)7.3 6:58 pm
Florence and The Machine
Cosmic LoveLungs (2009)7.2 6:54 pm
Vienna Teng
LandsailorAims (2013)6.5 6:51 pm
Jimi Hendrix
Castles Made Of Sand

A tremendously annoying tune is what it is. Sounds like gerbils falling out of spaghetti clouds onto Land Rovers.

 mdnlsn wrote: 
With all respect, are we supposed to use the crappy songs?

Good hunting Mark! Old guitars never die...

Brilliant segue from Sarah Slean - Euphoria.

 mdnlsn wrote: 
But Dispatches was a great show! I for one don't mind being reminded of it from time to time.

This song was used as an intro theme for the now-defunct CBC radio show "Dispatches" in Canada. Once a song has been used that way, I can never shake that sense when I hear it. So, please never use great songs as theme songs!

I never tire of hearing this song!  Knopfler rocks!!

 fredriley wrote: 
From my neck of the woods (spray of the surf?), this guy is simply a major talent.  Has been for quite awhile. 9 indeed.

I love this whole album, but IMO "What It Is" is one of the weaker tracks. If you want to rock out, try "Speedway at Nazareth."

I'm so in love with the smooth jazzy sound of his guitar. For me the best fingerpicker out there. So much feeling and variation in every single note. His deep mellow voice compliments it all :)

 fredriley wrote: 

 rdo wrote: 
If these lyrics don't work for you, it's probably because you prefer Amy Winehouse' song with the same title - go for it.
The drinking dens are spilling out There's staggering in the square There's lads and lasses falling about And a crackling in the air Down around the dungeon doors The  shelters and the queues Everybody's  looking for Somebody's arms to fall  into It's what it is That's what it is now There's frost on the graves and the monuments But the taverns are warm in town People curse the government And  shovel hot food down The lights are  out in the city hall The castle and  the keep The moon shines down upon  it all The legless and the  sleepless Cold on the  tollgate With the wagons creeping  through Cold on the  tollgate God knows what I could do  with you It's what it  is That's what it is  now The garrison sleeps in the  citadel With the ghosts and the  ancient stones High on the  parapet A Scottish piper stands  alone And high on the  wind The highland drums begin to  roll And something from the past  just comes And stares into my  soul Cold on the  tollgate With the Caledonian  blues Cold on the  tollgate God knows what I could do  with you It's what it  is That's what it is  now What it is That's what it is now There's  a chink of light, there's a burning wick There's  a lantern in the tower Wee Willie Winkie with a candlestick Still  writing songs in the wee wee hours On Charlotte Street, I take a walking stick from my  hotel The ghost of Dirty Dick is  still in search of Little Nell It's what it is It's  what it is now And it's what it  is What it is now 


Condensed to save paper.   
 

As usual, Mark Knopfler's average > 90% of all recorded rock.

I like this ... very good RP .. keep up the good work  :-)

Isn't that the singer from Dire Straits? Great song.

Sigh. Mark can sing to me anytime. 

 planet_lizard wrote: 

 rdo wrote: 
Since when is "daring" an essential requirement for music? And it sure is interesting to those of us who know and love Edinburgh as it's so evocative of Auld Reekie. 9 from the Albaphile Nottingham jury.

 
symthy wrote: 
Makes me wanna play the air guitar.

Damn this is a wonderful song for so many reasons, not least the guitar lick in the chorus!

 planet_lizard wrote: 

Waking me up nicely after Natilie Merchant.

 rdo wrote: 
There is nothing daring about eating toast, snuggling in your duvet, going for a walk on a beautiful day, listening to the birds or chatting with friends and like this track they are all sodding marvellous.

 capandjudy wrote: 

wow! Maybe we should scale back our ratings a bit

or not. 

One of the best his songs.....

 oldsaxon wrote: 
I'm with you, Saxon!

And if we take a look at the ratings distribution chart, we see that there are very, very many other listeners with us...

Lordy! This gets played a lot.

 rdo wrote: 
Your opinion. I think differently. 

A lot of good things came out of Newcastle...........(yes I know he was born in Glasgow).......

There is not one daring element to this music.  It's about as uninteresting as it gets.  Lacks any imagination.  Suffocating.  In a word - stuffy.

If this is what IT is then I must like IT

This song is ALWAYS an instant energy boost for me...........what it is
 

8 ——> 9  

 hoppin_bob wrote: 
He's so sexy. And he'll bring you the world.

 MannAudioltd wrote: 
Same here.

...with Rick McInnis Ray.  — if you follow this, you might be Canadian!

Just love it, this guitar is everything!

 kingart wrote: 
I think you meant to respond to RobRyan.....

 kingart wrote: 

Nicely said

Stratocaster has clearly never heard Making Movies, Love Over Gold (Telegraph Road is in a class by itself...), and Brothers in Arms, his non-DS collaborations like All the Road Running and Golden Heart, the superb soundtracks for Local Hero, Princess Bride, and Cal, and a massive other discography. Shouldn't make generalizations because they almost always bite one's ass. 

Damn Good,,,,seriously putting me in a better mood to get out of work and have a nice night in my town.

FANSTASTIC ALBUM! ANOTHER ONE!

Knopfler is one of the bona fide guitar players with their own sound.  Unmistakable signature of tone, style and POV.  Can't hear enough of his licks.

This song just never gets old to me.  It is played constantly on RP and comes around on the IPOD every now and then.  It always gives me a fine jolt of energy.

Every time this song cranks up, I think it's "Because the Night" .... and then—oh, it's not. 
 Turn the speakers back down. 

Knophler & Carlos, tiresome.

Here's a bit of linguistic trivia for youse. The nickname for Edinburgh, "Auld Reekie", comes from the same Norse root as Reykjavik:

"For example, the capital city, Reykjavik. You’ll know the word in Scots and English – reek. Edinburgh had the nickname Auld Reekie. Reykja-vík means “reeky bay” or “smoky bay”. There are several places in Iceland with reykja- in the name. Those are places where smoke rises from the ground." (Letter to Gaelic Learners #635)

RobRyan wrote:
Mark Knopfler/Dire Straits did a good song once. They have recycled that song many dozens of times since. If you've heard Sultans of Swing, you've heard their (his) repertoire.

 Sjaaks wrote: 
Agree that Mr Knopfler's music is as far from one-hit wonder status as one can get.  Perhaps his unique voice and guitar sound make it seem that way...but the songs and production are all quite different from each other. I would guess that Mr Ryan is basing his observation solely on MK's radio output, not from listening to his discography.