It seems that whenever Mark Knopfler has amassed a pile of new songs, he records all of them, then releases them in bulk. One wonders whether the songs on One Deep River all arrived at once, explaining the six-year gap since his last album. Whatever the story is, it’s pretty much more of what we’ve come to expect. “Two Pairs Of Hands” shuffles into play on mostly one chord. “Ahead Of The Game” has a more striking backing and hooks, and succeeds on those. The first two verses seem to be a reminiscence of the days before “Sultans Of Swing”, while the final draws a line to anyone trying to get by. “Smart Money” can’t decide if it’s country or Caribbean, while “Scavengers Yard” is suitably clanky, with a processed break that veers dangerously close to techno before escaping. “Black Tie Jobs” is almost stately, with canned chamber pop strings. “Tunnel 13” tells the true-life tale of a train robbery turned tragic, but as with much of his solo material, the loping backing doesn’t necessarily keep you riveted to the story.
Another scene is set for “Janine”, but it works better as a love song without context. “Watch Me Gone” is more mournful, with surprising female voices on the choruses. Beginning with a spooky, wintry atmosphere, “Sweeter Than The Rain” uses his already craggy yet aging voice to good effect, and “Before My Train Comes” is nice, even if it sounds too much like too many of his other songs. The somewhat plodding “This One’s Not Going To End Well” may or may not be social commentary on any political situation, but it is lifted by two brief fiddle solos. And the understated yet majestic title track does rank with his best.
His usual crack band backs him throughout One Deep River, and to the album’s credit, most of the tracks hover around four minutes each. But a further four tracks were added to the vinyl: “Dolly Shop Man”, an allegory about a pawn shop; the mildly romantic “Your Leading Man”; “Wrong ‘Un”, a good lyric in search of a better tune; and “Chess”, loaded with metaphors and resembling late-‘80s Chris Rea. And five others made it to deluxe CD and Blu-ray editions. The portrait of a has-been in “The Living End” is sunk by “shoop shoop” backing vocals, whereas “Fat Chance Dupree” has guys sounding like the Jordainaires. Celtic pipes finally make an appearance on “Along A Foreign Coast”, and the one-sided conversation in “What I’m Gonna Need” doesn’t go anywhere despite the nice melody. “Nothing But Rain” would have been welcome on the album, bluesy as it is.
Further proof that good editing makes good listening, less than a month after the album’s release came The Boy, an EP of four thematically related songs inspired (so Knopfler said) by the fairgrounds of his youth, complete with ambient effects. Lyrically we can see that, but the music could accompany any story, and not just one about a boxer. “Mr. Solomons Said” is the cool jazzy setup, and the title track explores the character from another perspective. “All Comers” is strong enough to stand outside the framework, and so does “Bad Day For A Knife Thrower”, but it doesn’t roll as easy. Unlike most of the other bonus tracks, any of these tracks are as good as what made the album, deluxe or otherwise. It surprises us that he wasn’t able to expand the concept; surely other songs on One Deep River could have been revised to fit the story?
Mark Knopfler One Deep River (2024)—3
Mark Knopfler The Boy (2024)—3
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