Just about everything Knopfler played in Dire Straits is impossible to replicate. There’s a reason why there are very few people covering Knopfler on You Tube. No shortage of people covering Jimmy Page, Gilmour etc but not many covering Knopfler. It’s just too hard to get the nuances right. Knopfler is simply phenomenal.
I don't agree with you, I've seen a lot of players trying to replicate Knopfler and doing it very well. In my case, Knopfler was the reason why I bought a guitar, and I think I do very well too! Knopfler has a very distinctive way to play and if you ever have played a guitar, I think it's very easy to learn to play in Knopfler's style because he's not excessively fast or difficult to hear. You only have to keep some patterns in your playing to sound like Knopfler.
I remember hearing Lady Writer for the first time on the radio, and despite never having heard the song I knew it was Mark on the first lick of that intro!
Dire Straits was such a gift to humanity. They made the most amazing, emotional, story driven, transport-you-somewhere-else, leave-you-gobsmacked-by-the-endless-beauty-sadness- brilliance-strife-love- music ever!
The whole "Brothers in Arms" is such an amazing album. It is such an amazing contrast to the 80's shred guitar so prevalent at the time. The title track is also an iconic tone. You can hear that the guitar is cranked to get that tone but then he so delicacy uses it in the song to embellish the almost whispered vocals he's singing. It is such a demonstration of control and restraint. This is one of these albums that you can't unhear as a musician. Some of it will unexpectedly slip into your psyche. .
I actually love the Dire Straits albums "Love over Gold", "Making Movies" and "Communiqué" and of course "Alchemy" the most. But Mark Knopfler is never disappointing, whether as solo artist, with "the Notting Hillbillies", with Dire Straits, as a composer of film music or for other artists or as a producer (e.g. for Aztec Camera).
Sting wasn't recording, he was on holiday surfing on Montserrat where Dire Straits was doing their initial recording of Money for Nothing and was invited into the studio. Mark Knopfler mentions this during the Music for Montserrat concert before introducing Sting onto the stage.
I know nothing about guitars and I've never even touched one so I didn't really understand anything that was said, but I just wanted to say that Mark Knopfler has always been my absolute favourite guitarist. Technically I have no idea why he is, but the way he makes it sound seems to be like no-one else.
I’m a big Dire Straits fan, but for a while, the singles from Brothers In Arms got so much radio play (it really was huge in the UK), that I actually got sick of hearing Money For Nothing, Walk Of Life and so on, and tended to listen to the earlier material, which is superb. Later in life, I bought Brothers In Arms on CD, and rediscovered it. What a great, great album! Some of the synth sounds are of the era, and date a couple of tracks, but the sheer quality of the songwriting, playing and production shines through. An essential album!
Same for me, I bought BIA on vinyl when it came out, but the commercial stuff was played everywhere. Communique, was the album I returned to most, and the guitaring on the intro of Communique always blows me away
When I heard "when I hear this, I'm immediately transported to being in the back of my dad's truck" I was struck because that's my exact first memory of this song too. I was so blown away when that opening riff first cut through, I remember it well.
I love watching musicians appreciate music from other artists. As a thoroughly amateur player, it’s inspiring to see you all be as amazed by beautiful parts as I am.
for many musicians, the better we get the more reverence we have for the legends. from what i've seen this is especially true of funk and jazz players, probably cuz the whole culture has deeply wrapped up in it all an emphasis on paying one's dues by studying greats and learning standards. my perspective as a rock player, anyway.
I went (reluctantly) to a Dire Straits concert in Adelaide, South Australia in the 80's. Didn't think much of them, having just heard them on the radio. But LIVE, OMG!!! I've never felt music go through my body, literally, before or since. Knopfler standing there doing amazing stuff while looking the other way. Never have I seen and heard anything like it since. IMO, it has to be played loud to the fully appreciated.
Was that the concert at Football Park that saw 55,000 people turnout in little old Adelaide for a rock concert? I queued all day, and was 5 metres from the stage dead centre. The best concert I've ever seen, Knopfler's guitar work was just a marvel, and the musicality of the songs was a journey of emotion. A unique experience.
I went to see Dire Staits in Adelaide, I think it was 1982/3. I already loved Dire Straits, but their live concert blew me away. I forevermore wanted to listen to their live long play jam stuff after that. I still liked their studio stuff, but this was one band who was seriously better live & so tight. A group of incredible musicians all playing so well together. It was so memorable that I often watch their live stuff even over 40 years later on Blu-ray or DVD to take me back. And it does every time. Luckily, I have a 3-room zoned Bose Lifestyle music system so when I am listening, so are the neighbours. So far, no complaints. They just do not make music like this anymore. x
He was in a tv and electrical store and some of the staff were commenting on a band performing on the MTV on the stores tv screens. He was in a London bar and there was a mediocre band playing, the singer referred to the band as the sultans of swing, and he used how they looked etc for the Alchemy song. Sting and Mark are from the same city in the north east of England and that is why their voices blend.
MK is in my top two favorite guitarists with the other being Derek Trucks. I heard MK once on an interview when asked about his unique guitar sound he said, "I do it all wrong, I would be an instructor's worst nightmare!". Also his call and response that makes great music better is incredible!
@@itakatz6592 for some reason I thought you meant he sings the lyrics but I literally just figured out you were referring to the melodic pattern of the line 🤦🏽♂️ but now that I get it I can't stop hearing it, awesome pick up mate!!
I spent *hours* shedding that guitar part. Knopfler plays with such feel, nuance, and sophistication that it's difficult to sound like him even when the part is "easy".
This was the first CD I ever listened to. My dads friend was a weird audiophile guy with 4 half built pianos in his lounge room. He gave me a set if headphones and said listen to this while I talk to you dad. Was totally blown away by the audio quality vs cheap cassette tapes I was used to. I think Brothers in Arms was pretty much the first CD everyone bought when they bought their new player.
Kfir Ochaion does a pretty solid job on it. Also Paul Davids when he explains why everyone plays this riff wrong. It's rare finding someone who can play this like Mark does it.
@@pianoekket Paul Davids does a pretty good job, but he doesn't get that Knopfler is playing a backbeat with his middle finger. He gets pretty close, though, especially with the sound.
Regarding the intro, it’s also worth mentioning Sting singing “I want my MTV” over and over again. MTV was a new network, and only available via cable, not over the air; this slogan was in all their advertising. I imagine that the fact that Dire Straits using MTV’s slogan in the song was a factor in it getting played on MTV, and becoming as big of a hit as it was. Great video! Thanks!
I recall reading the reason Sting played on the record was because he said to them, "that sounds like 'Don't Stand so Close to Me!'" and Mark was a little embarrassed he didn't catch that when he wrote it, so he asked him to play on it.
@@badkarmabaroo Actually, Mark said in an interview that he had the idea to use the "Don't Stand" melody, and he envisioned Sting singing the part. When Dire Straits was in the studio, Mark said to his bandmates that he wished Sting were there to sing the melody, and a bandmate told him Sting was coincidentally vacationing where they were recording, so they invited him to come sing, and he accepted. Every account I've read from Mark or Sting shows there was no drama, just mutual respect and good times.
Sting grew up in the Newcastle area, same as Mark (after his family move from Glasgow when he was 7). There's only a couple of years difference in their age so I imagine they have a lot of similar experiences. Sting got a co-writing credit for the use of his melody too. I did hear that he didn't think much of the song initially and didn't think it would be a hit, but it must have made him quite a lot of money over the years.
The guirar tone was achieved also by the unique microphone positioning in the recording space. That's a great story in itself, especially for us audio engineers 🙂
@@ElDami That inspired a teammate and me to do that in one of my studio recording classes in college. We didn't get the awesome tones that came through on "Money for Nothing," but it's still fun to experiment!
There’s another story about it that’s to do with the Synth part. They’d worked for ages on the synths during the intro/drum section and Knopfler wasn’t liking it. One night Guy Fletcher on Keys and Neil Dorfsman the producer stayed late working on getting the synth part perfect. When they played it back to Knopfler the next morning he just ripped that guitar solo in one take as they’d hit the missing ingredient
In John Illsley's book, he mentions that the amp mike was just hanging downwards before setting it up properly. Mark was playing the riff as a practice and the guy in the control room realized how good it sounded, so he shout to Neil Dorfsman not to touch the mike, just leave it alone, that's hte perfect sound. Accoring to John, there had been not many tweaking of the sound happening afterwards. Beautiful story!
Brothers in Arms was an amazing album, and amount of skill Knopfler has at finger picking is insane. And on Money For Nothing Mark was trying to do a riff on ZZ Tops sound, and created an anthem against popular churned out music on MTV and it itself won MTV's 1986 song of the year and won many awards for best music video. Insane.
Thank you, guys, this was totally awesome! Knopfler is my favorite guitar God since my teenage times. And it was also a revelation how to play the Money for nothing riff! 😊
What I think is cool with Dire Straits is how they went at the top of the charts with a genre that was way out at the time. And to be able to do that your music has to be something really special which time now shows seeing how people appreciate Mark Knopfler or Dire Straits even today. And I gotta say Mark Knopfler will never be out of fashion so to speak no matter what music he writes or what type of music that is on the charts. Sure he don't sell millions of albums anymore but the biggest take is you never get tired of his music.
Knopfler is also the reason I got into guitar, and it was so frustrating as a new player to try to learn his technique. Nearly 16 years later, I can play this riff O.K. - you do a really good job here. I always love to hear other musicians, songwriters, and producers talk about Knopfler, he really is a genius and among the best to pick up the instrument
There is kind of a lineage of British guitar players that one could see as starting with Richard Thompson and continues through early Mark Knopfler, reaching the Wave Pictures' David Tattersall in the present. Each with a different style and pulling in quite varied influences, but sharing a certain DNA in a way
I used to own and operate a CD store...almost a one man show because it was a seasonal place and just a 30% margin of profit business. I quickly learned that I could learn so much from my customers because they were experts covering so much catalogue and artists. While many came in looking for advice and service from me, I was the one in a fantastic learning position. And one day a guy named John came into the store and happened to tell me about Marvin Gaye's HERE MY DEAR. "Oh! It's a great album! You should listen you should listen to it," he said. So I did...and then proceeded to sell it to all the Marvin Gaye fans of the world. There are SO MANY groovy songs that are marvelously produced...there isn't a weak song on the album. Marvin at the pinnacle of his vocal powers. Fun for me to hear it highlighted here.
Mark and the band were recording the “Brothers In Arms” Album on the island of Montserrat in 1984. While recording “Money For Nothing” Mark got the idea to get Sting to sing on the song. Coincidentally, Sting was on holiday on the island. They called him and Sting got in the studio and did his part
One of the main reasons Sting was brought in to sing on the ‘I want my MTV’ part was that it was his melody to begin with, namely the verse melody from Don’t Stand So Close To Me.
Knopfler is a master of lyrics and storytelling. There are multiple interviews with MK where he explains that he was in an applience store in NY which had a wall of TV’s playing MTV. One guy working there hauling goods around was looking at the TVs and was commenting about having to work hard and was saying all these classic lines which MK wrote down right there and the. From the labourers perspective the musicians on MTV were not working and simply getting all the money, chicks jets etc for free! MK says in one interview this guy’s perception could not be further from the truth! MK got a lot of flak for what the character is saying in the song- particularly the bit “ that little F*** got his own het airplane”. He is on record as saying its not him personally saying this but rather the character in the song. The Sting part is integral to colouring in the whole backdrop story of MTV-all the ‘I want my MTV’ ads looping over and over at the time. Having Sting at Monserrat at the time was a happy coincidence and I am convinced that MK would not have used that melody line if Sting did not approve and was not able to sing on it. Masterful song, masterful guitar, masterful lyrics and storytelling. Listen to All other MK’s songs they are all telling stories. That thread stayed the same and even improved during his solo career Some tracks that come to mind are: Ragpickers Dream; postcards to Paraguay, Sailing to Phillidelphia, Monteleone; dont crash the ambulance, So far from the Clyde just to name a few
This is so wonderful... These guys so love the stuff Sting and Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits are doing in "Money for Nothing"... It really brings tears of happiness to my eyes.
Because he gets to play on 100s or thousands of albums instead of 6 or 7. You Know how many songs & albums he's been a part of that have win Grammys? Same for Tom Bukovac. Id take that over touring any day.
Great to see the elements of the riff broken down and it makes so much more sense now! I look forward to these videos more than just about any other drops on RUclips. ☮❤🎶
In the 80s the story was Mark called Billy Gibbons and asked how he got his tone, the signature ZZT sound. Gibbons would not reveal any secrets. Consequently, Mark was left to his own devices and came up with the sound we now know and love. As for the lyrics Mark was in an appliance store in New York and overheard the conversation he used for the lyrics.
Knopfler is just astonishing. I’m fortunate my mum and dad had Dire Straits on all the time when I was a kid. First time I saw him live in 2001 I was 19 and actually went with my mum. As the lights went down and the band launched into “Calling Elvis” she leant over and said “you’ve been waiting for this moment since you were five haven’t you?”. I’ve seen him multiple times and took my daughter to see him on his ‘19 Tour where Money for Nothing was in the set for the first time in years. On that tour it was extra special as they did the full drum intro which was EPIC
You can find the exact story behind this song in the documentary "Under the Volcano" about George Martin's AIR Studio in Montserrat. Sting was there on vacation after recording with the Police and agreed to do the vocal with no concept that it could become a hit single because it seemed so silly. Great documentary btw with the Stones, Police, Duran Duran, Elton John, and Dire Straits.
Yes, some great music was made in Air studios. So sad it was buried when the volcano erupted and George Martin had to move the studio back to London. Dire Straits and Sting both played at the Music for Montserrat concert to help raise funds for the Islanders who had lost everything.
This riff almost seems like a gift from heaven, it has literally only been played once ever, the fact that mark himself couldn’t even recreate is insane.
His Orchestration of the music is top notch and then there is his story telling ability . He was a lecturer at university before DS . And has 3 Doctorates .
I remember Mark Knopfler saying in an interview that he called Billy Gibbons asking him how he got his tone. Billy did not reveal his gear so Mark had to work it out on his own. When this song came out Billy told him you came real close. (Tried to find the actual interview to no avail, hope my memory served me on this)
Omg so happy you showed up in my recommendation. Half thru this and I gave tell you how much I appreciate the conversation. You guys are laid back when talking technical. 😁😁😁
Dead Wax, YOU GUYS make me happy. This episode in particular ALREADY, makes me happy. And I had to pause the video to comment lol. Sting and Mark Knopfler are huge influences to me. And I mean c'mon guys, Mark and Sting, total dynamic duo musically
Factoid: A defective batch of recording tape at AIR Studios resulted in the loss of part or all of three album tracks, leading to follow-up sessions being recorded at the Power Station in New York during early 1985[10] (including the addition of a Jack Sonni guitar synthesizer part to 'The Man's Too Strong'). During this time, overdubs were recorded with further New York musicians including Michael and Randy Brecker, Mike Mainieri (who'd previously contributed vibraphone to Love Over Gold) and Jimmy Maelen, plus trumpeter Dave Plews and Average White Band saxophonist Malcolm Duncan. When Illsey sprained his wrist in a roller-skating accident, several prominent New York studio bassists were hired to record or re-record several basslines on the record (Tony Levin performing on 'One World',[10] with contributions elsewhere from Saturday Night Live house band bassist Neil Jason).
That was THE BEST lesson for that song. This is the first time I’ve seen the middle finger thing. I knew I was missing something. Thanks a million. And, that riff (that album) was just lightning captured.
I thought there was Billy Gibbons story here (i.e. Knopfler trying to capture his tone, and Gibbons refusing to help). There’s also something unique in the placement of the mic in relation to the amp. I just gets deeper and deeper.
You guys should watch Brian Johnsons (ac/dc) interview with knopfler...its one of the best interviews about influence and technique I've ever seen...there are excerpts on RUclips I think...brian is such a great interviewer...its like two friends talking...
He didn’t get the story of the song and collaboration right. Mark Knopfler was is an electrical goods store in NYC. All the TVs were showing MTV, and it was the conversation about the musicians between the two guys who worked there. As for the collaboration with Sting, they were recording it at Air Studios in Montserrat. Knopfler imagined the line “I want my MTV”, to the tune of ‘Don’t Stand so Close to Me’ as he’d seen The Police do it for an MTV promotion. He mentioned it to the engineer, who told him Sting was on vacation on the island. The rest is I guess history.
2 года назад+1
I marvel at humility of Ryan. Also, you should make something out of this outro. Pretty cool.
The Brothers in Arms album was recorded on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. The band joked that it would be cool if Sting could sing that intro, because it was essentially done to the melody of "Don't stand so close to me" by The Police, and someone at the studio said that Sting happened to be on the island, windsurfing. They sent someone to find him and the rest is history.
I was fortunate to see Mark in concert back in 2015. He's old, can't play the fast licks like he used to, but the tones he created, OMG Pure heaven from 6 strings
I remember learning it because my crush at the time wanted to hear me play it. The main riff is surprisingly complex to play; I'm really glad I'm not the only one
Another thing about Sting's part is that the line "I want my MTV" had been a major ad campaign a few years earlier because people had to call their cable company and ask for the network to be added to their package in order to see it in many cities. He recorded a commercial for them with the Police, as did many other popular musicians of the day.
You can hear how Knopfler had a strong bluegrass/country backbone already on Brothers in Arms. The Walk of Life backbeat rhythm was a big precursor to the heavily infused On Every Street album where the country vibes are even more prominent. And that probably goes hand in hand with the Neck And Neck album he did with Chet Atkins the year before. Poor Boy Blues uses an almost identical guitar backbeat rhythm to Walk of Life. I think Mark wanted to get away from all the noise that came in the 80s and you can see where he went with his projects after On Every Street. Albeit, I simply adore all the good stuff they did from 77 to 92 - it's such a vast spectre of great musical landscape. Not one song feels out of place or wrong - brilliant songwriting from A to Z*. And lastly: Less is more - the mantra of Knopfler's solo playing (except perhaps Sultans of Swing which takes off with fast runs)... but the second solo on Brothers in Arms - it get's my eyes watery every time! Epic timeless gold! (* Ok, maybe not that odd dance band single they did in 1983 or something, what was that all about? :P )
I'm actually going to go see Julianna Riolino tonight! Great recommendation. To take one step back from Mason's recommendation, if anyone hasn't gone down the rabbit hole that is Daniel Romano's body of work, it is absolutely worth your time. I think he put out almost 20 records (!) in 2020.
Mark was in a store that sold mainly appliances and overhead some guys talking about what they were seeing on MTV. And Dire Straits and Sting were in Montserrat when Sting spontaneously came up with the vocal intro.
Just wonderful! I don't know half of what you're talking ( I failed the kazoo) about but your love for guitar and expertise (plus great playing) is really fun to listen to
This is a phenomenal breakdown. I had no idea Knopfler was into bluegrass. I grew up around bluegrass as my folks had a band and even cut a couple albums. I love the music and have had kids and workmates make fun of me, but they don't understand how closely related it is to some of the best rock out there. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers also loved bluegrass and classic country. I think they had some collaborations with Herb Pederson or someone like that. They were also huge Byrds fans and the Byrds had loads of bluegrass connections from Jim McGuinn to Chris Hillman to Gram Parsons to Clarence White.
Sting was on holiday on Montserrat while Dire Straits were reecording Brothers In Arms at Air Studios on the island, and MArk knew this, so he invited him in to sing on Money For Nothing. That's how Mark tells it on the rock concert for "Music for Montserrat" where they raised money to rebuild what had been destroyed by the volcano on the island. Alot of people recorded in the same studio too, Clapton, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Buffet, Phil Collins, etc.
Great episode! Sick demonstration of how Knopfler incorporated banjo playing techniques to come up with an iconic guitar part. PS - Ryan: Jeff Parker (guitarist for Tortoise amongst many others) covered Marvin Gaye's "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You?" on a 2005 album The Relatives. It's a really nice instrumental, jazz cover of the song you've been listening to lately :) It would be cool if you were able to get JP on an episode!
Dire straits were in the studio and mark said to the band members i wish Sting was here i have a part for him to sing, The band members said, He is here on the Island, He is here on holiday. So they got in contact with string. He did his vocals. While there Sting told Mark you have done it again what an epic song.
I'm not a musician at all and know nothing about instruments but my ears oblige me to only love and dance on quality ... And Dire Strait is part of my playlist!
I love the guys gathered around Mason watching him play the riff. It is just the same as some junior high guys when one of them figures out how to play Enter Sandman.
Neil Dorfsman the producer on money for nothing said it was a les Paul Jr. but Mark Knopfler said it was his Les Paul 59 reissue made in the 70’s but Knopfler also had 2 Les Paul specials that Dorfsman might have confused with the Junior. So there still is some confusion on which guitar it was
I remember when this came out there was a lot of talk about the riff ripping on Jumpin Jack Flash! Funny how the years have changed things... Awesome mes amigos! Salutations from astonishingly sunny and weirdly normal Ireland! ☘☮🤘🏽🤠👍🏽☮☘
Another fascinating episode and discussion. I saw Dire Straits live (minus Sting) and I played this album over and over on my dad's big speakers. Mark Knopfler is brilliant and Mason is wonderful. PS. I also love Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau!
I always loved that intro, and to me, the song carries an intensity that justifies it. The intro, to me, brought to mind a big factory machine. I imagined this guy turning on the lights, all the subsystems, culminating in a giant electric motor spinning up, followed immediately by the main riff, representing the big parts finally moving. Thematically, it went well with the working class lyrics and the mention of various machines.
So he wrote a song about how easy his job is and made the song so difficult nobody can play it, nice!
there's irony in one simple post!!!
Boss move right there!
I mean, the point of the song is that it's not actually an easy job.
Just about everything Knopfler played in Dire Straits is impossible to replicate. There’s a reason why there are very few people covering Knopfler on You Tube. No shortage of people covering Jimmy Page, Gilmour etc but not many covering Knopfler. It’s just too hard to get the nuances right. Knopfler is simply phenomenal.
Everything I play is impossible to replicate... and that aplies to everybody. That's not what makes Knopfler great
Mark tries to play each song differently anyway just to keep things interesting. Luckily he had a band that could keep up.
Just watched a bunch of people try the money for nothing riff... not even close
I don't agree with you, I've seen a lot of players trying to replicate Knopfler and doing it very well.
In my case, Knopfler was the reason why I bought a guitar, and I think I do very well too! Knopfler has a very distinctive way to play and if you ever have played a guitar, I think it's very easy to learn to play in Knopfler's style because he's not excessively fast or difficult to hear. You only have to keep some patterns in your playing to sound like Knopfler.
@@BigDaddyAlvrz na mate let's see it
"He's why I do", is a throwaway, but it's everything.
There's so much respect in those few words.
Knopfler is unreal, the intro of lady writer is one of my favourite licks ever, and the solo is another level
I remember hearing Lady Writer for the first time on the radio, and despite never having heard the song I knew it was Mark on the first lick of that intro!
Communique is an incredibly overlooked album.
It's all easy. So easy.
When d’you think you’re goin’? Don’t you know it’s dark outside.
TRUE!!! LADY WRITER IS A MARK FLEX
Nobody mentioned that Brothers In Arms being the first rock album recorded digitally? Mark Knopfler is incredible.
Tutto quello che LUI fa è incredibile.❤
@@simonettamilani3567 portugués? Yo hablo español y entiendo portugués un poco.
And the 1st CD to sell a million.
Dire Straits was such a gift to humanity. They made the most amazing, emotional, story driven, transport-you-somewhere-else, leave-you-gobsmacked-by-the-endless-beauty-sadness- brilliance-strife-love- music ever!
saving this comment and reading it everyday; couldn’t have put it better myself
The whole "Brothers in Arms" is such an amazing album. It is such an amazing contrast to the 80's shred guitar so prevalent at the time. The title track is also an iconic tone. You can hear that the guitar is cranked to get that tone but then he so delicacy uses it in the song to embellish the almost whispered vocals he's singing. It is such a demonstration of control and restraint. This is one of these albums that you can't unhear as a musician. Some of it will unexpectedly slip into your psyche. .
Right - the whole 2nd half of the record, Knopfler's "treatise on the Vietnam war" blows away Money for Nothin and the rest of the 1st half.
Theres a fantastic cover of brothers in arms by a guy called yoni Schlesinger, for B&G guitars. Worth a listen 👂
@@thejazzsack5804 I think it's about the Falkland war.
I actually love the Dire Straits albums "Love over Gold", "Making Movies" and "Communiqué" and of course "Alchemy" the most. But Mark Knopfler is never disappointing, whether as solo artist, with "the Notting Hillbillies", with Dire Straits, as a composer of film music or for other artists or as a producer (e.g. for Aztec Camera).
@@hueffel987 I can't wait to research it. Thanks for the heads-up!
The guitar playing by Mark Knofler in Sultans of Swing Alchemy version live is a total one off. Absolute genius
Sting wasn't recording, he was on holiday surfing on Montserrat where Dire Straits was doing their initial recording of Money for Nothing and was invited into the studio. Mark Knopfler mentions this during the Music for Montserrat concert before introducing Sting onto the stage.
That's how I remember hearing it too.
There are quite a few details in this video that they have got wrong, but they sound convincing enough to viewers that aren't familiar with this band
@@nathanchampionmusic I seem to remember hearing Knofler say he was playing a Les Paul standard too, not a Jr.
Why OF COURSE Sting was surfing on Montserrat! 🤣
Windsurfing
Let’s not forget Sting is singing the melody of his own song Don’t Stand So Close to Me in that intro. Which is the most amazing crossover.
Damn, how I had never realised that before??
It’s extremely similar, It’s a tiny little bit different though
“Synchronicity 2” is credited. Not “dont stand so close to me”. Rick Beato also made a video on this.
I cant believe they didn't mention this, i was about to make a similar comment to yours. Reason sting has a writting credit
Wow, I've known both songs since they were released, and never noticed that about Sting's line. Thanks for hipping me! :D
As a nonpicker guitarist.. It’s so soothing to see another good guitarist nailing it down
I know nothing about guitars and I've never even touched one so I didn't really understand anything that was said, but I just wanted to say that Mark Knopfler has always been my absolute favourite guitarist. Technically I have no idea why he is, but the way he makes it sound seems to be like no-one else.
Lol i have the same thnking.
He taught himself off Les Paul recordings.
I’m a big Dire Straits fan, but for a while, the singles from Brothers In Arms got so much radio play (it really was huge in the UK), that I actually got sick of hearing Money For Nothing, Walk Of Life and so on, and tended to listen to the earlier material, which is superb. Later in life, I bought Brothers In Arms on CD, and rediscovered it. What a great, great album! Some of the synth sounds are of the era, and date a couple of tracks, but the sheer quality of the songwriting, playing and production shines through. An essential album!
Yeah I felt exactly the same. Still follow his solo career which is so different but just as great
Same for me, I bought BIA on vinyl when it came out, but the commercial stuff was played everywhere. Communique, was the album I returned to most, and the guitaring on the intro of Communique always blows me away
Hey, I'm late, but you might want to check out MKs On The Night live album; Paul Franklin on pedal steel gives Walk Of Life a whole new iteration.
His solo work is incredible. You hear it the first time and think "yeah thats pretty good", then after the 3rd listen your obsessed
I once heard a country band cover "Walk of Life" it was actually released as a single.
When I heard "when I hear this, I'm immediately transported to being in the back of my dad's truck" I was struck because that's my exact first memory of this song too. I was so blown away when that opening riff first cut through, I remember it well.
Mark Knopfler is one of my guitar heroes, his style of play and the way he uses his fingers in playing electric guitar has inspired me so much.
I love watching musicians appreciate music from other artists. As a thoroughly amateur player, it’s inspiring to see you all be as amazed by beautiful parts as I am.
for many musicians, the better we get the more reverence we have for the legends. from what i've seen this is especially true of funk and jazz players, probably cuz the whole culture has deeply wrapped up in it all an emphasis on paying one's dues by studying greats and learning standards. my perspective as a rock player, anyway.
I went (reluctantly) to a Dire Straits concert in Adelaide, South Australia in the 80's. Didn't think much of them, having just heard them on the radio. But LIVE, OMG!!! I've never felt music go through my body, literally, before or since. Knopfler standing there doing amazing stuff while looking the other way. Never have I seen and heard anything like it since. IMO, it has to be played loud to the fully appreciated.
Radalaide represent!✊🏿🤘
Yeah man, you have to check out this live version. Crazy: ruclips.net/video/8Pa9x9fZBtY/видео.html&ab_channel=DireStraitsVEVO
Was that the concert at Football Park that saw 55,000 people turnout in little old Adelaide for a rock concert? I queued all day, and was 5 metres from the stage dead centre. The best concert I've ever seen, Knopfler's guitar work was just a marvel, and the musicality of the songs was a journey of emotion. A unique experience.
ruclips.net/video/21rGiHnu7L4/видео.htmlsi=zJCMq34qAsLIeB8Y
I went to see Dire Staits in Adelaide, I think it was 1982/3. I already loved Dire Straits, but their live concert blew me away. I forevermore wanted to listen to their live long play jam stuff after that. I still liked their studio stuff, but this was one band who was seriously better live & so tight. A group of incredible musicians all playing so well together. It was so memorable that I often watch their live stuff even over 40 years later on Blu-ray or DVD to take me back. And it does every time. Luckily, I have a 3-room zoned Bose Lifestyle music system so when I am listening, so are the neighbours. So far, no complaints. They just do not make music like this anymore. x
He was in a tv and electrical store and some of the staff were commenting on a band performing on the MTV on the stores tv screens. He was in a London bar and there was a mediocre band playing, the singer referred to the band as the sultans of swing, and he used how they looked etc for the Alchemy song.
Sting and Mark are from the same city in the north east of England and that is why their voices blend.
The lyrics of Tunnel of Love, Telegraph Road, Brothers In Arms, Romeo and Juliet; etc. etc. are phenomenal!!!
Yes! A supreme songwriter as well as celebrated guitarist.. Some of his lyrics could stand alone as pure poetry.
Absolutely love your channel guys. Thank you for introducing us to Mason. I thnk he is now one of my favorite guitar players!
the breakdown of this iconic riff is so impressive! thanks alot for it!
MK is in my top two favorite guitarists with the other being Derek Trucks. I heard MK once on an interview when asked about his unique guitar sound he said, "I do it all wrong, I would be an instructor's worst nightmare!". Also his call and response that makes great music better is incredible!
I love how Sting quotes his own melody in the opening ("Young teacher, the subject of school girl fantasy"..)
In 40 years and countless listens, I have never realised that!
Great catch! He quoted himself more than once.
Im not complaining about the several listens that it's taken me searching for it but why can't I find it??
@@benlobo3821 I am not sure what do you mean. What can't you find?
@@itakatz6592 for some reason I thought you meant he sings the lyrics but I literally just figured out you were referring to the melodic pattern of the line 🤦🏽♂️ but now that I get it I can't stop hearing it, awesome pick up mate!!
I spent *hours* shedding that guitar part. Knopfler plays with such feel, nuance, and sophistication that it's difficult to sound like him even when the part is "easy".
This was the first CD I ever listened to. My dads friend was a weird audiophile guy with 4 half built pianos in his lounge room. He gave me a set if headphones and said listen to this while I talk to you dad. Was totally blown away by the audio quality vs cheap cassette tapes I was used to. I think Brothers in Arms was pretty much the first CD everyone bought when they bought their new player.
His outro solo on "Are We In Trouble Now" is the most gorgeous guitar work I've ever heard in my life.
Yes! Brilliantly understated but such an emotional solo. One of my favourites.
The outro for brothers in arms at the mandela concert is also up there, as clean as it gets
Kudos to Mason, this is the closest I've ever heard anyone play that riff
Check this guy, so far I think this is one of the best I have seen so far ruclips.net/video/SmAX_GoXizs/видео.html
Kfir Ochaion does a pretty solid job on it. Also Paul Davids when he explains why everyone plays this riff wrong. It's rare finding someone who can play this like Mark does it.
@@pianoekket Paul Davids does a pretty good job, but he doesn't get that Knopfler is playing a backbeat with his middle finger. He gets pretty close, though, especially with the sound.
@@leung9401 yeah, there is a video where Mark explains how he plays it :)
If you can hear the whole thing playing over the CEO of Patreon babbling.
Regarding the intro, it’s also worth mentioning Sting singing “I want my MTV” over and over again. MTV was a new network, and only available via cable, not over the air; this slogan was in all their advertising. I imagine that the fact that Dire Straits using MTV’s slogan in the song was a factor in it getting played on MTV, and becoming as big of a hit as it was. Great video! Thanks!
I recall reading the reason Sting played on the record was because he said to them, "that sounds like 'Don't Stand so Close to Me!'" and Mark was a little embarrassed he didn't catch that when he wrote it, so he asked him to play on it.
@@badkarmabaroo Actually, Mark said in an interview that he had the idea to use the "Don't Stand" melody, and he envisioned Sting singing the part. When Dire Straits was in the studio, Mark said to his bandmates that he wished Sting were there to sing the melody, and a bandmate told him Sting was coincidentally vacationing where they were recording, so they invited him to come sing, and he accepted.
Every account I've read from Mark or Sting shows there was no drama, just mutual respect and good times.
@@BassByTheBay ah, thanks
Sting grew up in the Newcastle area, same as Mark (after his family move from Glasgow when he was 7). There's only a couple of years difference in their age so I imagine they have a lot of similar experiences. Sting got a co-writing credit for the use of his melody too. I did hear that he didn't think much of the song initially and didn't think it would be a hit, but it must have made him quite a lot of money over the years.
@@jjc5407 I think all the money went to Virgin Records.
This is your best episode. Loved it! Smiling and laughing the whole time at the improbability of it all (and also how incredible the guitar part is)
The guirar tone was achieved also by the unique microphone positioning in the recording space. That's a great story in itself, especially for us audio engineers 🙂
Yeah! Random micing! They forgot but musicians where so happy with the tone... this whole song is absolutely nuts
@@ElDami That inspired a teammate and me to do that in one of my studio recording classes in college. We didn't get the awesome tones that came through on "Money for Nothing," but it's still fun to experiment!
There’s another story about it that’s to do with the Synth part. They’d worked for ages on the synths during the intro/drum section and Knopfler wasn’t liking it. One night Guy Fletcher on Keys and Neil Dorfsman the producer stayed late working on getting the synth part perfect. When they played it back to Knopfler the next morning he just ripped that guitar solo in one take as they’d hit the missing ingredient
@@timjones9727 Awesome!
In John Illsley's book, he mentions that the amp mike was just hanging downwards before setting it up properly. Mark was playing the riff as a practice and the guy in the control room realized how good it sounded, so he shout to Neil Dorfsman not to touch the mike, just leave it alone, that's hte perfect sound. Accoring to John, there had been not many tweaking of the sound happening afterwards. Beautiful story!
Brothers in Arms was an amazing album, and amount of skill Knopfler has at finger picking is insane. And on Money For Nothing Mark was trying to do a riff on ZZ Tops sound, and created an anthem against popular churned out music on MTV and it itself won MTV's 1986 song of the year and won many awards for best music video. Insane.
Wow that was brilliant, great to see someone demonstrate how he did what he did and great to see someone who can play the same way.
Thank you, guys, this was totally awesome! Knopfler is my favorite guitar God since my teenage times. And it was also a revelation how to play the Money for nothing riff! 😊
What I think is cool with Dire Straits is how they went at the top of the charts with a genre that was way out at the time. And to be able to do that your music has to be something really special which time now shows seeing how people appreciate Mark Knopfler or Dire Straits even today. And I gotta say Mark Knopfler will never be out of fashion so to speak no matter what music he writes or what type of music that is on the charts. Sure he don't sell millions of albums anymore but the biggest take is you never get tired of his music.
Knopfler is also the reason I got into guitar, and it was so frustrating as a new player to try to learn his technique. Nearly 16 years later, I can play this riff O.K. - you do a really good job here. I always love to hear other musicians, songwriters, and producers talk about Knopfler, he really is a genius and among the best to pick up the instrument
There is kind of a lineage of British guitar players that one could see as starting with Richard Thompson and continues through early Mark Knopfler, reaching the Wave Pictures' David Tattersall in the present. Each with a different style and pulling in quite varied influences, but sharing a certain DNA in a way
Saw Dire Straits in concert doing this song, fucking blew 17000 people out of their everlovin minds.
I used to own and operate a CD store...almost a one man show because it was a seasonal place and just a 30% margin of profit business. I quickly learned that I could learn so much from my customers because they were experts covering so much catalogue and artists. While many came in looking for advice and service from me, I was the one in a fantastic learning position. And one day a guy named John came into the store and happened to tell me about Marvin Gaye's HERE MY DEAR.
"Oh! It's a great album! You should listen you should listen to it," he said. So I did...and then proceeded to sell it to all the Marvin Gaye fans of the world. There are SO MANY groovy songs that are marvelously produced...there isn't a weak song on the album. Marvin at the pinnacle of his vocal powers.
Fun for me to hear it highlighted here.
Loved this video.. absolutely brilliant conversation between three great guys and obvious Mark Knopfler admirers.. thanks for this.
Mark and the band were recording the “Brothers In Arms” Album on the island of Montserrat in 1984.
While recording “Money For Nothing” Mark got the idea to get Sting to sing on the song.
Coincidentally, Sting was on holiday on the island. They called him and Sting got in the studio and did his part
Thank you, Mason, for explaining how Mark got some of his unique sounds! ❤
One of the main reasons Sting was brought in to sing on the ‘I want my MTV’ part was that it was his melody to begin with, namely the verse melody from Don’t Stand So Close To Me.
Knopfler is a master of lyrics and storytelling. There are multiple interviews with MK where he explains that he was in an applience store in NY which had a wall of TV’s playing MTV. One guy working there hauling goods around was looking at the TVs and was commenting about having to work hard and was saying all these classic lines which MK wrote down right there and the. From the labourers perspective the musicians on MTV were not working and simply getting all the money, chicks jets etc for free! MK says in one interview this guy’s perception could not be further from the truth!
MK got a lot of flak for what the character is saying in the song- particularly the bit “ that little F*** got his own het airplane”. He is on record as saying its not him personally saying this but rather the character in the song. The Sting part is integral to colouring in the whole backdrop story of MTV-all the ‘I want my MTV’ ads looping over and over at the time.
Having Sting at Monserrat at the time was a happy coincidence and I am convinced that MK would not have used that melody line if Sting did not approve and was not able to sing on it.
Masterful song, masterful guitar, masterful lyrics and storytelling.
Listen to All other MK’s songs they are all telling stories. That thread stayed the same and even improved during his solo career
Some tracks that come to mind are: Ragpickers Dream; postcards to Paraguay, Sailing to Phillidelphia, Monteleone; dont crash the ambulance, So far from the Clyde just to name a few
knopfler and j.beck, masters of tone ... thx 4 this
This is so wonderful... These guys so love the stuff Sting and Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits are doing in "Money for Nothing"... It really brings tears of happiness to my eyes.
Why does Mason Stoops not have his own band? and go TOURING ?!?
i would go anywhere and pay just about anything to see this guy play. super talented!
Because he gets to play on 100s or thousands of albums instead of 6 or 7. You Know how many songs & albums he's been a part of that have win Grammys? Same for Tom Bukovac.
Id take that over touring any day.
Great to see the elements of the riff broken down and it makes so much more sense now! I look forward to these videos more than just about any other drops on RUclips. ☮❤🎶
In the 80s the story was Mark called Billy Gibbons and asked how he got his tone, the signature ZZT sound. Gibbons would not reveal any secrets. Consequently, Mark was left to his own devices and came up with the sound we now know and love. As for the lyrics Mark was in an appliance store in New York and overheard the conversation he used for the lyrics.
Knopfler is just astonishing. I’m fortunate my mum and dad had Dire Straits on all the time when I was a kid. First time I saw him live in 2001 I was 19 and actually went with my mum. As the lights went down and the band launched into “Calling Elvis” she leant over and said “you’ve been waiting for this moment since you were five haven’t you?”. I’ve seen him multiple times and took my daughter to see him on his ‘19 Tour where Money for Nothing was in the set for the first time in years. On that tour it was extra special as they did the full drum intro which was EPIC
You can find the exact story behind this song in the documentary "Under the Volcano" about George Martin's AIR Studio in Montserrat. Sting was there on vacation after recording with the Police and agreed to do the vocal with no concept that it could become a hit single because it seemed so silly. Great documentary btw with the Stones, Police, Duran Duran, Elton John, and Dire Straits.
Yes, some great music was made in Air studios. So sad it was buried when the volcano erupted and George Martin had to move the studio back to London. Dire Straits and Sting both played at the Music for Montserrat concert to help raise funds for the Islanders who had lost everything.
This riff almost seems like a gift from heaven, it has literally only been played once ever, the fact that mark himself couldn’t even recreate is insane.
His Orchestration of the music is top notch and then there is his story telling ability .
He was a lecturer at university before DS . And has 3 Doctorates .
I remember Mark Knopfler saying in an interview that he called Billy Gibbons asking him how he got his tone. Billy did not reveal his gear so Mark had to work it out on his own. When this song came out Billy told him you came real close. (Tried to find the actual interview to no avail, hope my memory served me on this)
Yeah exactly heard he wanted that typical ZZ-TOP sound for MfN..
Believe he found it by keeping the wah at one position, (amongst other, probably)
Omg so happy you showed up in my recommendation. Half thru this and I gave tell you how much I appreciate the conversation. You guys are laid back when talking technical. 😁😁😁
Dead Wax, YOU GUYS make me happy. This episode in particular ALREADY, makes me happy. And I had to pause the video to comment lol. Sting and Mark Knopfler are huge influences to me. And I mean c'mon guys, Mark and Sting, total dynamic duo musically
I have always described the opening guitar as one of the best openings of all time in any rock song
I agree, but to me, it’s the drumming that leads into the guitar that makes it the best intro of all time!
Factoid: A defective batch of recording tape at AIR Studios resulted in the loss of part or all of three album tracks, leading to follow-up sessions being recorded at the Power Station in New York during early 1985[10] (including the addition of a Jack Sonni guitar synthesizer part to 'The Man's Too Strong'). During this time, overdubs were recorded with further New York musicians including Michael and Randy Brecker, Mike Mainieri (who'd previously contributed vibraphone to Love Over Gold) and Jimmy Maelen, plus trumpeter Dave Plews and Average White Band saxophonist Malcolm Duncan. When Illsey sprained his wrist in a roller-skating accident, several prominent New York studio bassists were hired to record or re-record several basslines on the record (Tony Levin performing on 'One World',[10] with contributions elsewhere from Saturday Night Live house band bassist Neil Jason).
That was THE BEST lesson for that song. This is the first time I’ve seen the middle finger thing. I knew I was missing something. Thanks a million. And, that riff (that album) was just lightning captured.
I thought there was Billy Gibbons story here (i.e. Knopfler trying to capture his tone, and Gibbons refusing to help). There’s also something unique in the placement of the mic in relation to the amp. I just gets deeper and deeper.
So glad I stumbled onto the channel. Thanks guys!!!
You guys should watch Brian Johnsons (ac/dc) interview with knopfler...its one of the best interviews about influence and technique I've ever seen...there are excerpts on RUclips I think...brian is such a great interviewer...its like two friends talking...
Mason played that better than anyone I’ve ever seen try to play! That was fucking cool as all heck
Mason and I shared the same childhood experience with Knopfler and our dads, I love hearing that someone else grew up with that influence.
Awesome video... thanks guys... mind blowing
He didn’t get the story of the song and collaboration right. Mark Knopfler was is an electrical goods store in NYC. All the TVs were showing MTV, and it was the conversation about the musicians between the two guys who worked there.
As for the collaboration with Sting, they were recording it at Air Studios in Montserrat. Knopfler imagined the line “I want my MTV”, to the tune of ‘Don’t Stand so Close to Me’ as he’d seen The Police do it for an MTV promotion. He mentioned it to the engineer, who told him Sting was on vacation on the island. The rest is I guess history.
I marvel at humility of Ryan. Also, you should make something out of this outro. Pretty cool.
The Brothers in Arms album was recorded on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. The band joked that it would be cool if Sting could sing that intro, because it was essentially done to the melody of "Don't stand so close to me" by The Police, and someone at the studio said that Sting happened to be on the island, windsurfing. They sent someone to find him and the rest is history.
7:12 Mason nails it.
I was fortunate to see Mark in concert back in 2015. He's old, can't play the fast licks like he used to, but the tones he created, OMG Pure heaven from 6 strings
Thank you so much for this. Wonderful to hear modern appreciation for knopfler and his art. There are so many wonderful artists to choose from.
Stunning! Mason Stoops, please make youtube videos!
I remember learning it because my crush at the time wanted to hear me play it. The main riff is surprisingly complex to play; I'm really glad I'm not the only one
Another thing about Sting's part is that the line "I want my MTV" had been a major ad campaign a few years earlier because people had to call their cable company and ask for the network to be added to their package in order to see it in many cities. He recorded a commercial for them with the Police, as did many other popular musicians of the day.
Don’t forget that Mark and Sting both grew up in the same area of England, at about the same time.
Yep, near Newcastle, both having similar memories of watching large ships come in and the wharves....
You can hear how Knopfler had a strong bluegrass/country backbone already on Brothers in Arms. The Walk of Life backbeat rhythm was a big precursor to the heavily infused On Every Street album where the country vibes are even more prominent. And that probably goes hand in hand with the Neck And Neck album he did with Chet Atkins the year before. Poor Boy Blues uses an almost identical guitar backbeat rhythm to Walk of Life.
I think Mark wanted to get away from all the noise that came in the 80s and you can see where he went with his projects after On Every Street. Albeit, I simply adore all the good stuff they did from 77 to 92 - it's such a vast spectre of great musical landscape. Not one song feels out of place or wrong - brilliant songwriting from A to Z*. And lastly: Less is more - the mantra of Knopfler's solo playing (except perhaps Sultans of Swing which takes off with fast runs)... but the second solo on Brothers in Arms - it get's my eyes watery every time! Epic timeless gold!
(* Ok, maybe not that odd dance band single they did in 1983 or something, what was that all about? :P )
I'm actually going to go see Julianna Riolino tonight! Great recommendation. To take one step back from Mason's recommendation, if anyone hasn't gone down the rabbit hole that is Daniel Romano's body of work, it is absolutely worth your time. I think he put out almost 20 records (!) in 2020.
Mark was in a store that sold mainly appliances and overhead some guys talking about what they were seeing on MTV. And Dire Straits and Sting were in Montserrat when Sting spontaneously came up with the vocal intro.
Just wonderful! I don't know half of what you're talking ( I failed the kazoo) about but your love for guitar and expertise (plus great playing) is really fun to listen to
Keep working on that kazoo 😊
This is a phenomenal breakdown. I had no idea Knopfler was into bluegrass. I grew up around bluegrass as my folks had a band and even cut a couple albums. I love the music and have had kids and workmates make fun of me, but they don't understand how closely related it is to some of the best rock out there. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers also loved bluegrass and classic country. I think they had some collaborations with Herb Pederson or someone like that. They were also huge Byrds fans and the Byrds had loads of bluegrass connections from Jim McGuinn to Chris Hillman to Gram Parsons to Clarence White.
Sting was on holiday on Montserrat while Dire Straits were reecording Brothers In Arms at Air Studios on the island, and MArk knew this, so he invited him in to sing on Money For Nothing. That's how Mark tells it on the rock concert for "Music for Montserrat" where they raised money to rebuild what had been destroyed by the volcano on the island. Alot of people recorded in the same studio too, Clapton, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Buffet, Phil Collins, etc.
Great episode! Sick demonstration of how Knopfler incorporated banjo playing techniques to come up with an iconic guitar part.
PS - Ryan: Jeff Parker (guitarist for Tortoise amongst many others) covered Marvin Gaye's "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You?" on a 2005 album The Relatives. It's a really nice instrumental, jazz cover of the song you've been listening to lately :) It would be cool if you were able to get JP on an episode!
Dire straits were in the studio and mark said to the band members i wish Sting was here i have a part for him to sing, The band members said, He is here on the Island, He is here on holiday. So they got in contact with string. He did his vocals. While there Sting told Mark you have done it again what an epic song.
I'm not a musician at all and know nothing about instruments but my ears oblige me to only love and dance on quality ... And Dire Strait is part of my playlist!
I love the guys gathered around Mason watching him play the riff. It is just the same as some junior high guys when one of them figures out how to play Enter Sandman.
What a dream to play like this.
I relate to the childlike wonder around music
I'm so happy I got to see Dire Straits in Barcelona on their final tour!
Neil Dorfsman the producer on money for nothing said it was a les Paul Jr. but Mark Knopfler said it was his Les Paul 59 reissue made in the 70’s but Knopfler also had 2 Les Paul specials that Dorfsman might have confused with the Junior. So there still is some confusion on which guitar it was
It was also a Lainey amp
Such a great hang -- don't know how I haven't come across these yet. Would love to join for an ep sometime.
Glad you brought up ‘Here, My Dear’. This is one of the greatest albums of Gaye, and surely the most soulful.
I remember when this came out there was a lot of talk about the riff ripping on Jumpin Jack Flash! Funny how the years have changed things...
Awesome mes amigos! Salutations from astonishingly sunny and weirdly normal Ireland! ☘☮🤘🏽🤠👍🏽☮☘
5:55 "I don't embarrass myself on COLOR TV" - you missed that one, Ryan ;-D
That opening riff is like fine wine. It literally sounds better in 2023. Also STINGS contribution is absolutely essential.
Another fascinating episode and discussion. I saw Dire Straits live (minus Sting) and I played this album over and over on my dad's big speakers. Mark Knopfler is brilliant and Mason is wonderful. PS. I also love Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau!
The Live Aid version has a really cool little guitar break that I wish was on the studio version.
I always loved that intro, and to me, the song carries an intensity that justifies it. The intro, to me, brought to mind a big factory machine. I imagined this guy turning on the lights, all the subsystems, culminating in a giant electric motor spinning up, followed immediately by the main riff, representing the big parts finally moving. Thematically, it went well with the working class lyrics and the mention of various machines.
When I was a kid we had an old Seeburg USC1 "Musical Bandshell" jukebox in our den... Money for Nothing sounded SO good on it. Great episode!
"Making one note sound like a whole story..." What a great way to put it. I immediately thought of David Gilmour.
You know you're a legend when you got Sting singing background vocals on your song.
And if you missed that sign, Eric Clapton playing rhythm guitar for you should clue you in
I pretty clearly recall Mark saying it was a normal LP with humbuckers set in the middle position, not a Junior
One of the guitarist I play with also never uses a pic and is a huge knopfler fan!