I've Never Heard Dire Straits... Until Today. Vocal ANALYSIS of "Sultans of Swing"

Feel Good AND Do Good with Bombas, knowing your purchase is doing some real good. New customers get 20% off their first purchase, just go to bombas.com/cha... and use code Charismatic20 at checkout.
Yup. I thought "Sultans of Swing" was going to be jazz, and was surprised to hear Dire Straits is just straight up rock. And how catchy it was! How do I dance to this?
Join professional opera singer Elizabeth Zharoff, as she listens to Dire Straits for the first time, performing "Sultans of Swing”.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Written and Performed by Dire Straits
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Both links!
Full album version: • Sultans of Swing
Shortened Music Video: • Dire Straits - Sultans...
Show Dire Straits some love: / @direstraitsofficial
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WE HAVE MERCH! Check-out the full line-up here: thecharismatic...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
🎧 Elizabeth’s favorite headphones 🎧 : imp.i114863.ne...
Music Gear Questions? 🎤 See my list of recommendations: imp.i114863.ne...
WANT MY CHAIR? I don’t blame you…and here’s a link to make it even sweeter:
secretlab.co/?...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
🎙️Podcast: thecharismatic...
🌐Website: thecharismatic...
📸Instagram: / thecharismaticvoice
🧑‍🤝‍🧑Patreon: / thecharismaticvoice
📺Twitch: / thecharismaticvoice
📰Our FREE Newsletter: manage.kmail-l...
-------------------------------------COURSES------------------------------------------
🎵MUSIC APPRECIATION COURSE🎵
Want to understand how to listen to and appreciate music more? My Music Appreciation course is now live. Take a look at thecharismatic...
🎶DEMYSTIFYING SINGING🎶
My intensive 7-week course on vocal foundations includes weekly group sessions and private lessons. Learn more at thecharismaticv....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Zharoff is an international opera singer and voice coach, with 3 degrees in voice, opera, and music production. She's performed in 18 languages throughout major venues in Europe, America, and Asia. Currently based somewhere between Los Angeles and Tucson, Arizona, Elizabeth spends her days researching voice, singing, teaching, writing music, and recording TONS. She also plays Diablo and Dungeons & Dragons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have a sister channel: THE SINGING HOLE. Join us there to examine how ordinary creatures create extraordinary sounds. / @thesinginghole
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#direstraits #Reaction #TheCharismaticVoice
-------------

[@TheCharismaticVoice]

Feel Good AND Do Good with Bombas, knowing your purchase is doing some real good. New customers get 20% off their first purchase, just go to bombas.com/charismatic and use code Charismatic20 at checkout.

[@Andy_from_de]

I opened the page to look at what that's supposed to be and was greeted with a popup that they don't ship outside USA.

[@YouLoseSir]

His voice/story style reminds me of a mid to late 70s Bob Dylan, on that note should check out 'Lily RoseMary & the Jack of Hearts' or 'The Ballad of Frankie Lee & Judas Priest' by Dylan, the later was the inspiration for Judas Priest's band name

[@titntin5178]

They don't ship outside USA - no point in this advert for the bulk of your audience....

[@PatriciaSobralArtz]

Do "Brothers in Arms," you're going to love it!

[@allengator1914]

Bombas, the pay twice as much for a pair of socks and they'll donate the 2nd pair you actually paid for to charity and then they'll take the tax deduction on top of that too, sock company.

[@Skepticallous]

Mark Knopfler tells the story, and his guitar sings the song

[@lawrencecassidy1229]

Well said,

[@Glaaki13]

she knows but youtube pays to be obtuse

[@Yyz1971]

Oooh, that's good. I like that!

[@TheBrandoncarter]

Fun fact: Mark Knopfler wrote the music for the movie The Princess Bride.

[@robmcgrath5202]

Very well said

[@johnwoodworth9127]

“Mark Knopfler has an extraordinary ability to make a Schecter Custom Stratocaster hoot and sing like angels on a Saturday night, exhausted from being good all week and needing a stiff drink.” ― Douglas Adams, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

[@aussiebloke609]

Accurate - and so very D.A. 👍

[@ericzeichert511]

I am always here for a Douglas Adams reference.

[@geo1962]

Douglas Adams also had some fascinating things to say about the Beatles - very insightful, and personal.

[@johnqsmartypants]

@@geo1962”I vaguely remember my schooldays. They were what was going on in the background while I was trying to listen to the Beatles.” ~ Douglas Adams

[@pfeilchen]

Douglas Adams once stated that "Telegraph Road" was the song, he thought about when he wrote that.

[@avi8r66]

Dire straits - brothers in arms will blow you away

[@MrRabiddogg]

I'm surprised she didn't do Brothers as the first one.

[@jonathancapps1103]

I've seen a few live performances on YT. It would be cool if she analyzed on of them.

[@andrewh2640]

BTW: Mark, the singer and guitarist is considered to be of the top five guitarists on the planet. Too bad your enjoyment of music is being suppressed by your clinical analysis. Try to just listen and enjoy Romeo and Juliet, Brothers in Arms, Money ain’t for nothing, etc. If you want the best live version of Sultans, find it with him performing wearing a red jacket. You might want to take the time to watch and listen to the 1985 Aids Live concert with some great performances by Dire Straits, Queen, etc. But listen to songs in totality before breaking them apart every 8 bars. And enjoy the fact that our years on earth allow us to listen and re-listen to every song ever performed and recorded. This is a wonderful time to be alive! ❤️🇺🇸

[@thomaspapi8391]

For sure Brother in arm and calling Elvis is the top of direstrait songs

[@avi8r66]

@@andrewh2640 Who are you talking to? I said nothing negative about this song or Dire Straits or Mark? I agree, he is a terrific guitar player.

[@adamguillen1816]

I discovered your page today and felt compelled to share how profoundly your comment resonated with me. As a 53-year-old man with a lifelong passion for singing, I recently started playing the guitar five years ago. Despite attempting to sing while playing, a traumatic childhood experience involving negative feedback from friends continues to affect me 40 years later. Your words brought me to tears.

[@fleetskipper1810]

☹️ Negative comments can be so powerful, especially when we are young. My daughter had a similar experience-her idolized drama teacher told her she wasn’t good enough to sing a particular part. She may have been fine for it, or not, but he picked a favorite student over her. She was too young to see what was going on, and although I tried to explain it to her, it devastated her confidence to the point where she dropped musical drama entirely and never tried out for a part again. With a single carelessly cruel comment, this teacher ruined her ability to even try doing what she loved because she was convinced she wasn’t good enough. The Oracle had spoken.

[@thebilldozer7970]

Sing in the shower and any time you feel like it. You will naturally get better if your having fun.

[@davidcollins897]

Dire Straits' Alchemy Live performance is one of the greatest live performances in the history of rock music. Every. Single. Song. It's on par with Pink Floyd's Pulse concert. Another thing, Alchemy Live is one of the earliest digitally recorded concerts ever, thanks to Mark's foresight to realize the value it brought to the table. Zero quality degradation over time ensures you can still hear it today, in all of it's pristine greatness. It genuinely is like being there. It truly is one of the most important live recordings ever.

[@profyaffel6398]

Wow ... OK. I'll go listen.

[@eckendrick]

THIS

[@allanmanaged5285]

The Alchemy Live version of Sultans of Swing is even better than this one.

[@phild6193]

100% ☝️

[@vadimboris3820]

I wander, why she's miss pick that one

[@AdamMPick]

The band is playing Dixieland, while the narrator comes in from the London rain. He describes the people in band and in the audience. It was a real band playing in Deptford that Knopfler saw in an almost empty pub playing and found it hillarious when they said they were the "Sultans of Swing" at the end. They were super far removed from the glamour of sultans. Working men playing their music and not caring that the audience did not care for them. Music in the purest form.

[@drazium2147]

Apparently the George and Harry mentioned Harry Vanda and George Young, formerly of the Australian band “The Easybeats”. George is the older brother of Malcom and Angus of AC/DC.

[@jazluvr99]

Great back story. Explains a lot. Kind of like where he got the idea for Money For Nothing. He overheard a conversation between a couple of clueless refrigerator movers in a staff lounge commenting on the musicians in an MTV video that happened to be on TV at the time.

[@brettbaxter7882]

Had this on 45 way back when, and it was obvious to me and my friends that this was a dude that was baked and walked into a bar where the Sultans were playing and sat back and "people watched" and made up back stories for the band members and the audience. We may have also been baked, but that's another story. Glad that our theory is plausible.

[@georgik1963]

@@brettbaxter7882 The most plausible I've heard so far! 😊

[@allenhuling598]

Remember too that one of Mark's first jobs was as a newspaper reporter, so the scene makes even more sense when you can picture him reporting on what he's seeing play out! Mark is my favorite lyricist ever....incredible writing!!

[@davebooth5847]

That "call and response" between Mark and his guitar is a total trademark of his - his empathy with the instrument in his hands is truly legendary and he's a phenomenal lyricist. He doesn't "sing" or "play guitar" - he performs a duet with his guitar.

[@edithrobertson3127]

I love that - "call and response" - it's absolutely perfect because that is EXACTLY what happens.

[@gmb858]

Another song that has a clear "call and response" is L.A. Woman by the Doors.

[@feegureeetout]

I'm glad I read this first. He truly does perform a duet with his guitar.

[@danl.4743]

Very well said.

[@paulgodward4262]

This is brilliant insight, and is so accurate

[@DEPARTMENTOFREDUNDANCYDEPT]

There is no more delightful person to watch enjoying music new to her than Elizabeth Zharoff.

[@stephenheusz3236]

With Dire Straits, it’s never about the singing, it’s all about the guitar. Mark Knopfler is a genius.

[@0okamino]

Yeah, Mark Knopfler does have a very cool voice, just right for the style, but it’s really about that finger-pickin’ goodness on the guitar.

[@Gadzinisko]

And he makes it look so effortless.

[@ybr0n]

Prince had taste !

[@seltonk5136]

It's in perfect service to a song about working musicians. It shouldn't sound like Pavarotti for the everly Brothers

[@rich1051414]

Dire straits' vocals are just backup vocals for the guitar. The guitar is the lead singer. Very few bands like that, at least mainstream ones.

[@MinionofNobody]

Sultans of Swing is a great song because it tells a story about one band in one bar but at the same time it tells the story of thousands of bands playing in thousands of bars and clubs across the world.

[@caskstrength7629]

That’s where it starts.😊🥃🎸🎙️

[@seanweatherford1251]

Indeed.

[@erickent3557]

Funnily enough for me, I never cared what the words were. The song is equally great because of each guitar lick, and I couldn't wait to hear each one every time it came on the radio, waiting for the final culmination at the end...

[@claremiller9979]

It's true of all the best songs, lyrically, in my opinion - the more specific it is, the more generally people can relate to it. A weird contradiction but I believe a true one.

[@kavimontanaro7976]

Also about the guy walking alone to the bar, to hear that band. He's there for the music, and that feeling that he can't get elsewhere.

[@TheCharismaticVoice]

All: I did NOT do the Alchemy live version of this. I did the studio version, alongside a live "studio" version so I could see Mark Knopfler singing. We chose studio versions so I could get the very first experience with Dire Straits as they were recorded. Possibly a live version next!

[@richardgoddard37]

The studio version is great, but the Alchemy Live version takes it to a whole new level...

[@scottNNJ]

The Alchemy version is amazing, but moreso from the instrumental perspective. As a vocal analysis, the studio version is fine.

[@mpmlopes]

When you watch the live version make sure you're not watching the one that cuts out the final solo.

[@HiFiListener]

I think, to start with the studio version isn't a bad idea. Mark Knopfler isn't the greates vocalist anyhow, but his storytelling fits to their songs and his guitar playing is virtuoso. I hope you didn't use the official video, because the final guitar solo is faded out earlier than the studio audio does. Greetings by the HiFi Listener from europe.

[@metalmark1214]

@@TheCharismaticVoice Thank you for the explanation Elizabeth.

[@ezo4]

I find it extremely fascinating that you're discovering this music now. It's so much fun watching you. 🙂

[@jrtcloud9]

I so agree. I'm of the age i grew up with much of this music. I love seeing people being g introduced to music before everything became digital and easy.

[@EiraAimo]

No matter how s*** you feel, after watching this lady heartfully giggling to musical details you can't help smiling. Your enthusiasm and joy is so infectious, authentic and sparkling . It captivates you to somewhere else. Pure ray of sunshine. Everybody needs spirit animal like you, world would be much better place.

[@TooOldToCare-kl3co]

Not too shabby on the optic nerve either.

[@GarthKlaus]

She's delightful and joyful. I've seen her Phil Collins, In the Air Tonight video dozens of times. Her amazement at the drum drop is precious.

[@RS-xo7rd]

Knowledgeable and incredibly feminie; lucky bearded husband.

[@hadji828]

She reminds me of a good friend of mine, both physically (especially in the eyes) and with the attitude about music; I'm almost convinced that they are long lost sisters.

[@jimcharlton7262]

Amen to that!

[@mattbrandt9796]

"The voice tells the story and the guitar brings the emotion." - Such an unbelievably great description of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler.

[@scottm.9335]

Came here to say this exact thing! Very insightful observation from her.

[@VeteransAcrossAmeric]

Damn. OK. I'm 69 years old. I've produced and arranged music for 50 years. I've seen a whole lot. But watching you actually makes me freakin' giggle. You have a childlike fascination with Knopfler's guitar work one second and the next you're explaining and educating us on some arcane strain of staccato opera! Just amazing. Again, makes me giggle... very embarrassing 😉 Keep Doing You!

[@cyatic]

Their "Live at Alchemy" performance of this song is legendary! You could analyze it, but just a listen is totally awesome! It's just spectacular and probably the best live performance ever!

[@RussellWarshay]

Romeo & Juliet has got to be a follow up. “When you can fall for chains of silver…”

[@johnoglesby-vw7ck]

I was looking for someone to mention "Making Movies" album. Still on my playlist, even if not their best. R&J still touches my heart, lyrically, with every lisen.

[@titntin5178]

Please god not the god awful video - robs it of any soul...

[@barky5]

The live version from "On the Night" specifically.

[@johncrafton8319]

Please do yourself a favor and try "Brothers in Arms". You don't need to do a breakdown or even a react video. Instead, turn down the lights, throw on your best headphones, grab the studio version, close your eyes, and listen. Don't stop. Don't analyze until after. Just listen through the whole song. Maybe with your family, if you want. Don't even read the lyrics first or research about it first. Just sit and listen. You won't regret it.

[@AcmeRacing]

@@johnoglesby-vw7ck Skateaway comes right after it, and I'd like her to hear both. It's about a girl in headphones lost in the music! How perfect.

[@steveminla]

This is one of the songs that if it's on the radio and I arrive to my destination, I'll stay in the car to finish it.

[@ricardolopes4572]

Me too, and loud as hell!

[@iplaybadguys1457]

Heck yeah!

[@gavinholt5428]

And scream at the radio if they dare cut a note !!!!

[@7tuben]

I heard this song for the first time as I started my car, and I was not able to put it in gear until it finished....

[@ronaldsabourin8835]

You have to get to the guitar solo at the end. It always gave me goosebumps.

[@dwaynepenner2788]

No one has been able to define the sound of Sultans of Swing. It's some magical mix of swing, soul, blues, jazz, rock, country and who knows what else. It's a call and response song, and Mark is letting "the guitar wail and sing". He is really enjoying what he is doing and is so relaxed despite showing his technical excellence playing.

[@PSA78]

I believe he said that at least his guitar technique came from folk. 🎸🙂

[@SmokingCats]

^^^^^^^this!

[@Fostext]

There’s some flamenco influence in the song as well.

[@Dave-ms3ri]

It’s more or less talking blues, though he does incorporate much more tonality than someone like Arlo Guthrie as he tells the story.

[@bjornlangoren3002]

It is not an influence of genres that made his style. He is left handed, but playing right handed, so his strongest hand controls the fret board. Could play vibrato on multiple notes at same time. And also he didn't have an amp, as they were poor. And learned how to make the sound bigger. He found that he could play better with the thumb and 2 fingers than using a pick. So his style is surely unique, self taught, and not likely to get copied anytime soon.

[@francislavoratti7946]

Mark plays it all... the outro included... surely one of the greatest of all time

[@BRBafteraword]

“He says something and the guitar has an emotional reaction to it” Brilliant!

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Did you see her swoon when he sang "creole, Baby"?

[@mitchellbaxter6314]

When this song hit the radio in 1978, no one had heard anything like it before. It was a real "wow" moment.

[@robertsonsid]

My brother told me you have to hear this song!

[@fatimaemiko7073]

TRUE !

[@nickflaherty9532]

You're right. It's easy to forget that....

[@kevmitchell9747]

I first heard this on the radio when I was 15 and went straight down to the record store the next day and ordered a copy (still have it). You're right, it was like nothing I'd heard before and it's so uplifting to hear somebody else's reaction, having never heard it before and put a different perspective on why it sounds so good.

[@noldo3837]

@@kevmitchell9747 Exactly, have also discovered it when 15, which was in the 1990's, because before that there was communism in here. I was a kid of Depeche Mode, Erasure, new wave, synthpop, those things.. and once my friends dad has given him this cassette to take for our school trip.. and I do remember going next his cottage while this was playing - and exactly - "Wait a moment..."

[@Agent_Foxtrot]

Elizabeth, if you weren't a musician and teacher, you would have been an incredible therapist. Your compassion, empathy, and ability to verbalize feeling are so strong within you. I adore watching you react to music. Signed, a therapist

[@MikeHere]

Preciate all your work. Many songs I love, the guitar is the voice. Sometimes lyrics and a singer’s voice are just a loose guide and a great voice could cause imbalances in certain songs in my opinion. Wabi Sabi, enjoying the imperfections. Mark plays without a pick and with that you get more feeling and different tactile goings on as he uses his nails for harder tones and more skin on his fingers for the softer stuff. His guitar playing on this this track reminds me of Roy Buchanan playing Sweet Dreams at Austin City Limits. Thanks again for the vids 🤘😎

[@mattdill881]

It’s hard to describe to people that don’t play guitar how good mark is… Dude could make it cry and sing.

[@bobcannell9007]

He is a guitar players, player.

[@terryhand]

And really unique too.

[@MrDmalet]

He has such a unique picking style. Trying to get a good emulation of Knopfler's sound is super difficult.

[@Saber_Rattler]

Especially singing while doing it.

[@bjlewis5431]

Not at all, mate.. I never learned guitar, and I've always loved Dire Straits & Mark's awesome artistry.. And I've done plenty of crying, laughing & singing to his/their works over my many years.. I'm 'aware' enough of how special & unique his playing is, and that I don't get that "in too many other places"..this I assure you, many of us 'musical aethiests' still quite instinctly & intuitively know the truth of this too. I grew up as a kid of the 80's..this man's sounds & skills..was a big part of my life, and that of the rest of our family & neighbours.. Most Aussies know it, mate. He tells the story, his guitar sings the songs. Cheers!

[@MsFrizzle2113]

You’ve never heard of Guitar George?? But he knows ALL the chords!!!

[@garygersbach3617]

He is George Young from the Australian band The Easybeats, also "Harry"" who doesnt mind if he doesnt make the scene - Harry Vanda (also in the Easybeats)

[@Droppedpocket-987]

Thanks for the giggle!! I comment on George knowing ALL the chords every time I hear this song 😂😂😂

[@johannesreichart4227]

@@garygersbach3617 actually Guitar George was the owner of a german Guitarstore, wher they used to buy guitars .. thats the story I heard

[@chrisevans1255]

But most crucially: it's strictly rhythm he doesn't want to make it cry or sing

[@marcusott5054]

@@chrisevans1255 That's a pity. I don't even give a damn, about any trumpet playing band. It ain't what I call Rock'n Roll.

[@jonathancapps1103]

"I love the finesse that I hear...." Few guitarists even approach Knopfler's finesse. Such a rare and subtle skill.

[@curtiselder6644]

I really enjoy your professional/emotional interpretation of the songs you hear. I love this song even more now, and I didn't think that was possible. Thank you!

[@faketheo3432]

"Money for nothing" has hands down one of the greatest riffs in rock ever.

[@randallwright1973]

And Sting!

[@BLUEYENKO]

She really should do this one.

[@cerleywood]

And the best thing about Money for nothing is that’s it’s not politically correct.

[@lunixcaptain]

​@@cerleywoodread your comment and think about how dumb it is, then delete it.

[@scottiiiejames]

Gotta agree with you there

[@saillaw2]

Mark Knopfler is a living legend. One of the best guitarist, song writers, and vocalist alive, and maybe the only person who is simultaneously at or near the top of all three of those lists.

[@Syncop8rNZ]

I'm not sure about being one of the best vocalists. I mean he's OK....

[@aabsurdity8817]

@@Syncop8rNZ He's no opera singer but, Romeo and Juliet? Telegraph Road? Sailing To Philadelphia? My Parties? Brothers in Arms? He's very much a master, even if it's a class of one.

[@caskstrength7629]

@@Syncop8rNZHe has his OWN style.

[@Dr_KAP]

@@Syncop8rNZagree

[@tonyg1958]

@@Syncop8rNZ From a technical perspective Mark may not be one of the greatest vocalists, but his voice has a way of drawing you into the song that few others can match.

[@viperion_nz]

I honestly have no idea how you've been around music for so long and not run into Dire Straits...that's mind boggling

[@nebojsaovuka5220]

Same thought... Where has she been ? This song is on radio every now and than for decades

[@josefernandez4423]

I've been hearing the instrumental inside malls for decades now up to this day. literally heard it last week when I went grocery shopping lol. I whistle to its tune every time I hear it.

[@optionselleck2860]

Because she, like all the other reaction based KZbinrs, 90% of the time are pretending not to have heard these songs before to get the clicks.

[@Fwuedwikk]

@@optionselleck2860 Is it really that hard to imagine that other people have had a different musical experience than you?

[@redgamer821]

Simple, she's lying

[@barkermjb]

Great review. If I was only allowed to listen to one song for the rest of my life, this might just be it. I still remember when I was a kid and this song came on the radio. Instant love. I listen to it still to this day, decades later….

[@thomasnovak9119]

Brothers in arms = Elizabeth's mind blown. One day you'll return to, your valleys and your farms, and you'll no longer burn to be brothers in arms.

[@jthomann71]

Yes, but the live Nelson Mandela concert version. That's the undisputed best.

[@jaimeburnap]

@@jthomann71 You mean the guy that put gasoline filled tires over peoples heads and then lit them on fire?

[@Matt-zt7rd]

@@jaimeburnap It was his wife Winnie who actively promoted this practice, not Mandela himself.

[@jthomann71]

@@jaimeburnap Wait till you hear what the allies did to collaborators in WWII. Gonna blow your mind.

[@peebeedee6757]

@@jthomann71 Guess you haven't seen Berlin 2007.

[@briankuczynski4375]

"Telegraph Road" from the Alchemy tour should be next. One of those masterpieces, both instrumentality and in storytelling. One of the best performances of all time.

[@paulandsusanmoore79]

I second this or third or forth. LOL. one of their best IMHO

[@BananaDave89]

I third this motion!

[@jiiaga5017]

Back in college in the 00's, one of my history professors started out every class with the lights off and Telegraph Road playing. It set such a vibe.

[@mooniejohnson]

Telegraph Road was what made me buy a Strat and also sit for probably 12 hours a day to learn everything.

[@timwasson1115]

I played Telegraph Road for my 25 year old son, and at the end, all he had to say was '....that poor guy, ...that poor road....'

[@gilmadreth680]

Fun Fact: When Weird Al asked for permission to make his "Beverly Hillbillies" parody of "Money for Nothing" Mark Knopfler agreed on the condition that he "be allowed" play the guitar. As far as I know he rejected any monetary compensation for his time spent in the recording booth or time on set for the music video.

[@jasondoe2596]

That's so cool! He was ready to give his baby to another artist, but he didn't want it mistreated :')

[@thx3188]

@@jasondoe2596he actually said he respected Weird Al so much that he wanted to play with him

[@Diana2112Gaming]

Similar story with him doing the soundtrack for Princess Bride, part of the deal was a certain baseball cap be on the set. He's a cool dude.

[@Stonemunkki]

You should have a listen to Brothers in Arms. It's beautiful.

[@Diana2112Gaming]

@@Stonemunkki that is is. One of his best. So is Tunnel of Love, but in a different kind of way (but I relate to it on a more personal level💜)

[@kiwiandyt123]

What a treat to watch you hearing this for the first time! It’s been on my all time favorites list since basically as long as I can remember knowing any music at all. The joy and wonder doesn’t fall off (well it hasn’t for me at least) but it’s lovely to be reminded of that feeling of discovering something truly surprising - thank you!

[@cbip8259]

Brothers in Arms will make you cry the first time you hear it. A must listen for you!

[@ricohard1986]

Brothers in Arms will make you cry Every time you hear it.

[@trollied]

It has 188 million views on KZbin for a reason.

[@shannonalaminski2619]

The first time? I'm a vet. My whole family going back a couple generations are or were vets. There ain't a one of us that can listen to Brothers in Arms without tearing up.

[@peope1976]

That is such a beautiful song.

[@MrBwright72]

Add Local Hero to the list of their songs that will do that....

[@robabraham4620]

Knoffler wrote the song inspired after stumbling across a swing band playing a pub in London. The band playing were indeed called The Sultans of Swing.

[@Person-cv9dj]

*Knopfler

[@catinthehat906]

There's been lots of research by various people trying the establish the pub and the date to see if they can trace the original 'Sultans'- unfortunately Knopfler could never recall sufficient details.

[@jerrybarry562]

He found it ironic cause the Sultans of Swing were pretty hapless and clearly were not sultans of anything. 😀

[@tmage23]

Apparently they were pretty bad but the guy on the microphone had a ton of confidence and that amused Knopfler enough to write a song about it.

[@saillaw2]

I'd love to know who the original "Guitar George" was, I mean wow! Dude knew all the chords!

[@vagabond142]

6:59 Mark Knopfler is one of the very very very few that can ask Eric Clapton to step in to play rhythm guitar and Eric will drop everything and say "ok." Mark is simple one of the single greatest rock guitar players that has ever existed. Not just in the modern era, I'm talking EVER.

[@hplovec]

I was lucky enough to see Clapton play rhythm guitar for Dire Straits at a concert in 1985. Clapton (who I had seen the week before at the same venue) had a week off before heading to Japan. And so he joined for the entire set playing under a pseudonym. You can find the show here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/boSXoaiZg910mMk

[@PeterWhite-q1k]

You made this brilliant point before I could so, "chef's kiss" to you. Brilliantly stated!

[@InspectorVol]

Take the most well known and popular guitarist in the rock world in the last 50 years…..Mark is their favorite player.

[@markgarber3465]

Funny enough. Saw EC in the lates 80’s and Knopfler was his “rhythm guitar player”

[@kjlovescoffee]

Don't forget Sting on backing vocals (Money For Nothing).

[@davidjenson4512]

It's always interesting to watch reactions to Mark Knofler by people who have never heard him. Even though they get some things wrong, they manage to dig up new perspectives. You did great. You ferreted out his Country influences very well.

[@joshuaanderson7405]

Mark Knopfler is one of the most gifted guitarists the world has seen - his tone (in part because he is a finger picker) is second to none.

[@gchoquette299]

He is also left handed but plays right handed. I believe that allows him to do things on the neck that makes his music and style so unique.

[@magicmulder]

My favorite guitarist alongside Carlos Santana. I’m a sucker for relaxed perfection. I was never a Hendrix guy, and yeah Randy Rhoads is a beast, too.

[@NPC-fl3gq]

Finger picking allows him to go from warm to jangly to twangy at will. He's a master.

[@celt67]

​@@gchoquette299 there's another 'guitar wizard' who is left handed but plays right.....but for the life of me, I can't remember who it was. 🫣

[@isuckatguitar6252]

They're Blues Rock. One of the first bands I ever saw in concert. 1991? Glasgow, Scotland. He's super famous for his guitar playing...he always thought he wasn't a good vocalist, he just had to do it because no one else in the band would, but I think his vocals were perfect for their material which was very working class & bluesy rock.

[@matthewpohlman]

Mark Knofler wrote & played the score of "The Princess Bride".

[@T-bone1950]

He had a lot to do with the score to "Local Hero", a really fun but little known film.

[@davepasnthru]

@@T-bone1950 Local Hero is outstanding!

[@melindamullen6335]

and a couple of other movies too, not that I've seen it but Cal comes to mind.

[@fredrikhumlehagen9903]

He also wrote and performed the music in “Wag the Dog” with Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman. 😊

[@timothybruggeman9332]

@@T-bone1950 that instrumental song, "Going Home" from Local Hero, got me through a difficult 6-month period in my life. Living, temporarily in a place where I didn't want to be.

[@petersaundersuk]

I've watched loads of different reaction videos to this track in the last few days and this is BY FAR my favourite of all of them! I remember Dire Straits from my early teens and have listened to them many, many times over the years since then, but watching you enjoying it so much while also adding so much wonderful analysis of why it's so good has given me a whole new appreciation for Dire Straits and added to my enjoyment of their music. I loved your description of how the vocal/guitar 'duet' is actually Mark Knopfler having a 'conversation' with his guitar! But more than anything, I particularly loved to see your obvious delight at what you were hearing, especially at 14:00 when it looks like you almost wanted to 'taste' the music because you wanted MORE and what you were seeing and hearing wasn't enough! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

[@BaronVonNapalm]

As much praise as Mark Knopfler gets... he's STILL underrated.

[@VonDutch68]

Not by me ! First time I heard Mark, I thought ' here is a guitar slinger for the ages!'

[@user-kj3ch3ke8m]

Oh come on... 😆 He's renowned as one of the greatest guitarists in the history of rock and roll. Sought out by no less than Bob Dylan for his album, Slow Train Coming, in the 1980s. Equally famous for his brilliant lyrics, writer of famous movie scores (have you heard the theme from Local Hero), one of the great melody-makers of late 20th-century popular music.

[@Kallum]

He is defnitely not underrated lol

[@DavidStephenson-p8w]

Knopler is an accolyte of Chet Atkins. Loved it when they got to play together.

[@ericthemauve]

What a silly comment. I suppose you also think that Elvis was underrated?

[@ChrisandNigel]

As an explanation for any non-Brits, we used to have time limited licencing laws for pubs and bars. So, to allow customers to buy one more drink, about five minutes before the time they had to shut the bar, a bell was rung with the traditional shout of ‘Last orders please’. This is the time bell which Knopfler is singing about and every pub used to have one.

[@calebrichardson4754]

"last call" is very much a thing is the U.S.

[@Feather1401]

Nice one Mate \o/ 2 pints of lager and a packet of crisps. Ta

[@allenjohnstone9945]

If you were known and a local, so long as they removed the cash draw and they were not taking money we used to keep drinking, usually until 4am and just settle.up later that day.

[@patrickgaffey8752]

@@allenjohnstone9945 James Joyce: "Hurry up, please; it's time."

[@dramoth64]

You don't listen to Dire Straits for Marks singing. You listen to Dire Straits for his guitar playing. The singing is an accompanyment.

[@joclark224]

I 100% agree, but also it would not be the same without his particular voice. You cannot have one without the other in my opinion x

[@codymoe4986]

She's an opera singer that runs a KZbin channel, featuring her reactions and explanations of vocal performances... Of course you can listen to Dire Straits for Mark's singing...

[@margaretirvine3267]

AND his singing.

[@al1976-v7m]

The singing may be understated but his songs are brillant little stories. He was a journalist and English teacher and thus a very good storyteller.

[@fynii9478]

I'm pretty sure you're not an authority on what people should listen to music for.

[@melbright100]

That end rift is the best part of this song…this Mark Knopflers style of rock he literally has a conversation with his guitar in many of his songs this is one of my favorite songs

[@brandonshuttleworth8374]

You have this way of making me appreciate songs. I’ve heard 1 million times, because you’ve only heard it for the first time. This is one of those songs that classic rock radio stations beat to death literally every 12 hours, to the point where I’m just like, oh, sultans of swing again, But when you start pulling it apart, I’m reminded of how intricate and unique this song actually is. it’s almost like taking me back to when the song was released, and putting us in a position as if this were the hot new thing. Sort of gets lost in endless streaming music, you almost have more appreciation for music than people like me who actually listen to music and rock music all the time, maybe it’s your lack of indulgence, there’s something to be said about that. gratitude for the classics is something I want to recover again and this helps.

[@christophertaylor9100]

I agree, I like her shows because they help me understand WHY I love the singers I do,.

[@claremiller9979]

She always picks up stuff I'd never notice, not just because of her training (although that's part of it) but because of her being new to it all - it's an absolute treat and I love her lack of contemporary music knowledge! Such a rare specimen Elizabeth is 😊

[@RenghisKhan]

I always interpreted this song as being about what might be called a 'dad band', guys in their late forties or fifties who have all been playing for thirty years or more and have always managed to escape fame but are all actually very accomplished musicians playing in some subterranean local bar. The kind of gig you'd be happy to accidentally stumble upon if you're not some kiddo who still cares most about his 'image'. An homage to all those people who make music but will be forgotten by time but not by those who happened to be there when they did their thing.

[@OrgaNik_Music]

Some of the best performances I've ever heard have been bands like this in a half-empty pub somewhere

[@RenghisKhan]

@@OrgaNik_Music Not in a pub, but Kyuss and Primus were bands I'd never heard of before seeing them live.

[@elizabethkettle2323]

In learning the bios of many UK bands/artists, I am amazed at how many had fathers (and sometimes mothers) who performed, as side gigs, in pubs and dance halls.

[@bastiangugu4083]

Mark Knopfler is one of the greatest guitarist of all time. His guitar is another vocalist is the group. He makes it really sing. Another reactor (hearing this song for the first time, live version) sums it up perfectly, I think: "If you don't like this, I'm glad I wasn't born with your ears." Can't image not having heard one of the greatest bands of all time 🙂

[@johnki8665]

Sadly, the Brits have underated him but the rest world honoured him.

[@jimcharlton7262]

So much enjoyed watching you discover, comment, and just enjoy my all time favorite rock song and group. I am 69 years old and remember the day, place, and time I first heard it and it went straight to my soul and never left. Right in there with my favorite hymns from church. Today was a tough day for me and listening to Sultans of Swing got me back to dancing. My daughters and I also like Mark singing “Why Worry”. A more mature song that can bring you to tears. 😊

[@chrismills2575]

Mark Knopfler's best vocal performance is Brothers in Arms (studio version), you should definitely do that

[@vinsgraphics]

The official video is great, but the intro and outro are cut off… the studio version is the go-to (plus the live ones).

[@MrSinnerBOFH]

Yes, please do Brother in Arms! And keep a box of Kleenex close by, as it has a way to bring over some “allergies”

[@raymondmedina1375]

Totally agree about Brothers In Arms! Mark’s best song and performance.

[@rienkhoek4169]

Noo! The on the night version...

[@nieksalomons]

I agree with Rienk, Live album On the night, best version ever.

[@Cadinho93]

I think the most impressive thing about Mark Knopfler's playing, in a LONG list of impressive things, is the fact that with all the crazy things he does on the guitar so effortlessly, it's the fact that he finger picks every damn note. Also, Alchemy is one of the greatest performances ever committed to tape.

[@knackers2773]

definitely a lot of coke done that night. Nelson Mandela concert Brothers in Arms is another one that would nearly trump alchemy live, making his guitar doing the talking by the end of it.

[@Chiungalla79]

@@Cadinho93 The most inpressive feat is that he WRITES these songs.

[@KevPage-Witkicker]

@@knackers2773 I'd be surprised if any coke was done that night, have you ever tried playing live when you're wasted? Doesn't work:)

[@tkermi]

Yes, when he does "tricks" with guitar they don't sound like tricks but rather impressive part of story telling and dialogue.

[@larryspiller6633]

His style is amazing, the fingers!!! Another similar to him comes to mind, Lindsay Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac fame. Thing is, Mark tells some great folk stories in his music. Peace.

[@MandrakeDCR]

Dire Straits - "So Far Away" absolutely broke me back in the day. I would highly recommend, just for the unbelievable, unique sound and the cathartic message for veterans.

[@theplanetruth]

…makin’ out on the telephone…

[@MandrakeDCR]

@@theplanetruth ...I'm tired of being in love and being all alone...

[@mchamster7]

I mean... Brothers in Arms??

[@MandrakeDCR]

@@mchamster7 Yeah, that's the album it's on that my wife gifted me back then. I still have it. I'm old. I still have all my CD's and tapes. Even some records and 8 tracks. lol I still think that's probably my favorite album cover of all time. Lots of really cool ones, but something about that steel guitar just floating in the sky, and its prominence in that tune... it's just a gut punch that will always be with me in a weird, bittersweet way. I can still enjoy it to this day. Brings back memories both good and bad, but the music soothes it all out. Love these guys.

[@MarkoMarcello]

In the 80s i thought this was the best group of musicians making dream music. I still do now. The simply changed peoples lifes. I would also add that rhythm makes this song outstanding. Thanks for enlightening this with your knowledge, proficiency and beauty,

[@RobMcDermott]

I love how Elizabeth can cut to the heart of things. Knopfler's singing provides the story of his songs, but it's his wonderful guitar playing that provides the emotion.

[@steve-ovetev-o2302]

Please don't ever change. You are the classic nerdy geek. I say that in the most respectful and loving way. I have the utmost admiration for you. You are so real !!. Not to mention your analysis's are phenomenal. Thank You !!

[@bulldog4338]

Somewhere B.B. King smiles appreciatively every time Mark starts playing. 😊

[@jasondelves8758]

I love you!❤ Thanks for supporting homeless people, I'm homeless myself, your a Legend! I watch you heaps at night time before I go to bed, your so talented and great and professional at your profession!! Respect! Your a beautiful soul! ❤

[@kevint9125]

There isn't a better "Spoken/Singing song" ever recorded than "Sailing to Philadelphia". Mark Knopfler and James Taylor have such an agreeable chemistry it brings tears to my eyes.

[@kendallyounglund1216]

Prairie wedding and The Last Laugh are great bits too. I dug how Van Morrison's and MK went together ... and then the whole darn All the Road Running with the queen Emmy Lou.

[@freedomthroughspirit]

Agree! Love that song.

[@PrometheanConsulting]

Thanks for sharing that. James Taylor is one of my favorite story tellers.

[@donnam5891]

Oh that's one of my favourite songs

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

When this song was released, it was one of the few songs that interrupted disco. I was a 17 year old kid when this came out, and it was a breath of fresh air to me. I absolutely loved it, and still do to this day.

[@nicholasmilne2908]

I was a few years younger but much the same story, totally sick of disco or the other extreme of the late 70's, KISS, Dire Straits sounfed so much more sophisticated and cool. I remember being surprised when I found out they were from northern working class England and not some underground New York night club.

[@andrewlayton9760]

Prince was once asked what it was like to be the greatest living guitar player. Prince said "I don't know. Go ask Mark Knopfler."

[@lifeatthezoo2820]

You know that’s not true, right?

[@stevetarrant3898]

Pretty sure it was Jimmy Hendrix who said that.

[@horstschleumer9563]

Clapton was said to have been asked this, with go ask 'Prince' answered.

[@crabtrap]

bullshit to all. Keith Richards was asked the question on best rhythm player. he answered 'ask Malcolm Young"

[@andrewlayton9760]

@@lifeatthezoo2820 Of course, it is. It's on the internet. Silly person!

[@KellyBeaudry-h8g]

Just every once in awhile we are blessed from those that can make an instrument talk. Mark here, Peter Frampton, Eddie Van Halen etc. We are so blessed.

[@moto814]

Watching you experience one of my favorite songs of all time, and the joy that it appears to bring you, brightens my day. Thank you.

[@ilikeyourname4807]

I've been scrolling through the comments and haven't seen a single recommendation for "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits. It's got one of the most epic intros of all time, is another great showcase of Knopfler writing lyrics about things that happened to him, AND features Sting

[@christopherrobin6955]

That's literally what I was just doing lol, was so surprised no one mentioned their most well known song lol

[@paulwood5803]

Oddly, just about the only Dire Straits song I actually detest..... and I think it is because of Sting, never liked the Police either.

[@burleydad]

I want my..., I want my..., I want my MTV...

[@caskstrength7629]

I think that’s not the best song of them.Just my opinion.

[@randallwright1973]

Funny thing is, I somehow NEVER connected the voice with Stung until I saw a live performance, and it completely blew my mind that was Stung and I never realized it, especially since I own every album of his.

[@rodthebodfromcanada]

Mark Knopfler is a hugely underrated guitarist, not usually mentioned on the "best guitarists" list, but he's up there.

[@neilpatrickhairless]

He's definitely on the Mount Rushmore

[@KuLaydMahn]

Hard agree

[@naiboz]

I’ve never thought of him as underrated, or that he was being underrated, but maybe just not always in fashion, but absolutely one of the greats. What I’d do to have a sliver of his talent.

[@txinterceptor8428]

For me he is #1.

[@ggghhhbbnjjjbb2330]

He needs a separate category to himself. No-one else that I know of does what he does on the guitar.

[@AllenBlevins-q8j]

Mark plays exceedingly clean, not to be confused with country Chicken picking. You keep picking my favorite guitarist, and songs to cover. Your damn right it's ROCK!

[@paulstallings6910]

The first time I heard this song is so memorable. I was 17 and on my way to work. It was a bright summer day. I was driving my prize possession a 1965 Dodge Dart GT. The windows were down and the radio was up loud. I still hear this song played on the same radio station all these years later as I am now 62. Every time I hear this song I am transported back to that sunny summer day in my youth.

[@rambler5766]

Kindred spirits, I guess. This is the only song that I can remember exactly the first time I heard it. I was on my way home from work in my 1968 Plymouth Barracuda.

[@bunnysofoxy6113]

To me this is one my ever all time favourite songs ever. I never get tired of hearing it. The casual mood, the guitar riffs, the story, the melody… It is a piece of art and will be forever unparalleled. 🙏

[@richp.738]

Same

[@caskstrength7629]

It’s Timeless.👌

[@czguy3045]

LONG time guitarist here. There are hundreds of notable guitarists amongst many genres but when ranking guitarists that have mastered the ability to convey lyrical ideas and melodies while tweaking those melodies with all of these subtle flourishes... bends, pre-bends that are then released, interchanging fret hand vibrato with the mechanical vibrato... you have Gilmour and Knopfler at the top then everyone else playing their version of 'try and catch up.'

[@ronaldbaglien3457]

Spot on!

[@Old_B52H_Gunner]

Exactly.

[@chrisbedrin3618]

He may be dead, but I'd probably add SRV to that list.

[@triscat]

I agree, but would put Richard Thompson slightly ahead of those two. Not a knock. I love them all as masters of the six-string.

[@sues6944]

Agreed and adding Jeff Beck.

[@KellyBeaudry-h8g]

I love your reaction videos. You have expression filled eyes. But how you are only now hearing the best music of our time is amazing.

[@penshaw2]

Dire Straits' Alchemy Live performance is one of the greatest live performance of all time by any band/artist.

[@Tommy-he7dx]

Marks Guitar is his voice and his voice is his rhythm.......and it's a fantastic combo.

[@Zajuts149]

I just commented a bit tongue-in-cheek that he plays electric guitar and rhythm vocals, and I see I'm not alone.😊

[@gusterry1]

Well said

[@LynneCooney]

Mark Knopfler is one of those musicians that just put me in a trance immediately. Everything he touches is gold. Just a few notes and I need to lie down on the floor and close my eyes.

[@Vimi240]

I grew up loving Dire Straits and seeing your reaction and expert approach it kept me giving me the goose bumps. I will follow you from now ON!!!

[@je1279]

Mark is an absolute guitar legend. Unfortunately, he continues to be criminally underrated when it comes to the greatest guitarists of all time.

[@karljuhnke8882]

This is because he dares sing about ordinary working men in a positive light.

[@abaddon1371]

Welcome to the Rory Gallagher club.

[@caseyhart9916]

@@karljuhnke8882 Oh yeah, because the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn never did that.

[@karljuhnke8882]

@@caseyhart9916 please enlighten me.

[@ericthemauve]

"Criminally underrated"? The usual lazy KZbin comment from someone who doesn't even seem to know what the word 'underrated' means. 🙄

[@MustYouHaveAUsername]

How could you grow up as a musician and never hear Sultans of Swing? It's a masterpiece!

[@Ruckus45]

Has to be a top 10 song for literally millions

[@jacksdad734]

The classical/opera oldset have a broadly different definition of music. Everything after their era is pop/folk music because of its relative simplicity. Rock boomers and metal Xers know this just well enough to love their approval. Thus the success of channels like hers. (“Dio has opera chops” had always been a refrain.)

[@spiderbabybill]

You can’t. Not only a masterpiece but it plays on radio stations so you hear it in stores and other people’s cars. Probably in a few movies or TV shows as well.

[@spiderbabybill]

@@jacksdad734Odd take. Good jazz is as complex as most classical. Great jazz is more complicated than most classical. Many metal and fusion artists use both jazz and classical compilation styles. Most of the great 70s guitarists and composers were anything but simple and had sophisticated composition.

[@thx3188]

She's said she was discouraged from listening to non-opera/classical music so as not to ruin her voice. So if she's heard it played she was in an environment where she didn't need to pay attention to it and probably never even registered it.

[@ElectricKnight.]

I love the choice of mixing the two videos! It's the studio audio the whole time, but you get a good look of what he is doing to produce it - because, honestly, there are a few live videos of him playing this song, and he truly does play that insanely skillful and soulful stuff, with that appearance of ease and joy. Mark Knopfler is truly incredible.

[@AndyB59]

I love your "excited" face when you discover something new. Lots more excitement to come; lucky you!

[@tcscushing]

LOL... "A small town band"... ... "out of LONDON." I love, from time to time, to come back and sit at the feet of the master, Elizabeth Zharoff. "Did you notice THIS? And did you notice THIS?" Ah, I see it now. Been listening to this song for 30 years, and I learned A LOT about it from Elizabeth. ... who just met the song a week or so ago. Thanks for inviting us to tea, letting us hang out, letting us look over your shoulder, sharing your experience with a song we already loved. Feeling the pride that you enjoy what we have enjoyed, and the sense of wonder as you pull back the curtains and open up a new volume of information about it. Wish you well, thank you.

[@thevirtualtraveler]

Yes! I just knew I liked this song. I didn't know why until Elizabeth explained it to me.

[@gamesessions]

The Alchemy version of this is just incredible - but good to hear it after the studio version as Mark teases the outro riff several times and it’s just incredible when he releases it ❤

[@rkempo]

Yeah, dissapointed it wasnt the Alchemy version, but, oh well!

[@nershwnmochahary1391]

Glad you have come across Dire Straits now. There are 2 guitar solos in this song and both are played by Mark himself. When I started listening to this band in my college days I felll in love with their guitar works. Later when I started going through their lyrics I was blown away. Pure work of genius. To this day he is still making songs, doing what he loves. Would like to see his next song "Telegraph road" or "Brothers in arms" in your channel. Cheers from India.

[@garymcallister4128]

This song was the savior for rock music in 1978. Disco had taken over, and rock needed a song about a jazz band to save it from dying. Ironic, but true.

[@BigBadWolf67]

Actually wrong here, Boston's first album is considered the savior of rock and roll. Mark Knopfler built on that with sultans.

[@wildcardartsent]

Knopfler said he was in a bar one night and heard a bad band call themselves "Sultans of Swing" and he was compelled to write this song. The reason was that the band was anything but swinging 😂

[@garymcallister4128]

@@BigBadWolf67 Love that one too. You could probably make a case for Rumours and Bat Out of Hell on that list. Opinions are not wrong, per se, just opinions.

[@ehss192]

If you go by album sales - Dire straits was ranked 4th with Grease being Number 1. Other notables were Steve miller in 4th, Van Halen in 7th and Boston in 9th. I'd say Van Halen really gave rock music the shot in the arm heading into the 80's though.

[@wildcardartsent]

@@ehss192 Agreed! Van Halen was something never before done. Besides Cobain on guitar not many have taken the world by storm overnight like Eddie did. You can argue Randy Rhoads because he was so short lived but Ozzy helped his cause a bit. You can say GNR as a band was close to as impactful but VH wrote the playbook for them.

[@arthurgoerner488]

I am ashamed, but thankful. This is one of my top five all time favorite songs. I am 58. I have listened to it 500 times over the years. I never recognized the meaning of the "time bell", or the"time to go home" guitar responses for what they were. You have given me a new appreciation and a new way of listening to for experiencing this song, and you have made it even better. THANK YOU! And wow, i subscribed, you are a real smart cookie.

[@markg3380]

I'm the same age, and your comments are spot on. They were very well said, and I'm in total agreement. I, too, have listened to this song probably hundreds of times, starting as a young boy. I've always loved the tune, but this analysis has really enlightened me. Thank you both.

[@ChrisLegner-qp1yh]

You nailed it. The deadpan singing style combined with conversational guitar playing is very interesting and effective.

[@kennymonty8206]

I've been playing the guitar for more than 30 years and I can't begin to do what that "singer" does with it. I've never seen anyone so relaxed with and intimate with his instrument. Very impressive to me.

[@KZ-np8fz]

Since you are exploring Dire Straits... So Far Away Brothers In Arms Are two of my favorites.

[@Aldark22405]

An absolute amazing album

[@scottbryce3026]

So Far Away Walk of Life

[@scottbryce3026]

Just a quick comment: One day I was blasting Walk of Life in my home office. My teenage daughter stuck her head through the door and yelled, "This is the best song ever!"

[@zacharyalvernaz7916]

Walk of Life my dad used to explain the concept of layers of harmony to me.

[@jollyjohnthepirate3168]

Water of Love Industrial Disease Skate Away

[@DarrylBallegeer]

My first concert was Dire Straits on the Brothers in Arms tour when I was 14. No opening act, they played an almost three hour set and it was awesome. Mark is such an amazing guitarist.

[@Saimeren]

I love that he thumb and finger picks his guitar instead of using a regular plastic pick. You don't see a lot of that in rock music, especially modern music. It's really neat playing.

[@kimbersal1]

Watching your reactions, sometimes, is like watching a little girl who just received her favorite gift ever. I could watch you forever. Thank you for your content. Oh! And I’m in love with you.

[@remusvisan]

His guitar style is unique. He invented a new way of playing, he's using his fingers only no guitar pick, all those fills the conversation as you put it, that's the magic for me.

[@andrewlayton9760]

It is an old blues style of playing (called "finger style") that had gone out of fashion.

[@jamesbernsen3516]

I wouldn't say he invented fingerpicking. That had been around for centuries, but no one really applied it to rock the way he did. They kind of left it in classical and jazz because it couldn't do what rock needed, or at least so they thought. Knopfler was like Eddie Van Halen in attitude, which was to ignore what everyone else thought and say, "Well, there's no reason I can't do that, I'll do it my way," and he just went and did it.

[@renndub]

He does take a lot of inspiration from Jerry Reed though. Very similar in attack

[@davidpeters6743]

​@@andrewlayton9760It's not actually fingerstyle it's claw hammer picking. It's not typically used on guitar, it's usually used while playing banjo.

[@davidpeters6743]

​@@jamesbernsen3516n it's not the finger-picking that's unique, and many rock songs before Mark had used lots of finger-picking. Stairway to heaven, crazy on you. A bunch of ballads in the 80s. What Mark did that was unique was take a style of picking that is normally used for banjo...

[@alaneolson1040]

Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" is gorgeous, and the Home Free cover of that song will make you cry.

[@rienkhoek4169]

How about the ' on the night' version? So much more powerful than the album version.

[@scottwheeler2494]

Any version makes me cry. Has for decades. Still does. Makes me think of the millions of men who have died for stupid reasons for centuries making war.

[@stevekokora2309]

Knopfler’s different guitar interjections in between every spoken/sung line are a real strum of genius. It adds additional markers to the flow that aren’t necessarily solos but adds color and texture gently on top of the rhythm guitar like icing on a donut. Every bite is so chill.

[@mitchellphillips93]

Knopfler is a legend around my way. He's been known to stop off in random pubs and buskers nights and just play. His playing style is so unique and distinctive. Blends blues and jazz effortlessly into this sound. He did a song with James Taylor too which is just to die for.

[@adrianhall2510]

Telegraph Road! One of my favorite story telling songs of all time! It's a story about a road Mark Knopfler saw when on tour, I think it was in Michigan...., and he wrote a possible history of it. Great song!

[@glauer5581]

Telegraph Rd. Detroit, MI.

[@kennethsharp9666]

@@glauer5581runs from Toledo Ohio to Detroit.

[@DrRust]

Mark is top tier in everything he does!! He is actually left handed and plays right handed so his dominant hand is on the neck that’s what gives him the finesse as you put it. He can make massive bends and stretch his hand way out there.

[@waynestock2006]

Mark knopfler won't blow you away with his vocals, he let's the guitar do the singing. He does the fills with his lyrics. And yes, he is the lead guitar through the entire song. Hands down in my top 5 guitar players of all time.

[@greintje6941]

I heard this song first time when I was sixteen in 1976. I immediatly felt it was very special. Didn't understand most of the lyrics back then but his guitar told me in a way. Unbelievable artist ever since.