Every Dire straits songs is impossible magic ... Everything is just perfect..No one can match this kind of music , everything falls into perfect harmony
I think Telegraph Road is the best song ever written. The Alchemy version of Telegraph Road is by far the best. With the Alchemy version you not only see a great guitarist, but you also see one of the best drummers and piano players in the world.
I feel the same, still my favorite song of a great band. The best song ever written? Well... I think that this is a stretch for, imo, there is no "best ever written" song. It should still suffice that it is one of the greatest songs ever written.
I agree! 😊 Nevertheless, the ending is always better live, than on the record, if you ask me, because we don't have to listen to the fading.... Fading endings are not doing Mark's songs any justice, but it was how it was almost always done, in the 80's, I'm afraid. 😢
Yes, live version is ... a masterpiece... If someone invents a time machine someday I would gladly pay to see Alchemy tour, Supertramp 1978 tour and Genesis Seconds out in person, ey dreamin' is free! :) @@CarinTibellAhlin
? Is it against the reactors creed to pull up and have lyrics ready to read if vocals are not clear. 🙃Just wondering, because I have heard so many commentators mention not understanding the lyrics.
He wrote the song sitting in front of the tour bus and reading the novel, "the growth of the soil". They were driving the long road to Detroit. And he thought how he can combine the view and the book. Starting as one man building his home and then the growth to a town with all the negatives he wanted to escape from! He is just a genius. And the fact that he had enough of dire straits at there best, and moving on to this day is phenomenal. He went to play and made a record with Chet Atkins. He wrote over 10 movie soundtracks. His next solo album comes out this april at the age of 75! If you better like to play acoustic, listen to "privat investigation- on the night live". Or the album with Chet Atkins "neck&neck" is gorgeous! (Sunday morning music for me)!❤
Sorry, but Private Investigations is played, by Mark, on a nylon string semi solid-body electric guitar, made by Gibson. It's often referred to as the Chet Atkins Gibson🫠🎶
@@CarinTibellAhlin thanks for the info, my language is not english, so i come up with what i think is close. I just know the national steel, the electric and the acoustic guitar in English. So i'm really thankful to learn as much i can and learn new terms!🫶.
So pleased you recognised this as one of the greatest classical rock compositions of all time. It has everything. It is genius and I was so so lucky to see him and the Band at their peak
Telegraph Road is actually part of US highway #24. In Michigan, we call it Telegraph Road. It runs some 70 miles north and south along the border of Detroit. While the song was written about the length of highway running along the Detroit border, it could easily be adapted to any large, once prosperous city that has fallen into blight and decay
I’m 81 can you imagine the look on the face of a delivery driver when I open the door to Dire Straits blasting out from my living room it’s priceless, when I’m feeling down they can tranceport me back to the best music ever , and the best thing is I can watch all the live performances when ever I want magic.
In 1986 my dad drove me around in his BMW, Dire Straits playing loud. In 2024 I'm driving around in my BMW pumping out Dire Straits full blast. Still so so good decades later.
Telegraph Road, Romeo and Juliet and the theme from "Local Hero" will be played during my funeral. I dont wann to hear stupid words but great music during my last journey.
I’m the same age as Mark (74) was there and at Glasgow & Manchester. My favourite band of all time followed by Queen, ELO, and the Eagles. What a life I have had with music from the 1950s - 2020s 🎉
Wow, thank you for your perspective. Counting from roughly 20s that's almost the whole history of popular music, but it was quite boring before 50s, haha, until they invented electric guitar and rock and roll! You've experienced the best of it! 🙏🎙️🔥🎸
In my eyes one of the greatest compositions in rock history (both music and lyrics). To really understand the storytelling of this song, you NEED to check the lyrics. It's about the rise and the fall of a region along a small track over the years, starting small and growing bigger and bigger, with all the problems arising with the growth. The second part is about trying to get out of it all after everything got worse and worse, together with the loved one. Pure emotion, great storytelling! Best regards Linus from Switzerland
This has to be one of the greatest rock songs ever written and performed. Mark wrote the song while on the tour bus in the US. They were travelling down Telegraph Road in Michigan State from Detroit and Mark was reading a book about a pioneer seeking out new territory. He put the two things together and came up with the best rock classic ever...Genius art! P.S Tunnel of Love from same gig or Brothers in Arms or Romeo and Juliet or Private Investigation from 'On the Night' gig...All different while brilliant!
Have You ever recognized that the "solos" in Dire Straits songs aren't solos? We never hear one single instrument playing! Instead we hear the whole band playing instrumental parts. Instrumental parts that are sometines longer than today's songs. PURE GENIUS!
Mark is a genius. He surrounds himself with incredible musicians. He is a social commentator and poetic , prophetic bard. His Sailing to Philadelphia is incredible. Also Social Disease also Going Home. He has done 3 movie scores including The Princess Bride, Local Hero
The sequence of tunnel of love followed by telegraph road in alchemy is the absolute pick of this concert. PLEASE PLEASE review tunnel of love from Alchemy it's just amazing.
@@robertlindsay6671 yes, for me that performance of that song is the high water mark of western rock music. Telegraph Road from Alchemy is close though - also Once Upon a Time with its thundering bassline and Knopfler at the top of his game.
I learnt something with this video: it's now possible to be a guitar teacher and not know Telegraph Road and Alchemy. MK, greatest guitar player of the last 50 years.
Good call man. Yeah, I agree. Its up there at the top, (for me probably joint first place with comfortably numb). Why don't we have bands like this anymore. This is musical perfection. And they are doing this LIVE, no auto tune, no technology, just raw pure talent. One of the other great performances was Brothers in Arms at the Mandela performance in 1988. That was so emotional.
@@nictokyo I dunno man. I agree. I sound like a boomer, I know, but it has something to do with the moment when artists went from writing music for love, and happened to make it big, to writing music that sold. You had to be good back then, to even have a shot of making it your career. These days, with technology, you don't even need to know your C major scale.
I agree its a rock masterpiece! A symphony! 3 amazing guitar solos but all instruments shine! Drumming, bass, keyboard and piano, rythm! And the beautiful lyrics! The most important song in my life
Mark Knopfler is no doubt in the upper echelons of guitar work. But he writes a story into every song, and that is what makes his songs work so well for me
MK's phrasing is just *chefs kiss. I bitterly regret not seeing Dire Straits live. But so grateful to have been around to experience their music when it burst onto the music scene.
One thing that very few people pick up on with Mark is just how effortlessly he plays such complex solos and segments. Often he isn't even looking at his fingers at all which is just incomprehensible to me
Looking at your fingers whilst playing is a dangerous thing to do. You risk a conflict between your muscle memory and your conscious brain. Better to let your fingers get on with the job.
Nice to see you picked up my favorite guitar player and rock band. Mark hits all the right notes for me. Time stops hearing Dire Straits. Some bands are special and this is one of those.
I was 16 yrs old when this record came (Love over Gold) and blew us all off our chairs! No one will ever be able to stand in Mark's "old boots", ever! If you don't read the lyrics, you will miss 50% of the song, in my opinion and the same goes for all songs written by Mark Knopfler. Don't forget, the lyric is there with a purpose and a reason. Saw DS live in '85 and '92 and the live performances were always greater than on the record/s. Blessed to have heard/seen him live! 🙏 🎶 /Carin in Sweden
In case you didn't know. Mark re-recorded one of his movie themes (from "Local Heros") for a charity. It is supposed to be released on March 15. The line-up is probably the biggest gathering of guitar masters and other great musician still alive (with the exception of Jeff Beck, may he rest in peace): David Gilmour: Guitar Jeff Beck: Guitar (his last recording) Slash: Guitar Brian May: Guitar Joan Armatrading: Guitar Pete Townshend: Guitar Roger Daltrey: harmonica Ringo Starr: Drums Zak Starkey: Drums Sting: Bass Guitar Cheryl Crow Ron Wood Joan Jett Mike Rutherford Richard Bennett Joe Bonamassa Joe Brown James Burton Jonathan Cain Paul Carrack Ry Cooder Jim Cox Steve Cropper Danny Cummings Duane Eddy Sam Fender Peter Frampton Audley Freed Vince Gill Buddy Guy Keiji Haino John Jorgenson Sonny Landreth Albert Lee Greg Leisz Alex Lifeson Steve Lukather Phil Manzanera Dave Mason Hank Marvin Robbie McIntosh John McLaughlin Tom Morello Rick Neilsen Orianthi Brad Paisley Joe Satriani John Sebastian Connor Selby Andy Taylor Susan Tedeschi Derek Truck Ian Thomas Keith Urba Steve Vai Waddy Wachtel Joe Louis Walker Joe Walsh Glenn Worf Zucchero
Very nice to have Reactions from someone that Really knows about Music and can truly understand and Appreciate the amazing Art and Talent of Songs like this and the Music genius of Mark Knopfler and dire straights in general.
There's a high-res version of Alchemy on YT somewhere with 96k audio. You can hear Lindes' rythem playing more clearly with good headphones, and you are correct - his rythem playing is incredible. On Once Upon a Time in particular, it's amazingly good.
I don't know how to judge the "best" guitarist. What I can definitely say is that when I hear Mark Knopfler playing guitar, I never mistake it for anyone else, and I love it.
I am 61 and saw Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler just when they started in about 1976 at a College concert in a small town called Hitchin in Hertfordshire England. They were a new sound then but clearly destined for great things!
The outro to this song is, for me, the best piano/guitar instrumental of all time. Mark is brilliant of course, but Alan Clark is a powerhouse on the piano and keys and brought so much to the band. I still listen to the album version weekly after all these years (and I saw it performed live on the Love Over Gold tour).
Mark is on another planet but this is definitely an ensemble performance, each at the top of their game and totally in sync. The smiles on their faces says it all. Love this, it’s a masterpiece.
What a performance, and really appreciate your analysis! As great as this is, my favorite DS is the Brother in Arms album. MK is such a fabulous songwriter!
There are not enough superlatives to describe the Guitar genius that is Mark Knoffler or the phenomena that is Dire Straits. I watched it happen from the start way back when ! The first track I heard was the studio version of Sultans of swing and I was hooked ! I am now 77 years old and there is hardly a day goes by when I dont listen to a bit of their magic. One you might want to listen to is solid Rock from the old days !
Dire Straits a seriously underrated! Most people only think of songs from brothers in arms and sultans of swing but they were so much more! Telegraph road is a masterpiece! They were amazing live! Deserve to be respected as much as pink floyd, beatles etc! My fav band of all time!
So magnificent, it gives me goosebumps. Thanks for reviewing and giving us a guitar teacher's input. This song plays like a book, each part sung is like a new chapter.
The song is about the growth of a city, and of course of life, told as the tale of a guy walking along, settling down in a good spot, and then a whole community and city grows from that with factories, schools, people and cars on the freeway to and from work - and then it goes downhill again, factories and shops closing, jobs going, people moving away. Telegraph Road is a real stretch of road in the US, Mark Knopfler got the idea for the song when travelling down that road in the tour bus while at the time reading a book (something “Earth” by Knut Hamsun if my memory serves me correctly). This performance is electrifying, just like the rest of Alchemy - the band members have told of how this song was always their favourite moment of the concerts because they really enjoyed the energy of the song - I do too!
While this is true, the lyrics seem to use that journey more as a metaphor for a personal journey through a growth period, and then into more difficult times. My favourite line: “… as I run every red light on memory lane …”
@@johnallard1 it’s a truly great song when it works on different levels and speaks to different things in different listeners - and remains relevant and has an impact 40 years later!
When I was a teenager, the student from Paris asked me what band I liked. I said AC/DC, but he told me to check out Dire Straits instead. So I did. It's been more than 30 years and I'm still fascinated by their music... and AC/DC of course⚡🤟. Thanks for sharing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this reaction. Thank you. I'm not a musician but watching you react to this song made me really regret I never picked up a guitar. I enjoy it so much not just because of watching the joy you get from the hearing the musicality of the song, but equally, if not more from the discovery of the way the guitarist played the song nd emoted through his playing the instrument.
The Resonator guitar you see at the beginning was originally his buddy Steve Phillips guitar. Steve got a new Resonator and sold Mark his old one. And the old Resonator shows up first on Romeo and Juliet, the opening of Telegraph Road, and then is featured on the cover of the Brothers In Arms album. By the way, MK ends up forming a fantastic country music group with Steve Phillips called The Notting Hillbillies.
I really love experiencing these songs through you. I learn so much and really enjoy your obvious appreciation of the great talent of these musicians. I grew up during with Dire Straits - but didn't appreciate the raw greatness. I'm so glad to find them again at 61 - when I can really appreciate the complexity and beauty. Thanks for teaching this non-guitar player to train my ear. Thank you so much!
Wow, thank you as a musician, some of these things seem obvious to me and so I'm always almost surprised when someone appreciates it. It's hard to see the full value of our own perspective. Comments like yours are nevertheless what makes me see some meaning in what I do and keeps me going, thank you so much for such a heartfelt reaction to my reaction. 😁 ❤️
I love the way you accompany their great music, not being a slouch on the guitar yourself, but someone who is really in a prime position to appreciate this awesomeness. I recommend Tunnel of Love next before moving on to a slower pace with Private Investigations et al. Great job! I promise whatever song you pick next will be amazing in its own special way.
GREAT Reaction. play again and concentrate on the story telling and subject matter. In a catcher of hits and fantastic music, this is their masterpiece. The music parallels the storyba,d further elevates it as a really amazing composition and art form.
This from Songfacts on the meaning of Telegraph Road: This was a metaphor for the development of America and the ruining of one man's dreams in the wake of its decline, in particular focusing on unemployment. MK is not only a great great guitar player and artist. But his depth and understanding of issues is equally incredible and to put these into a work of art as Telegraph Road is amazing..awe-inspiring..we are lucky to have heard this in our lifetime.
Thanks! There are great song writers, guitarists, story tellers, and singers in the world. But Mark is one of the few that is all of them together in one fantastic package. Check out “Tunnel of Love” live at Wembley Arena 1985, “Private Investigations” live on Alchemy. “Brothers in Arms”, “Speedway at Nazareth” live Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris version, and so much more. His solo career - 10 albums and a bunch of movie scores is fantastic as well.
Ooh, thank you so much for the Super Thanks! You got it! Do you mind if I give you a shout out and tag you in the description as the one who inspired the reaction?
This is a superb reaction video. Great to see such a knowledgeable, passionate response to what I truly believe might just be the greatest live show of all time. Keep up the good work, Sir..! Liked. Subbed.
Another very enjoyable production. Thanks for sharing. My dire straight story. It was my second year at college in Boston, week of midterms, Tuesday or Wednesday I believe, 6:30 p.m. . A friend of two of my roommates comes in and says he has won two tickets via a radio DJ to tonight's "Brothers In Arms" tour show (1986) at the Boston garden and he can't find anyone to go with him because of midterms. The concert starts in about an hour and a half and these two guys both say no, he looks at me and says would you want to go? I responded in a heartbeat yes even though I had two midterms the next day. We picked up the tickets at the door. I couldn't believe it They were 6th row center on the floor. I've never been so close to a major rock and roll band for such a long time, it was absolutely unforgettable. His fingers fly, no pick... Folks didn't want to leave they came back out for a second encore song. It was really a very well done show. I didn't do all that well on those two midterms but it was worth it.
Great reaction (Why does watching someone enjoy what i love make me so happy?) I was too young for this tour, but I did see them in Dublin in the early 90's and while I love Alchemy, my enduring memory from that night was Brothers in Arms, the album version is absolutely brilliant. Live, it may be the best thing I have ever heard.
The deadliest "weapon" to unite people -The 🎵🎶 music...and we share same love for this stratosferic performance.I think music is (after love) the greatest gift God could give us I mean basically man took elements from nature (wood..oil..steal.etc) and built those magnificent instruments and they produce such amazing sounds to lift up our hearts and souls.Can you imagine life and world without music? I can't.Your reaction is priceless and you won another fan.
Nailed it with “a classical composition.” Hard to order the superlatives for this band, but musicality is right up there. This band is tight and MK is the conductor.
As someone said, this masterpiece can never be recreated... blessed are those who managed to be there and see and hear this monstrosity of talent and beauty.
Actually, what makes Knopfler so great is not only in what he is able to play but in all the little parts he does not play at all. He is the master of the tiny break, of the emotion carrying silence it has
That song makes me want to cry it's so good. Then it turns into orgasmatron at the end. Mark Knopfler is an immortal. Beautiful reaction too. Thank you so much❤❤❤
If you want a fun story about joining Dire Straits, the second guitarist for the Brothers in Arms tour, Live Aid, the Mandela concert and More was a guy named Jack Sonni. Before joining Dire Straits, he was working as a guitar salesman and tech and Rudy's Music shop in NYC. He was working behind the counter of the store where Mark liked to come in NY and had jammed with Mark several times. 2 weeks later, he was playing Live Aid in front of millions of people with Dire Straits. He told a funny story of how when it came time to meet Charles and Di, he wasn't so impressed with them because he was too starstruck to be standing next to Brian May. He said in all the pictures of the royals meeting the musicians you only saw the back of his head because he couldn't stop staring at all the other musicians around him.
The night my friend and saw Alchemy this was their encore after 2 hr plus I hear it and I back there jumping up and down, clapping, singing and tears of utter joy. Lost my voice for a week ❤❤❤
☕ Request a reaction: www.buymeacoffee.com/faanamusic
Some songs make you cry, not because of sadness but because it's soooo good. This is one of those songs.
Und vor allem darf man das Lied NIEMALS zwischendurch anhalten🙈Das ist ja wie ein Coitus Interruptus😉
Agree
MK has to be one of (if not the) the tastiest guitar player(s) in rock history.
Such a feel and expressiveness!
For sure up there, agreed! 🔥🎸
i agree. but i also like gary moore. a must see/listen to:
Gary Moore - The Messiah Will Come Again -> th-cam.com/video/7k07j7LcLqw/w-d-xo.html
Also Brian May
I love watching people discover Mark’s geniality.
I do too!
Every Dire straits songs is impossible magic ... Everything is just perfect..No one can match this kind of music , everything falls into perfect harmony
I think Telegraph Road is the best song ever written. The Alchemy version of Telegraph Road is by far the best. With the Alchemy version you not only see a great guitarist, but you also see one of the best drummers and piano players in the world.
You are correct in that assessment
I can’t disagree, but I will offer up that I think that the Alchemy version of “Tunnel of Love” shares the throne. Simply stunning!
The whole album is just peak humanity
I feel the same, still my favorite song of a great band. The best song ever written? Well... I think that this is a stretch for, imo, there is no "best ever written" song. It should still suffice that it is one of the greatest songs ever written.
@@mattiasjohansson7231 It is a majestic, one of a kind song.
"I wasn't expecting that" and what came after that either! right? the only problem with this song is that it ends... 💁♂
I agree! 😊 Nevertheless, the ending is always better live, than on the record, if you ask me, because we don't have to listen to the fading.... Fading endings are not doing Mark's songs any justice, but it was how it was almost always done, in the 80's, I'm afraid. 😢
Yes, live version is ... a masterpiece... If someone invents a time machine someday I would gladly pay to see Alchemy tour, Supertramp 1978 tour and Genesis Seconds out in person, ey dreamin' is free! :) @@CarinTibellAhlin
? Is it against the reactors creed to pull up and have lyrics ready to read if vocals are not clear. 🙃Just wondering, because I have heard so many commentators mention not understanding the lyrics.
😂 😂 That's a good one, as a matter of fact I always had that thought with this song
Yes telegraph road is so amazing, dire straits is for me the best.
He wrote the song sitting in front of the tour bus and reading the novel, "the growth of the soil". They were driving the long road to Detroit. And he thought how he can combine the view and the book. Starting as one man building his home and then the growth to a town with all the negatives he wanted to escape from! He is just a genius. And the fact that he had enough of dire straits at there best, and moving on to this day is phenomenal. He went to play and made a record with Chet Atkins. He wrote over 10 movie soundtracks. His next solo album comes out this april at the age of 75! If you better like to play acoustic, listen to "privat investigation- on the night live". Or the album with Chet Atkins "neck&neck" is gorgeous! (Sunday morning music for me)!❤
Private investigations is played on a nylon strung classical guitar not an acoustic.
Sorry, but Private Investigations is played, by Mark, on a nylon string semi solid-body electric guitar, made by Gibson. It's often referred to as the Chet Atkins Gibson🫠🎶
@@CarinTibellAhlin thanks for the info, my language is not english, so i come up with what i think is close. I just know the national steel, the electric and the acoustic guitar in English. So i'm really thankful to learn as much i can and learn new terms!🫶.
So pleased you recognised this as one of the greatest classical rock compositions of all time. It has everything. It is genius and I was so so lucky to see him and the Band at their peak
Telegraph Road is actually part of US highway #24. In Michigan, we call it Telegraph Road. It runs some 70 miles north and south along the border of Detroit. While the song was written about the length of highway running along the Detroit border, it could easily be adapted to any large, once prosperous city that has fallen into blight and decay
Mark Knopfler is the best guitarist on this planet. So many creative ideas, so much motoric skills, so much structure, so melodic... Just perfect.
Agree 100% the Greatest of All Time 🎸🔥🎸🔥
@@carinvanhummel8621Up there but not best. That's subjective. Alex Lifeson...Buddy Guy....Satriani....
Gilmour , Rea .
I’m 81 can you imagine the look on the face of a delivery driver when I open the door to Dire Straits blasting out from my living room it’s priceless, when I’m feeling down they can tranceport me back to the best music ever , and the best thing is I can watch all the live performances when ever I want magic.
In 1986 my dad drove me around in his BMW, Dire Straits playing loud. In 2024 I'm driving around in my BMW pumping out Dire Straits full blast. Still so so good decades later.
Telegraph Road, Romeo and Juliet and the theme from "Local Hero" will be played during my funeral.
I dont wann to hear stupid words but great music during my last journey.
ROCK ON!!!
Good on you!
Amazing!!!!
I’m the same age as Mark (74) was there and at Glasgow & Manchester. My favourite band of all time followed by Queen, ELO, and the Eagles. What a life I have had with music from the 1950s - 2020s 🎉
Wow, thank you for your perspective. Counting from roughly 20s that's almost the whole history of popular music, but it was quite boring before 50s, haha, until they invented electric guitar and rock and roll! You've experienced the best of it! 🙏🎙️🔥🎸
ROCK ON!!!
In my eyes one of the greatest compositions in rock history (both music and lyrics). To really understand the storytelling of this song, you NEED to check the lyrics. It's about the rise and the fall of a region along a small track over the years, starting small and growing bigger and bigger, with all the problems arising with the growth. The second part is about trying to get out of it all after everything got worse and worse, together with the loved one. Pure emotion, great storytelling!
Best regards
Linus from Switzerland
Thank you for the beautiful explanation Linus! That's wonderful and I can really see how it goes with the music!
I always think he means Chicago (“cold lake shore”) but he probably doesn’t. He could be writing about any number of US cities.
The song is a masterpiece and the performance is a masterclass in how to play live. A phenomenal group of musicians! Stunning!!
This has to be one of the greatest rock songs ever written and performed. Mark wrote the song while on the tour bus in the US. They were travelling down Telegraph Road in Michigan State from Detroit and Mark was reading a book about a pioneer seeking out new territory. He put the two things together and came up with the best rock classic ever...Genius art!
P.S Tunnel of Love from same gig or Brothers in Arms or Romeo and Juliet or Private Investigation from 'On the Night' gig...All different while brilliant!
Mark guides with his voice the songs but really sings with his guitar and takes you all the way, he is one of the greatest of all times
Have You ever recognized that the "solos" in Dire Straits songs aren't solos?
We never hear one single instrument playing!
Instead we hear the whole band playing instrumental parts.
Instrumental parts that are sometines longer than today's songs.
PURE GENIUS!
Yeah, and even if the part is improvised it's just so melodic and fitting for the atmosphere. Genius as you said!
What impresses me in those performances mostly with MK, he looks so nonchalant, like yeah, no biggie, yet what he does is mind-blowing.
That’s true talent
The Greatest of All Time 🎸🔥🎸
Mark is a genius. He surrounds himself with incredible musicians. He is a social commentator and poetic , prophetic bard.
His Sailing to Philadelphia is incredible. Also Social Disease also Going Home. He has done 3 movie scores including The Princess Bride, Local Hero
Love your description of Mark! 🙏🔥🎸
The sequence of tunnel of love followed by telegraph road in alchemy is the absolute pick of this concert. PLEASE PLEASE review tunnel of love from Alchemy it's just amazing.
Ok, will do, thank you for the recommendation 🙏
And Once upon a time in the west ;l
@@FaanaMusicThe Tunnel of Love performance from Wembley is the one you need to see!!
@@martinezq1Oh yeah…First alchemy s song, and, to me, with « going home », the most musically intrusive ( as a musician/ guitarist too)
@@robertlindsay6671 yes, for me that performance of that song is the high water mark of western rock music. Telegraph Road from Alchemy is close though - also Once Upon a Time with its thundering bassline and Knopfler at the top of his game.
I learnt something with this video: it's now possible to be a guitar teacher and not know Telegraph Road and Alchemy. MK, greatest guitar player of the last 50 years.
This is the best song ever written in my opinion.
Good call man. Yeah, I agree. Its up there at the top, (for me probably joint first place with comfortably numb). Why don't we have bands like this anymore. This is musical perfection.
And they are doing this LIVE, no auto tune, no technology, just raw pure talent.
One of the other great performances was Brothers in Arms at the Mandela performance in 1988. That was so emotional.
@@nictokyo I dunno man. I agree. I sound like a boomer, I know, but it has something to do with the moment when artists went from writing music for love, and happened to make it big, to writing music that sold. You had to be good back then, to even have a shot of making it your career. These days, with technology, you don't even need to know your C major scale.
I agree its a rock masterpiece! A symphony! 3 amazing guitar solos but all instruments shine! Drumming, bass, keyboard and piano, rythm! And the beautiful lyrics! The most important song in my life
Yes mine too..masterpiece
I agree...that correct
Simply one of the greatest songs ever.
The best, most complete band ever, with a genius at the lead
Try Nightwish. Another genius songwriter with the best female singer in the world
Mark Knopfler is no doubt in the upper echelons of guitar work. But he writes a story into every song, and that is what makes his songs work so well for me
The sound he creates when he sings ”then came the trains and the trucks with their loads” is angelic and absolutely beautiful🎸
This song never ends. Once you hear it, it is always playing in your head somewhere. Great reaction.
The story of hope and freedom lost by the og settler is SUCH a beautiful metaphor for the life of the song's narrator. A very profound song.
MK's phrasing is just *chefs kiss.
I bitterly regret not seeing Dire Straits live.
But so grateful to have been around to experience their music when it burst onto the music scene.
Of course it's Mark on the resonator-intro. my favourite straits song: private investigations
Thanks, I thought I recognized his hands, haha
One thing that very few people pick up on with Mark is just how effortlessly he plays such complex solos and segments. Often he isn't even looking at his fingers at all which is just incomprehensible to me
Yeah, it's just pure expression, no technique or theory is in the way, that's rare.
Looking at your fingers whilst playing is a dangerous thing to do. You risk a conflict between your muscle memory and your conscious brain. Better to let your fingers get on with the job.
@@andrewmorton9327 Yea true but easier said than done ha
He plays so relaxed its unreal
Mark is great as always, but also shout out to Alan Clark for his incredible work on the piano.
Agreed. An amazing musician and composer 🙏🏼
And to Terry too on Drums!
Alan is totally underrated in rock piano circles
Nice to see you picked up my favorite guitar player and rock band. Mark hits all the right notes for me. Time stops hearing Dire Straits. Some bands are special and this is one of those.
I love your description of time stopping, that's exactly how it feels to me as well.
I was 16 yrs old when this record came (Love over Gold) and blew us all off our chairs! No one will ever be able to stand in Mark's "old boots", ever! If you don't read the lyrics, you will miss 50% of the song, in my opinion and the same goes for all songs written by Mark Knopfler. Don't forget, the lyric is there with a purpose and a reason. Saw DS live in '85 and '92 and the live performances were always greater than on the record/s. Blessed to have heard/seen him live! 🙏 🎶 /Carin in Sweden
'Mark Knofler guitar stories' is a wonderful documentary here on youtube for those interested.
One of the finest songs ever written! Performed live slighty different from album version but absolutely world class❤
"Private Investigations" from the same Live album, Alchemy is great.
In case you didn't know. Mark re-recorded one of his movie themes (from "Local Heros") for a charity. It is supposed to be released on March 15. The line-up is probably the biggest gathering of guitar masters and other great musician still alive (with the exception of Jeff Beck, may he rest in peace):
David Gilmour: Guitar
Jeff Beck: Guitar (his last recording)
Slash: Guitar
Brian May: Guitar
Joan Armatrading: Guitar
Pete Townshend: Guitar
Roger Daltrey: harmonica
Ringo Starr: Drums
Zak Starkey: Drums
Sting: Bass Guitar
Cheryl Crow
Ron Wood
Joan Jett
Mike Rutherford
Richard Bennett
Joe Bonamassa
Joe Brown
James Burton
Jonathan Cain
Paul Carrack
Ry Cooder
Jim Cox
Steve Cropper
Danny Cummings
Duane Eddy
Sam Fender
Peter Frampton
Audley Freed
Vince Gill
Buddy Guy
Keiji Haino
John Jorgenson
Sonny Landreth
Albert Lee
Greg Leisz
Alex Lifeson
Steve Lukather
Phil Manzanera
Dave Mason
Hank Marvin
Robbie McIntosh
John McLaughlin
Tom Morello
Rick Neilsen
Orianthi
Brad Paisley
Joe Satriani
John Sebastian
Connor Selby
Andy Taylor
Susan Tedeschi
Derek Truck
Ian Thomas
Keith Urba
Steve Vai
Waddy Wachtel
Joe Louis Walker
Joe Walsh
Glenn Worf
Zucchero
That is a crazy good line-up ... hard to believe one could ever get such musicians together at one time!
Let’s not forget, Roy Buchanan
Very nice to have Reactions from someone that Really knows about Music and can truly understand and Appreciate the amazing Art and Talent of Songs like this and the Music genius of Mark Knopfler and dire straights in general.
Two things: the audio here really brings out that thunder-slam sound effect ... and Hal Lindes is REALLY rocking out!
There's a high-res version of Alchemy on YT somewhere with 96k audio. You can hear Lindes' rythem playing more clearly with good headphones, and you are correct - his rythem playing is incredible. On Once Upon a Time in particular, it's amazingly good.
@@ggghhhbbnjjjbb2330 Is there a new DVD version with that enhancement?
I don't know how to judge the "best" guitarist. What I can definitely say is that when I hear Mark Knopfler playing guitar, I never mistake it for anyone else, and I love it.
Yeah, his style is so unique. Not sure about judging ' the best ' either, but that's definitely a good way to describe an outstanding artist!
I am 61 and saw Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler just when they started in about 1976 at a College concert in a small town called Hitchin in Hertfordshire England. They were a new sound then but clearly destined for great things!
he uses almost the exact same lick as in the sultans of swing solo in this. Such an iconic sound.
Written in the same key.
Mark has always been not only a guitarist but also a painter. Painting with words.
The outro to this song is, for me, the best piano/guitar instrumental of all time. Mark is brilliant of course, but Alan Clark is a powerhouse on the piano and keys and brought so much to the band. I still listen to the album version weekly after all these years (and I saw it performed live on the Love Over Gold tour).
Alan absolutely owned the keys in this performance, like Terry with the drums on Sultans of Swing. The whole band was on fire for this concert.
I love Alan's work during his time with DS... such a beautiful fabric for MK to jump off from for the 3 albums he was part of.
Mark is on another planet but this is definitely an ensemble performance, each at the top of their game and totally in sync. The smiles on their faces says it all. Love this, it’s a masterpiece.
What a performance, and really appreciate your analysis! As great as this is, my favorite DS is the Brother in Arms album. MK is such a fabulous songwriter!
I grew up with this music ….been nothing like it since
Absolutely, I was lucky enough that my dad exposed me to a lot of 70s music when I was little so I'm also a bit nostalgic when I hear this.
There are not enough superlatives to describe the Guitar genius that is Mark Knoffler or the phenomena that is Dire Straits. I watched it happen from the start way back when ! The first track I heard was the studio version of Sultans of swing and I was hooked ! I am now 77 years old and there is hardly a day goes by when I dont listen to a bit of their magic. One you might want to listen to is solid Rock from the old days !
Was blown away first time I heard this song. My favourite Dire Straits song
The whole band was on fire that night ,especially Terry,the drummer. His folks were there watching the show!
Greatest rock ballad ever and Mark makes it look effortless.
Dire Straits a seriously underrated! Most people only think of songs from brothers in arms and sultans of swing but they were so much more! Telegraph road is a masterpiece! They were amazing live! Deserve to be respected as much as pink floyd, beatles etc! My fav band of all time!
Thanks for doing this one! So unknown yet really for me it's a masterpiece
Yeah, surprisingly little known.
Depends on how old you are! 😂 It was played on every party in the mid-80s, when I was a student... 😂
So magnificent, it gives me goosebumps. Thanks for reviewing and giving us a guitar teacher's input. This song plays like a book, each part sung is like a new chapter.
The song is about the growth of a city, and of course of life, told as the tale of a guy walking along, settling down in a good spot, and then a whole community and city grows from that with factories, schools, people and cars on the freeway to and from work - and then it goes downhill again, factories and shops closing, jobs going, people moving away.
Telegraph Road is a real stretch of road in the US, Mark Knopfler got the idea for the song when travelling down that road in the tour bus while at the time reading a book (something “Earth” by Knut Hamsun if my memory serves me correctly).
This performance is electrifying, just like the rest of Alchemy - the band members have told of how this song was always their favourite moment of the concerts because they really enjoyed the energy of the song - I do too!
Thank you for this, I always love to read these backstories.
While this is true, the lyrics seem to use that journey more as a metaphor for a personal journey through a growth period, and then into more difficult times. My favourite line: “… as I run every red light on memory lane …”
@@johnallard1 it’s a truly great song when it works on different levels and speaks to different things in different listeners - and remains relevant and has an impact 40 years later!
The best 13 minutes in life -always -anytime - anywhere❤❤❤
Now try Tunel of Love in Wembley 1985...
Thanks, putting it on the list!
Romeo and Juliette
Brothers in Arms
Private investigations
Money For Nothing
Tunnel of Love
The whole 16 minutes!!!
@@FaanaMusic Tunnel of Love - Wembley 85 is on another level 16 mins of magic....
@@FaanaMusic That performance (Wembley 85) of that song is the best I've ever heard anywhere.
When I was a teenager, the student from Paris asked me what band I liked. I said AC/DC, but he told me to check out Dire Straits instead. So I did. It's been more than 30 years and I'm still fascinated by their music... and AC/DC of course⚡🤟. Thanks for sharing.
Love Mark's playing so unique and beautiful ..... seen the 5 times live and never disappoint!
Five times live in concert? We are all jealous.
I thoroughly enjoyed this reaction. Thank you. I'm not a musician but watching you react to this song made me really regret I never picked up a guitar. I enjoy it so much not just because of watching the joy you get from the hearing the musicality of the song, but equally, if not more from the discovery of the way the guitarist played the song nd emoted through his playing the instrument.
You summed up mark’s guitar playing in 3 words when you said “what a tone” ❤
His sound is soooooo distinctive. Just hear a few bars and you know who is playing❤❤❤❤
He wrote music for movies too, 3 I can remember are The Princess Bride, Local Hero, and Cal. Beautiful music for all of them
Oh wow, I didn't know this, thanks for sharing!
Wag the dog, comfort and joy
Last exit to brooklyn.
The Resonator guitar you see at the beginning was originally his buddy Steve Phillips guitar. Steve got a new Resonator and sold Mark his old one. And the old Resonator shows up first on Romeo and Juliet, the opening of Telegraph Road, and then is featured on the cover of the Brothers In Arms album. By the way, MK ends up forming a fantastic country music group with Steve Phillips called The Notting Hillbillies.
Mark and Steve also formed a little thing called the duolian stringpickers.
Met Steve Phillips a couple of times and had a drink with him. He plays at a pub in a place. Called Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire on a Tuesday night.
@@JonesiesMusic-sw7de The Notting Hillbillies were such a great, talented band.
My all time favourite. Love from Sweden
probably one of the best live performance ever ! no need for fire works or other stuff ...pure gold
I'm so happy someone is reacting to this masterpiece... especially someone who's actively enjoying it... 😋 Greetings!
🙏 thank you for your comment and support! More MK to come!
Wild West End is one of my favourites along with Brothers In Arms
I definitely recommend Tunnel of Love from the Wembley concert of 1985. Pure magic. My favorite track ever.
I really love experiencing these songs through you. I learn so much and really enjoy your obvious appreciation of the great talent of these musicians. I grew up during with Dire Straits - but didn't appreciate the raw greatness. I'm so glad to find them again at 61 - when I can really appreciate the complexity and beauty. Thanks for teaching this non-guitar player to train my ear. Thank you so much!
Wow, thank you as a musician, some of these things seem obvious to me and so I'm always almost surprised when someone appreciates it. It's hard to see the full value of our own perspective. Comments like yours are nevertheless what makes me see some meaning in what I do and keeps me going, thank you so much for such a heartfelt reaction to my reaction. 😁 ❤️
I love the way you accompany their great music, not being a slouch on the guitar yourself, but someone who is really in a prime position to appreciate this awesomeness. I recommend Tunnel of Love next before moving on to a slower pace with Private Investigations et al. Great job! I promise whatever song you pick next will be amazing in its own special way.
Thank you, I can't wait to discover all of it! Thanks for complimenting my guitar playing btw.
MK's concluding solo is one of the most eloquent ragings against the dying of the light any musician has ever created.
GREAT Reaction. play again and concentrate on the story telling and subject matter. In a catcher of hits and fantastic music, this is their masterpiece. The music parallels the storyba,d further elevates it as a really amazing composition and art form.
Excellent reaction and commentary!
This from Songfacts on the meaning of Telegraph Road: This was a metaphor for the development of America and the ruining of one man's dreams in the wake of its decline, in particular focusing on unemployment. MK is not only a great great guitar player and artist. But his depth and understanding of issues is equally incredible and to put these into a work of art as Telegraph Road is amazing..awe-inspiring..we are lucky to have heard this in our lifetime.
Thanks! There are great song writers, guitarists, story tellers, and singers in the world. But Mark is one of the few that is all of them together in one fantastic package. Check out “Tunnel of Love” live at Wembley Arena 1985, “Private Investigations” live on Alchemy. “Brothers in Arms”, “Speedway at Nazareth” live Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris version, and so much more.
His solo career - 10 albums and a bunch of movie scores is fantastic as well.
Ooh, thank you so much for the Super Thanks! You got it! Do you mind if I give you a shout out and tag you in the description as the one who inspired the reaction?
@@FaanaMusic No problem.
The pianist was definitely classically trained, and in my opinion, an opus in rock if there is such a thing...Knopfler, every note has a purpose.
I love Daire Straits on these oppulent songs.
This is a superb reaction video. Great to see such a knowledgeable, passionate response to what I truly believe might just be the greatest live show of all time. Keep up the good work, Sir..! Liked. Subbed.
I loved your reaction to this...I remember wanting to chop my guitar up after hearing this album the first time.
I can relate and don't blame you for that, haha. 😀
Great job, dude! Congrats.
Another very enjoyable production. Thanks for sharing.
My dire straight story.
It was my second year at college in Boston, week of midterms, Tuesday or Wednesday I believe, 6:30 p.m. . A friend of two of my roommates comes in and says he has won two tickets via a radio DJ to tonight's "Brothers In Arms" tour show (1986) at the Boston garden and he can't find anyone to go with him because of midterms. The concert starts in about an hour and a half and these two guys both say no, he looks at me and says would you want to go? I responded in a heartbeat yes even though I had two midterms the next day. We picked up the tickets at the door. I couldn't believe it They were 6th row center on the floor. I've never been so close to a major rock and roll band for such a long time, it was absolutely unforgettable. His fingers fly, no pick... Folks didn't want to leave they came back out for a second encore song. It was really a very well done show. I didn't do all that well on those two midterms but it was worth it.
Wow, such a great story! Thanks for sharing. Who cares about the midterms, right? That must have been amazing! 🔥🎸
Great reaction (Why does watching someone enjoy what i love make me so happy?) I was too young for this tour, but I did see them in Dublin in the early 90's and while I love Alchemy, my enduring memory from that night was Brothers in Arms, the album version is absolutely brilliant. Live, it may be the best thing I have ever heard.
Thank you for the beautiful comment. I have actually recorded my reaction to Brothers In Arms from Wembley and I'll share it probably next week. 🔥🎸
The deadliest "weapon" to unite people -The 🎵🎶 music...and we share same love for this stratosferic performance.I think music is (after love) the greatest gift God could give us I mean basically man took elements from nature (wood..oil..steal.etc) and built those magnificent instruments and they produce such amazing sounds to lift up our hearts and souls.Can you imagine life and world without music? I can't.Your reaction is priceless and you won another fan.
You can't go wrong with anything from alchemy. Every one a banger
Masterpiece! ❤
He plays like that in his sleep. He is the real shredder. With real music and songs underneath, and genuine soul the cherry on top. Insane facility.
Nailed it with “a classical composition.” Hard to order the superlatives for this band, but musicality is right up there. This band is tight and MK is the conductor.
As someone said, this masterpiece can never be recreated... blessed are those who managed to be there and see and hear this monstrosity of talent and beauty.
He has been the soundtrack of my and my husband’s life❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍
Actually, what makes Knopfler so great is not only in what he is able to play but in all the little parts he does not play at all. He is the master of the tiny break, of the emotion carrying silence it has
Air and Breathe the songs breathes a lot is what you want
That song makes me want to cry it's so good. Then it turns into orgasmatron at the end. Mark Knopfler is an immortal. Beautiful reaction too. Thank you so much❤❤❤
If you want a fun story about joining Dire Straits, the second guitarist for the Brothers in Arms tour, Live Aid, the Mandela concert and More was a guy named Jack Sonni. Before joining Dire Straits, he was working as a guitar salesman and tech and Rudy's Music shop in NYC. He was working behind the counter of the store where Mark liked to come in NY and had jammed with Mark several times. 2 weeks later, he was playing Live Aid in front of millions of people with Dire Straits. He told a funny story of how when it came time to meet Charles and Di, he wasn't so impressed with them because he was too starstruck to be standing next to Brian May. He said in all the pictures of the royals meeting the musicians you only saw the back of his head because he couldn't stop staring at all the other musicians around him.
M.K. made his Stratocaster sing like no-one else, all the whilst telling stories in song. A master of his trade.
wipes the floor with stairway to heaven,an epic song,lyrically and musically ....terry williams drumming is jaw dropping.
Best song ever written.
Great Video, an excellent guitar teacher gets a lesson from Mark Knopfler, we are all learning all the time :)
The night my friend and saw Alchemy this was their encore after 2 hr plus I hear it and I back there jumping up and down, clapping, singing and tears of utter joy. Lost my voice for a week ❤❤❤
Great ! I like your reaction !
Thanks so much for TH-cam great experience