Golden Heart

by Mark Knopfler

Overview

Mark Knopfler's debut non-soundtrack solo album, Golden Heart, was, in effect, the follow-up to the last Dire Straits studio album, On Every Street (1991). But it was also a compendium of the various musical endeavors in which Knopfler had engaged since emerging as a major figure in 1978. "Imelda" was cast in the mold of "Money for Nothing," with its trademark electric guitar riff and sardonic lyrics about Imelda Marcos, and other songs resembled Dire Straits songs, notably "Cannibals," which recalled "Walk of Life." But "A Night in Summer Long Ago" was presented in a Scots/Irish traditional folk style, complete with a lyric about a knight and a queen and would have fit nicely on Knopfler's soundtrack for The Princess Bride, and "Are We in Trouble Now" was a country ballad featuring pedal steel guitar and the piano playing of Nashville session ace Hargus "Pig" Robbins that would have been appropriate for Knopfler's duo album with Chet Atkins. For all that, there was little on the album that was new or striking, and Knopfler seemed to fall back on familiar guitar techniques while intoning often obscure lyrics. You get the feeling that there was a story behind each song, but except in the cases of "Rudiger," a character study of an autograph hunter, and "Done with Bonaparte," the lament of a 19th century French soldier on the retreat from Moscow, you might have to read Knopfler's interviews to find out what the songs were actually about. Knopfler hadn't used the opportunity of a solo album to challenge himself, and at the same time he had lost the group identity (however illusory) provided by the Dire Straits name. The result was listenable but secondhand. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	01/22/2008
Label:	Island/Def Jam / Mercury / Universal / Virgin Emi
UPC:	0731451473227
Rank:	131099

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Mark Knopfler   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Vince Gill   Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
The Chieftains   Guest Artist
Guy Fletcher   Guest Artist,Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Sonny Landreth   Guest Artist,Guitar,Guitar (Steel),Vocals (Background),National Steel Guitar
Paul Brady   Guest Artist,Whistle (Human),Whistle (Instrument)
Liam O'Flynn   Uillean Pipes
Derek Bell   Harp,Irish Harp
Richard Bennett   Tiple,Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Matt Rollings   Piano
Glenn Worf   Bass,String Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Brendan Croker   Vocals (Background)
Heike Barthe   Vocals (Background)
Sean Keane   Violin,Violin
Steve Conn   Accordion
Paul Franklin   Pedal Steel
Bill Cuomo   Organ (Hammond)
Robbie Casserly   Drums
Billy Ware   Triangle
Jo-El Sonnier   Accordion
Donal Lunny   Bouzouki
Chad Cromwell   Drums
Mairtin O'Connor   Accordion
Don Potter   Guitar (Acoustic)
Steve Nathan   Keyboards,Organ (Hammond)
Danny Cummings   Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Paul Moore   Bass,String Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Terry McMillan   Drums,Djembe
Barry Beckett   Piano
Hargus "Pig" Robbins   Piano
Michael Doucet   Fiddle
Michael Rhodes   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Eddie Bayers   Drums

Technical Credits

Liam O'Flynn   Musician
Brian Masterson   Engineer,Recording
Denny Purcell   Mastering
Jonathan Russell   Assistant Engineer,Mastering Assistant
Gary LeMel   Musician
David Scheinmann   Photography
Charlie Ainley   Engineer,Producer
Miles Showell   Remastering Engineer
Graham Lewis   Recording,Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Chuck Ainlay   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Mark Knopfler   Composer,Producer