The singer who finally made Mark Knopfler sound like he could carry a tune: “Halfway like a singer”
Why bother learning how to sing when you can play guitar like Mark Knopfler?
The Geordie virtuoso let his instrument do the talking for a large portion of Dire Straits’ hits, with music history often remembering his licks rather than his lyrics. Music students fuss over the technicality of the ‘Money For Nothing’ riff or the ‘Sultans of Swing’ solo, marvelling at how Knopfler managed to bundle in so much style and expression in what is a complex piece of music.
He was forgiven then, for being something of a subpar vocalist. Obviously, that wasn’t uncommon in music. Mick Jagger, Neil Young and Anthony Kiedis all existed outside the lines of technical proficiency but ultimately used that to their advantage, turning their shortcomings into characterful quirks and thus becoming adored as frontmen.
Knopfler didn’t quite have that charisma, timid and reserved as one might expect a guitarist of his skill to be, but as Dire Straits trickled upwards, from the damp smog of the pub circuit they emerged on all the way up to Wembley Stadium for Live Aid, Knopfler began to grow into himself and mould his voice to the blues-laden tones of his band.
It meant that safe walls were built around Knopfler and Dire Straits, allowing them to work best within the constructed environment of their own collaboration. The one time he tried to step outside of that, and work with Steely Dan, he got burned pretty badly and equated the experience to “Like getting into a swimming pool with lead weights tied to your boot”, but in 2006, he had the chance to rectify that when he teamed up with Emmylou Harris for the collaborative record All the Roadrunning.
The pair forged a transatlantic bond that blended country and Celtic folk influence for a soundscape that awakened something in Knopfler from a vocal standpoint, and with the gritty rock backdrop of Dire Straits stripped away and a comforting collaborator in Harris, he realised that his voice had more levels to it.
He explained, “I mean, just as soon as Emmy sings, she makes me sound halfway like a singer. Halfway! I think that my singing, to use a generous term, has improved somewhat over the years, because I gave up cigarettes almost ten years ago now. But I do actually sing a little better than this sort of strangled moan that I used to make.”
All the Roadrunning certainly doesn’t get played in British pubs quite as much as ‘Money For Nothing’ or ‘Sultans of Swing’, but that’s not what Knopfler made the project for. In fact, the entire record was a step away from blues-driven rock and the guitar that made him famous. It was a step into a whole new realm, supported by the country worlds of Harris.
It was such a renaissance, in fact, that Knopfler could have called up Steely Dan in a bid to rectify his studio nightmare with him. With a renewed vocal ability, he could have joined in the layered backing vocals of the notoriously picky band and redeemed himself as a worthy session musician.
