If you have heard a Dire Straits song lately and wondered whatever happened to them, then you may not be aware that their songwriter and main musical driver was Mark Knopfler, and that he has been still making great music for the past three decades. If you want to get reintroduced to his career, this is a great place to start. He always was a great songwriter, but he gets better with age. A collection of songs of real and imagined characters, riding on top of a musical bed utilizing his old Dire Straits building blocks, infused with celtic influences.  A fairly eclectic mix of approaches, this album is like a well fitting sweater from your closet that never really goes out of style, always feels comfortable when you slip it on, and makes you appreciate it’s composition and simplicity. This is a good pickup for your summer playlist.

Here is a long form video where he walks through the construction of most of the tracks:

tell me this couldn’t  have been mistaken for a track on the straits’ first three albums: