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Dire Straits — Single Handed Sailor
Album: Communiqué
Avg rating:
7.7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 3418









Released: 1979
Length: 4:31
Plays (last 30 days): 2
Two in the morning dry-dock town
The river rolls away in the night
Little Gypsy Moth she's all tied down
She quiver in the wind and the light

Yeah and the sailing ship just held down in chains
From the lazy days of sail
She's just a lying there in silent pain
He lean on the tourist rail

A mother and her baby and the College of war
In the concrete graves
You never wanna fight against the river law
Nobody rules the waves

Yeah, and on a night when the lazy wind is a-wailing
Around the Cutty Sark
The single-handed sailor goes sailing
Sailing away in the dark

He's up on the bridge on the self-same night
The mariner of dry dock land
Two in the morning but there's one green light
And a man on a barge of sand

She's a gonna slip away below him
Away from things he's done
But he just shouts, "Hey man what you call this thing?"
He Could have said "Pride of London"

On a night when the lazy wind is wailing
Around the Cutty Sark
Yeah the single-handed sailor goes sailing
Sailing away in the dark
Comments (292)add comment
 vaiodon wrote:

I love coming back to this track, for me it's one of Dire Straits & Knopfler's finest. 1979, school was done & on the cusp of transition to the adult world.

The sailing connection always reminds me of the 1979 Fastnet Race disaster. The Fastnet Race took place from Cowes, Isle of Wight, off the southern England coast, out into the Atlantic to the Fastnet Rock at the mouth of Roaringwater Bay, County Cork, Ireland, The competitors were caught in a storm, boats capsized and lives lost.


I remember the storm of the Fastnet Disaster. I was in my early teens, camping on the Gower peninsula, sharing an old A frame canvas tent with my younger brother. It was a wild night, the wind howling and roaring around the tent, the rain hammering the canvas in great gobs of water, the Mumbles light house mournfully hooting in the distance. Amazingly my brother and I managed to fall asleep. In the morning, the ridge of the tent had bent at 90 degrees, and escaping the tent took longer than usual. We emerged to a scene of devastation, with a family of ducks floating in the water lapping at the entrance to the tent. Tents and caravans were strewn over the campsite. My mum, sister and youngest brother had spent a very turbulent night in my grandmother's Dormobile, having spent a terrifying sleepless night expecting to be overturned at any point, the wrecked caravans testament to the reality of the risk. Our tent was on the only two square metres of dry land in the now entirely flooded campsite.
 agkagk wrote:


So many inaccuracies in this post:
1) Gipsy Moth, not Gypsy.
2) It was Sir Francis Chichester's boat, not Robin Knox-Johnston's. Technically, it was the Gipsy Moth IV. The first Gipsy Moth was an airplane. I don't know what II and III were.
3) Sir Francis Chichester made the first solo circumnavigation of the globe using the clipper route in 1966/67 aboard the Gipsy Moth IV. He stopped once in Sydney.
4) Robin Knox-Johnston completed the first non-stop solo circumnavigation two years later (incredible feats for both men. Imagine being alone on the water for 10 months!)
5) The first solo circumnavigation of the globe by sailboat was accomplished by Joshua Slocum, a Canadian-American. He completed the voyage in 1898. It took him more than 3 years. He used a route that was not the standard clipper route, and his voyage was definitely not non-stop.
6) Cutty Sark, not Curry Sark (but perhaps that was an intentional irreverent reference to the fact the the Cutty Sark spent it's days carrying tea and spices from India to Britain).

I saw the Cutty Sark, the Gipsy Moth, and, in an incredible coincidence, Sir Francis Chichester at Greenwich in 1968 when I was a very impressionable 12 year old boy. It's still a vivid memory to this day, although, at the time, l didn't understand the historical significance of either of the boats or the man.

Ummm - its a song.
I like it.....
What a great record! An excellent extension of their first release. Lots of magic and passion tucked away in the tunes. Beautiful stuff that deserves to be turned up to enjoy to its fullest potential. Thanks RP!
 Ian_and_Annie wrote:

The song makes sense when you know the Gypsy Moth, the boat that Robin Knox-Johnson used in the first single-handed circumnavigation of the Globe in IIRC 1969, was for some 40 years open display next to the Thames in a pedestrian area at Greenwich adjacent to the Curry Sark, the tea clipper on public display in a dry dock, and one of the staircases to the Thames pedestrian tunnel. I visited it many times with my kids when I lived nearby for 10 years. Happy memories. Alas, she was moved a few years ago when the area was revamped alongside the Curry Sark



So many inaccuracies in this post:
1) Gipsy Moth, not Gypsy.
2) It was Sir Francis Chichester's boat, not Robin Knox-Johnston's. Technically, it was the Gipsy Moth IV. The first Gipsy Moth was an airplane. I don't know what II and III were.
3) Sir Francis Chichester made the first solo circumnavigation of the globe using the clipper route in 1966/67 aboard the Gipsy Moth IV. He stopped once in Sydney.
4) Robin Knox-Johnston completed the first non-stop solo circumnavigation two years later (incredible feats for both men. Imagine being alone on the water for 10 months!)
5) The first solo circumnavigation of the globe by sailboat was accomplished by Joshua Slocum, a Canadian-American. He completed the voyage in 1898. It took him more than 3 years. He used a route that was not the standard clipper route, and his voyage was definitely not non-stop.
6) Cutty Sark, not Curry Sark (but perhaps that was an intentional irreverent reference to the fact the the Cutty Sark spent it's days carrying tea and spices from India to Britain).

I saw the Cutty Sark, the Gipsy Moth, and, in an incredible coincidence, Sir Francis Chichester at Greenwich in 1968 when I was a very impressionable 12 year old boy. It's still a vivid memory to this day, although, at the time, l didn't understand the historical significance of either of the boats or the man.
great guitars aplaying
I wonder if anyone was listening to this while driving through Nevada's Great Basin Desert when this first came out? I like to picture that. Wide open space. Windows down. Hot at 8pm. I hope so.
 fixcoffeebarhtx1 wrote:


Gypsy Moth was in fact Sir Francis Chichester's yacht (first man to circumnavigate the world via the clipper route 1967). Robert Knox Johnson was the first man to do it Non Stop (1969).  His yacht was called Suhaili.

The tea clipper was the Cutty Sark not Curry.


Thank you - was about to say all those things then realised you beat me to it a couple of days ago :-)
 Ian_and_Annie wrote:

The song makes sense when you know the Gypsy Moth, the boat that Robin Knox-Johnson used in the first single-handed circumnavigation of the Globe in IIRC 1969, was for some 40 years open display next to the Thames in a pedestrian area at Greenwich adjacent to the Curry Sark, the tea clipper on public display in a dry dock, and one of the staircases to the Thames pedestrian tunnel. I visited it many times with my kids when I lived nearby for 10 years. Happy memories. Alas, she was moved a few years ago when the area was revamped alongside the Curry Sark



Gypsy Moth was in fact Sir Francis Chichester's yacht (first man to circumnavigate the world via the clipper route 1967). Robert Knox Johnson was the first man to do it Non Stop (1969).  His yacht was called Suhaili.

The tea clipper was the Cutty Sark not Curry.
 Ian_and_Annie wrote:

The song makes sense when you know the Gypsy Moth, the boat that Robin Knox-Johnson used in the first single-handed circumnavigation of the Globe in IIRC 1969, was for some 40 years open display next to the Thames in a pedestrian area at Greenwich adjacent to the Curry Sark, the tea clipper on public display in a dry dock, and one of the staircases to the Thames pedestrian tunnel. I visited it many times with my kids when I lived nearby for 10 years. Happy memories. Alas, she was moved a few years ago when the area was revamped alongside the Curry Sark


Robin Knox-Johnson's sail boat was named "Suhaili".
I streamed this last night, on the front porch with some medical. First time I've heard the whole LP, very nice.
The song makes sense when you know the Gypsy Moth, the boat that Robin Knox-Johnson used in the first single-handed circumnavigation of the Globe in IIRC 1969, was for some 40 years open display next to the Thames in a pedestrian area at Greenwich adjacent to the Curry Sark, the tea clipper on public display in a dry dock, and one of the staircases to the Thames pedestrian tunnel. I visited it many times with my kids when I lived nearby for 10 years. Happy memories. Alas, she was moved a few years ago when the area was revamped alongside the Curry Sark Posted 8 months ago by Ian_and_Annie CUTTY Sark, CUTTY SARK. Oh boy, oh boy OH BOUY.
 Ian_and_Annie wrote:

The song makes sense when you know the Gypsy Moth, the boat that Robin Knox-Johnson used in the first single-handed circumnavigation of the Globe in IIRC 1969, was for some 40 years open display next to the Thames in a pedestrian area at Greenwich adjacent to the Curry Sark, the tea clipper on public display in a dry dock, and one of the staircases to the Thames pedestrian tunnel. I visited it many times with my kids when I lived nearby for 10 years. Happy memories. Alas, she was moved a few years ago when the area was revamped alongside the Curry Sark



I think Gypsy Moth was Sir Francis Chichester's boat. 
No doubt MK was a sailor in a previous life.
 Granada wrote:

A typical dire straits song from the late 70's. Very nice!



Indeed. Very different from Calling Elvis et al
Brothers In Arms is still my favorite of theirs but this album had two of my favorite fun tunes: this one and Once Upon A Time in the West. What an incredible guitar sound - and the band was TIGHT.
The song makes sense when you know the Gypsy Moth, the boat that Robin Knox-Johnson used in the first single-handed circumnavigation of the Globe in IIRC 1969, was for some 40 years open display next to the Thames in a pedestrian area at Greenwich adjacent to the Curry Sark, the tea clipper on public display in a dry dock, and one of the staircases to the Thames pedestrian tunnel. I visited it many times with my kids when I lived nearby for 10 years. Happy memories. Alas, she was moved a few years ago when the area was revamped alongside the Curry Sark
The lead guitar is fine, but MAN OH MAN, the RYTHM GUITAR! Must be among of the best ever.
I just love how groovy this song is, a masterpiece to me. 10!
 LowPhreak wrote:
If I had to pick one, I'd say this is MK's best piece of guitar work.
 
definitely top 3 or 4 IMO.
Great music to listen in this album 
Rate 8 for this excellent tune 
Long Live                                                                                                                     Radio Paradise
Thank you Dire Straits for Single Handed Sailor               To me            9 -OUTSTANDING
 Jackson_Feelgood wrote:
COMMUNIQUE, One of the greatest albums ever made in the history of music. Same goes for the self titled album DIRE STRAITS.
 
There was no sophomore slump with this album.
so good, listen to the album MK did with Chet Adkins, i think you will like. Neck to Neck
One of the best picker of strings out there, please more first album as well
 LowPhreak wrote:
If I had to pick one, I'd say this is MK's best piece of guitar work.

 
So, so very hard to choose.  Even just from this album.  
One of the greatest outro guitar solos ever recorded!
the guitar work on this amazes me.
 ShaunJ wrote:

Bit of a nautical theme going on here today ( a single handed sailor with a salty dog on the sea).{#Cheesygrin}

 
Does the single-handed sailor have a pirate hook or just a stump?  Knopfler never tells.
If I had to pick one, I'd say this is MK's best piece of guitar work.
One of the best bands of all time. Some of the best style in guitar playing there is.
"Can't get no fancy notes on my blue guitar." A hundred times over, this band re-plays itself. Yet, it still sounds so good, same as ever...
ARRGH me hearties!
 ShamanManu wrote:

hear, hear {#Cheers}

 
Fully ok with that
 Jackson_Feelgood wrote:
COMMUNIQUE, One of the greatest albums ever made in the history of music. Same goes for the self titled album DIRE STRAITS.

 
hear, hear {#Cheers}
Dire straits and mark knopfler are near genius. Brilliant. I'm learning s new Taylor big baby made in USA axe snd knopfler is my finger pickin inspiration. 
COMMUNIQUE, One of the greatest albums ever made in the history of music. Same goes for the self titled album DIRE STRAITS.
One of the best fadeouts ever. Great that Bill let's it play out to silence. {#Clap}
Friday Aug. 28th - What a great music play list today. Packing for camping - perfect music to keep me company. {#Cool}
 ppopp wrote:
Again? Geeeez. *simultaneously farts and sneezes*

 
Are you this unhappy with everything, or just RP?
 ppopp wrote:
Again? Geeeez. *simultaneously farts and sneezes*

 
Bit of a nautical theme going on here today ( a single handed sailor with a salty dog on the sea).{#Cheesygrin}
Again? Geeeez. *simultaneously farts and sneezes*
 dragon1952 wrote:
Is it just me or is this the only Dire Straits tune they play?

 
Nah, there are over 30 other Dire Straits tunes and another 37 Mark Knopfler numbers on the playlist.
 dragon1952 wrote:
Is it just me or is this the only Dire Straits tune they play?

 
It is you.  If by 'they', you mean RP.

Brother in Arms, for example, was played 3 times this past month. 
Is it just me or is this the only Dire Straits tune they play?
They love a bit of Dire Straits at RP but I'm not complaining. Love this album.
 WFO_to_the_end wrote:
every thing m knopler does is sweet
 


I love coming back to this track, for me it's one of Dire Straits & Knopfler's finest. 1979, school was done & on the cusp of transition to the adult world.

The sailing connection always reminds me of the 1979 Fastnet Race disaster. The Fastnet Race took place from Cowes, Isle of Wight, off the southern England coast, out into the Atlantic to the Fastnet Rock at the mouth of Roaringwater Bay, County Cork, Ireland, The competitors were caught in a storm, boats capsized and lives lost.
guitar: 8
song & lyrics: 7
singer: 3

an average 6
pretty fair.


Marks great guitarist nothing but admire this guys work 10/10
 
every thing m knopler does is sweet
definitely classy Knopf  {#Cheers}
 calypsus_1 wrote:
Well, I think there will be no radio stations around the world, presenting a "set" (30 min.) equal or even similar. Why? There may be many whys .... or do not know, or do not want, or are not interested, or lack of independence, or is not profitable (market dependency). Or all reasons combined. RP is different. "None Of Us Are Free". Is true. Like says no one are completly independent. Because we are subject, permanently, changes and alterations, that is the nature of the world in which we live. But, it is proven, it is possible to combine all the factors, market, industry, diversity, entertainment, without losing the "cable", without losing "sight", without sacrificing the values, artistic quality, memories, authenticity, tradition, talent, innovation, harmony. Because it takes know-how & art. When it seems that everything is already done, everything is invented, this is a terrible mistake. Because you have to pass the "baton" to new generations. You need to reinvent. Music can not be just an entertainment factor. This is reductive and alienating. Music can not or should become, to submit to a mere product of industrial manufacturing, and its creators in some "automata" handlers of electronic artifacts. The music has to have soul. Music has always, to be associated with the culture of the peoples in all its aspects, social, cultural, historical, political, spiritual. Only then will reach its goal. Producing well-being and satisfaction to those who hear and feel. This requires "know-how" and Art.

 
There is a soul in this statement, I would suggest as heartfelt as any on this site, that should be an example to all. I doff my humble cloth hat to you, my friend, for staring down the trolls and nonbelievers with your utter faith in the primacy of art.
How about a little salty dog ?
 kcar wrote:

Not to pile on, LowPhreak, but I'm pretty sure norbertZ's English is better than your German. 

 
"Pretty sure", are you? I'm 100% sure that you have no idea of how fluent I may or may not be in German. I'm "pretty sure" that you made an ignorant assumption there. {#Rolleyes}

Thanks for playing, though.
At first I though Pink Floyd was playing. I really like that guitar sound! Dire Straits, great band, great music!
 LowPhreak wrote:

Too bad you haven't yet learned to spell or write beyond 3rd-grade level.

 
Not to pile on, LowPhreak, but I'm pretty sure norbertZ's English is better than your German. 
 coolpeople_rule wrote:
Every time I hear this song...it's almost like living in a moment. So pretty.

 

This song takes me to a nice place...evocative and dreamy.
Not the hugest Dire Straits fan, but Mark is one great guitar player.  Incredible tone here.
 david500 wrote:
Steady. Bob Dylanish.
 
And a J.J. Cale feel to the guitar sound (similar riff to Cajun Moon).
A classic....already!
Steady. Bob Dylanish.
 ShamanManu wrote:
9>>>>10
he just picks at my strings..... {#Smile}

 
Me too! This song takes me back to 1984 when I was stationed in England. I remember driving to Ispwich and having this cassette playing most of the way. It would still be ringing in my ears when I took the train to London and would spend the weekend there.

Great days, great memories. 
9>>>>10
he just picks at my strings..... {#Smile}
 LowPhreak wrote:

Too bad you haven't yet learned to spell or write beyond 3rd-grade level.

 
Could it be, that you haven't passed exam in good manners and behaviours this year again?

There is obviously no reason to get abusive against me, just because we don't share the same taste of music.

Meine Fehlschreibung war Absicht {#Cheesygrin}

I had to cry out loud - 'bo(a)ring' - my feelings.
Lol I see what you did there.. {#Naughty}

  richlister wrote:
Suppose it's better than a one handed web surfer.
 

Speechless...    {#Notworthy}
This album is such a jewel...



 norbertZ wrote:
overplayed and boaring {#Stop}

 
Too bad you haven't yet learned to spell or write beyond 3rd-grade level.
Love that guitar
plonky and annoying....psd
Catchy like chicklets..sticks in your teeth.. a real emotional response for me
Suppose it's better than a one handed web surfer.
 norbertZ wrote:
overplayed and boaring
This post apparently contained an image that was dragged into the post editor. Sorry, but any text contained in the post after this point has been lost.
overplayed and boaring {#Stop}
{#Daisy}Ooooh that guitar{#Daisy}sends me man{#Daisy}
{#Drummer}{#Bananapiano}{#Drummer}  .......... this boy can sure play a nice guitar 9
Every time I hear this song...it's almost like living in a moment. So pretty.
 markohmark wrote:
Wow. There are 12 years worth of comments on this song.....
Must be one of the mainstay songs of RP.
 
Bill likes Mark Knopfler.  Rightly so; technically excellent; lyrics are superb; and he plays several different styles.  This one's a 9, even after hearing it ten million times.
Wow. There are 12 years worth of comments on this song.....
Must be one of the mainstay songs of RP.
 
 cc_rider wrote:
Last time I heard this, just for fun I went to Wiki and looked up 'Cutty Sark'. Interesting stuff, worth reading if you like history and nautical stuff. At last check the ship suffered a devastating fire while undergoing restoration.

 

The song also mentions the Gipsy Moth---the sailboat that Chichester single handedly sailed around the globe in the 60s.  She's displayed next to the Cutty Sark in Greenwich (or was prior to the Cutty Sark fire; I assume she's still there).
 Hogtownmike wrote:

Mark Knopfler and Dire Straights have done some of my favorite music, but I have to agree here on this point. Not sure if it is because I listen to RP all-day every day at work, and quite a bit on the weekends as well, but I do hear a some repetitiveness seeping in...

 
I don't notice repetition of specific Dire Straits/Knopfler songs, but there are over 70 tunes featuring some manifestation of Mark Knopfler on the RP playlist, so that could make it likely that he does get a lot of airtime here.
 Hogtownmike wrote:

Mark Knopfler and Dire Straights have done some of my favorite music, but I have to agree here on this point. Not sure if it is because I listen to RP all-day every day at work, and quite a bit on the weekends as well, but I do hear a some repetitiveness seeping in...

 

interesting.... i too listen almost all day, almost every day and i can't recall hearing this in a very long time and certainly not very frequently. I hadn't even rated it until now... 7.5, rounded down for now
 Stranglersfan wrote:

Totally agree bb, another fine example how commercial radio has destroyed a lot of great music.

 

hit = lowest common denominater...... that is why blues musians go broke .they play their hearts out but the bubblegummers who buy music fads do not " ge it" oh well we do.....{#Dance}
I thought Communique was a strong album when I bought it over thirty years ago as a high school senior.   Years later, I still love it, a strong album.
 
Oh...yeah. Sailin' away on that sweeeet guitar...{#Good-vibes}
 gigikent wrote:
with all due respect, this gets too much airplay!

 
Mark Knopfler and Dire Straights have done some of my favorite music, but I have to agree here on this point. Not sure if it is because I listen to RP all-day every day at work, and quite a bit on the weekends as well, but I do hear a some repetitiveness seeping in...
with all due respect, this gets too much airplay!
Silky smooth guitar tone.
 

  bb_matt wrote:
The funny thing about Dire Straits, is their lesser know non 'hits' are by far the best example of their work.

The big hits now sound terribly dated and have been played to death, whilst the lesser know stuff is great.

Nice one Bill!
Like this :) 

 




.............The Police - Walking On The Moon
The Wailin' Jennys - Storm Comin'
Solomon Burke - None Of Us Are Free
S.E. Rogie - Kpindigbee
Jerry Douglas - Route Irish
Dire Straits - Single Handed Sailor
Counting Crows - Anna Begins................

Well, I think there will be no radio stations around the world, presenting a "set" (30 min.) equal or even similar. Why? There may be many whys .... or do not know, or do not want, or are not interested, or lack of independence, or is not profitable (market dependency). Or all reasons combined. RP is different. "None Of Us Are Free". Is true. Like says no one are completly independent. Because we are subject, permanently, changes and alterations, that is the nature of the world in which we live. But, it is proven, it is possible to combine all the factors, market, industry, diversity, entertainment, without losing the "cable", without losing "sight", without sacrificing the values, artistic quality, memories, authenticity, tradition, talent, innovation, harmony. Because it takes know-how & art. When it seems that everything is already done, everything is invented, this is a terrible mistake. Because you have to pass the "baton" to new generations. You need to reinvent. Music can not be just an entertainment factor. This is reductive and alienating. Music can not or should become, to submit to a mere product of industrial manufacturing, and its creators in some "automata" handlers of electronic artifacts. The music has to have soul. Music has always, to be associated with the culture of the peoples in all its aspects, social, cultural, historical, political, spiritual. Only then will reach its goal. Producing well-being and satisfaction to those who hear and feel. This requires "know-how" and Art.


 Rmike wrote:
The value of RP's content is so far above the qualities of the audience..
The worst thing about RP may be this forum.  Its not contributing much due to the stoners, losers, and haters trying to seem "cool".

 
There is a cottage industry of comment board gripers out there.  There is nothing stopping you from putting us all to shame, stepping up, and contributing the type of quality comments that you feel is lacking.  I won't hold my breath. 

Needless to say, I don't agree with you at all.  If you want music journalism, then a comment board is not the place.
Yeah, the boy can play......
 bb_matt wrote:
The funny thing about Dire Straits, is their lesser know non 'hits' are by far the best example of their work.

The big hits now sound terribly dated and have been played to death, whilst the lesser know stuff is great.

Nice one Bill!
Like this :) 

 
Totally agree bb, another fine example how commercial radio has destroyed a lot of great music.
The funny thing about Dire Straits, is their lesser know non 'hits' are by far the best example of their work.

The big hits now sound terribly dated and have been played to death, whilst the lesser know stuff is great.

Nice one Bill!
Like this :) 
Excellent.
 Imkirok wrote:

Other way around for me.  I love DS, but find MK's solo stuff to be a little repetitive and slow.  He's still my all-time favorite guitarist, but I have a particular fondness for the time he was with the band.



 
Seconded whole-heartedly.  I love his solo work but there was a special spark in Dire Straits.
 ziakut wrote:
Just not as crazy about Dire Straits as I am about solo MK. Still good though...
 
Other way around for me.  I love DS, but find MK's solo stuff to be a little repetitive and slow.  He's still my all-time favorite guitarist, but I have a particular fondness for the time he was with the band.


 DD rabbi_phil wrote:


there are some pretty decent people contributing to this format. i found many to be intelligent and very(very) knowledgeable about music and so much more....politics,religion,socially aware. I've never learned more about music than after i began reading the posts, researching to back up my responses, other comments, and interacting with other rp listeners. many(most) are astute, caring compassionate individuals. we all have some song or artist we dont care for and it can be fun to kinda slam 'em at times...it's smashing pumpkins and new rem for me currently. the "loser and stoner"comment is just pure ignorance on your part. if you're that unhappy about the forum then why are you here? we won't miss u when u go...I promise
 
...nor I
Just not as crazy about Dire Straits as I am about solo MK. Still good though...
 AndyJ wrote:
Nice set... More beach music... There are no bad days at the beach.
 
There are not!!!    {#Motor}
I have a feeling that Bill or Rebecca is a big Dire Straits fan.
And I'm thrilled because so am I   {#Jump} 

Nice set... More beach music... There are no bad days at the beach.


Nice...   I could listen to that outro groove for another 10 minutes!

{#Guitarist}  {#Dancingbanana}
 Rmike wrote:
The value of RP's content is so far above the qualities of the audience..
The worst thing about RP may be this forum.  Its not contributing much due to the stoners, losers, and haters trying to seem "cool".
 

there are some pretty decent people contributing to this format. i found many to be intelligent and very(very) knowledgeable about music and so much more....politics,religion,socially aware. I've never learned more about music than after i began reading the posts, researching to back up my responses, other comments, and interacting with other rp listeners. many(most) are astute, caring compassionate individuals. we all have some song or artist we dont care for and it can be fun to kinda slam 'em at times...it's smashing pumpkins and new rem for me currently. the "loser and stoner"comment is just pure ignorance on your part. if you're that unhappy about the forum then why are you here? we won't miss u when u go...I promise
 Rmike wrote:
The value of RP's content is so far above the qualities of the audience..
The worst thing about RP may be this forum.  Its not contributing much due to the stoners, losers, and haters trying to seem "cool".
 
People are entitled to their opinions.  Anyhow, there seem to be more compliments for this tune than there are adverse comments.  I like this tune, but I don't need to go and buy all of Mr. Knopfler's material, or even like it.
Ok, I take back what I said about Mark whatever his name is. I like this song. Great guitar work.
Definitely a top ten stop-what-you're-doing-close-your-eyes-drift-away song! {#Meditate} {#Music}
 madaxeman wrote:
The hostility beats me. I get that some people might find D.S. bland - no gimmicks. Anyone who knows anything about guitar playing or songwriting must, at the very least, admire the craft involved. I wish I could play like Knopfler.
 
I second that well spoken madaxeman .. as soon as the first 2 bars were played I reached for the volume control.. wonderful guitar and a pleasing voice .. such an acomplished musician a true proffesional. Sad that some people find this offensive..
The hostility beats me. I get that some people might find D.S. bland - no gimmicks. Anyone who knows anything about guitar playing or songwriting must, at the very least, admire the craft involved. I wish I could play like Knopfler.
The value of RP's content is so far above the qualities of the audience..
The worst thing about RP may be this forum.  Its not contributing much due to the stoners, losers, and haters trying to seem "cool".
 sici wrote:


Which must be why my 16 and 18 year-olds enjoy so much of what's on Radio Paradise along with their Dad.

I'm accustomed to hearing the new music that Bill and Rebecca find from new bands that we've never heard of, and we appreciate the old treasures that have passed us by over the years, which RP dusts off and plays.

We enjoy most everything, and the occasional song that doesn't do anything for us, or grates on our nerves, doesn't deter us from listening. It's still better than any FM or XM station that I know of.

That said, I think that RP could use the occasional Enrico Caruso masterpiece now and then.  ;-)
 

Very well said sici my sentiments indeed,,, and like you an occasional nerve grater but I just hit the mute button for that artist and track until its over.. no good running around with musical Blinkers on and complaining. Although I have been guilty of that but always try to put a Jocular slant to it.
 Papernapkin wrote:

Unfortunately RP caters to old people who mostly like hearing things from 30 years ago.
 

Which must be why my 16 and 18 year-olds enjoy so much of what's on Radio Paradise along with their Dad.

I'm accustomed to hearing the new music that Bill and Rebecca find from new bands that we've never heard of, and we appreciate the old treasures that have passed us by over the years, which RP dusts off and plays.

We enjoy most everything, and the occasional song that doesn't do anything for us, or grates on our nerves, doesn't deter us from listening. It's still better than any FM or XM station that I know of.

That said, I think that RP could use the occasional Enrico Caruso masterpiece now and then.  ;-)
Like a lot of bands, DS did not become gimmicky until their first (really good albums) didn't sell enough (apparently). Now, Mark is back to being less gimmicky but somehat dull.
Perfect song perfect album.
You had to be there to appreciate it. The hostility here is pitiful.
The only time this stupid band sounds good and unstupid is on RP, cuz of your selection that reveals the subtlety under the gimmicky crap. Thank you. That may piss off DS fans, but is a compliment to you Bill, your finesse.
 cently cc_rider wrote:
Last time I heard this, just for fun I went to Wiki and looked up 'Cutty Sark'. Interesting stuff, worth reading if you like history and nautical stuff. At last check the ship suffered a devastating fire while undergoing restoration.
 

Recently re-opened!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17835225 
Knoffler... simple soulful guitar magic!
This is in the same league as Wooden Ships.
While this song does provide additional proof that Knoffler is a full-blown god and not a demi-god, sail boats have always seemed like a tedious subject for rock music - those two CS&N songs being the only exceptions.

The only business rock stars have being aboard boats is making poor decisions with drugs and putting groupies lives at risk.
I gotta get this album.  So much win.