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Friday, September 21, 2012

Devil Baby

The first time I heard Mark knopfler’s haunting voice was in his third solo album, ‘The Ragpicker’s Dream,’ even before I knew who he was, even before I had heard of Dire Straits.

A friend had purchased an audio CD of the album in a sale, and he was very excited about it; he was a huge fan of Knopfler! I’m talking about the days when audio CD is just invented; cassettes still ruled the roost, we hadn’t heard of mp3 or any other kind of song download system via the net; we hadn’t heard of internet, forget about Youtube. So, my friend got the CD, but did not have an instrument to play the damn thing. Those days I had a desktop computer; one of the first among my friends. So, he gave me the CD, and I played it, for years, so much so that I could sing through the entire album.

All this was before I discovered Dire Straits and their masterpiece ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

The other day, I listened to ‘The Ragpicker’s Dream’ again after a long time, and I was struck by how much I love Knopfler’s voice, and this song, ‘Devil Baby’.

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Devil Baby

The freaks'll stay together
They're a tight old crew
You look at them
And they look at you
I love the ballyhoo girl
But she don't care
It's hard to find love anywhere
Hard to find love anywhere

The professor is the talker
He's the talking man
And if he can't clean a midway
Nobody can
He'll get the tip on in
From the midway mud
You gotta have the sawdust in the blood
Gotta have the sawdust in the blood

See the pig-faced man and the monkey girl
Come see the big fat lady
'Gator slim with the alligator skin
Come see the devil baby

Springer is the talker
He's the talking man
He's got the whole studio
Eating out of his hand
You can be on too
With the nuts and the geeks
Call 1-800-IMA FREAK
1-800-IMA FREAK

Be the pig-faced man or the monkey girl
Come be the big fat lady
'Gator slim with the alligator skin
Come be the devil baby

Be the pig-faced man or the monkey girl
Come be the big fat lady
'Gator slim with the alligator skin
Come be the devil baby


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Mark Knopfler sings ‘Devil Baby’ at the Edison Music Awards in Heineken Music Hall Amsterdam, Holland, March 6, 2003. In YouTube.

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The Ragpicker's Dream is the third solo album by Mark Knopfler. Released on September 30, 2002, the album is a collection of songs written from the point of view of poor but dignified itinerant men, struggling to get by in life, often enjoying small triumphs. Knopfler gives a folk imprint to the whole album without relying too heavily on the acoustic guitar. The first song, "Why Aye Man", was used as the theme tune for the third series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet which first aired in 2002. The album contains numerous other references to North East England, including the village of Tow Law on "Hill Farmer's Blues". The cover image is taken from a photo by Elliott Erwitt.
More here.

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Dire Straits was a British rock band, formed in 1977 by former journalist and teacher Mark Knopfler, initially composed of Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), his younger brother David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Pick Withers (drums and percussion).

Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest to beat music within the context of rock and roll. Despite the prominence of punk rock during the band's early years, the band's stripped-down sound contrasted with punk, demonstrating a more "rootsy" influence that emerged out of pub rock. Many of Dire Straits' compositions were melancholic.

Dire Straits' biggest selling album, Brothers in Arms, has sold over 30 million copies. They also became one of the world's most commercially successful bands, with worldwide album sales of over 120 million. Dire Straits won numerous music awards during their career, including four Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards—winning Best British Group twice, and two MTV Video Music Awards. The band's most popular songs include "Sultans of Swing", "Romeo and Juliet", "Tunnel of Love", "Private Investigations", "Money for Nothing", "Walk of Life", "So Far Away", "Your Latest Trick" and "Brothers in Arms".

Dire Straits' career spanned 18 years. There were several changes in personnel over that period, leaving Mark Knopfler and John Illsley as the only two original bandmates who had remained throughout the band's career. Dire Straits disbanded in 1995 when Mark Knopfler launched his career full time as a solo artist.
More here.

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Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977. After Dire Straits disbanded in 1995, Knopfler went on to record and produce seven solo albums, including Golden Heart (1996), Sailing to Philadelphia (2000), and Get Lucky (2009). He has composed and produced film scores for eight films, including Local Hero (1983), Cal (1984), The Princess Bride (1987), and Wag the Dog (1997) . In addition to his work with Dire Straits and as a solo artist and composer, Knopfler has recorded and performed with many prominent musicians, including Phil Lynott, Chet Atkins, The Chieftains, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Jools Holland, Steely Dan, Bryan Ferry, Sonny Landreth, and Van Morrison. He has produced albums for Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, and Randy Newman.

Knopfler is one of the most respected fingerstyle guitarists of the modern rock era, and was ranked 27th on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Knopfler and Dire Straits have sold in excess of 120 million albums to date. A four-time Grammy Award winner, Knopfler is the recipient of the Edison Award and the Steiger Award, and holds three honorary doctorate degrees in music from universities in the United Kingdom.
More here.

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