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Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris: All the Roadrunning

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Mercury Records
Released: 2006.04.25
Time:
 50:33
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): See Artists ...
Rating: *****..... (5/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.mark-knopfler.co.uk
Appears with: Dire Straits
Purchase date: 1007.03.11
Price in €: 9,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Beachcombing (M.Knopfler) - 4:14
[2] I Dug Up a Diamond (M.Knopfler) - 3:38
[3] This Is Us (M.Knopfler) - 4:39
[4] Red Staggerwing (M.Knopfler) - 3:03
[5] Rollin' On (M.Knopfler) - 4:14
[6] Love and Happiness (E.Harris/Rhodes) - 4:22
[7] Right Now (M.Knopfler) - 3:33
[8] Donkey Town (M.Knopfler) - 5:42
[9] Belle Starr (E.Harris) - 3:06
[10] Beyond My Wildest Dreams (M.Knopfler) - 4:25
[11] All the Roadrunning (M.Knopfler) - 4:49
[12] If This Is Goodbye (M.Knopfler) - 4:44

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Mark Knopfler - Guitar, Vocals, Producer
Emmylou Harris - Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals

Dan Dugmore - Acoustic Guitar, Pedal Steel, 6-String Bass
Paul Franklin - Pedal Steel, Steel Guitar
Guy Fletcher - Keyboards, Engineer
Richard Bennett - Guitar
Steve Conn - Accordion
Jim Cox - Keyboards
Chad Cromwell - Drums
Danny Cummings - Drums
Glen Duncan - Fiddle, Mandolin
Stuart Duncan - Fiddle
Bill Ware - Triangle
Glenn Worf - Bass
Jim Horn - Horn
The Memphis Horns - Horn

Chuck Ainlay - Producer, Engineer, Mixing
Mark Kapps - Engineer, Horn Engineer
Rupert Coulson - Mixing Assistant, Assistant
Mark Ralston - Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant, Assistant
John Saylor - Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant, Assistant
Graham Meek - Technical Support
Fabio Lovino - Photography
Maria Verel - Make-Up, Hair Stylist

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2006 CD Warner Bros 44154
2006 LP Warner Bros / Ada 44154
2006 CD Universal International 9877385
2006 CD Universal 9856242

For the past seven years, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris have been quietly compiling a treasure trove of duets--the result, All the Roadrunning. Co-producing with Chuck Ainlay, Knopfler shares his electric, acoustic and slide playing with guitarist Richard Bennett. The other musicians in the line-up are: Jim Cox and Guy Fletcher keyboards, Glen Duncan fiddle and mandolin, Dan Dugmore steel, Glen Worf bass and Chad Cromwell and Danny Cummins drums.



Recorded intermittently over the course of seven years, ALL THE ROADRUNNING is the collaborative project between Dire Straits guitarist and vocalist Mark Knopfler and country music luminary Emmylou Harris. While Knopfler's bluesy slow-hand picking and minimalist, muttering vocals may seem an odd match for Harris's lush, full-throated soprano, the pairing works remarkably well.
Better still is the songwriting, with the breezy back-porch opener "Beachcombing" and the stately 9/11-themed "If This Is Goodbye" among the highlights. As always, Knopfler's fluid guitar style is engaging, and it adds a shadowy, atmospheric backdrop to the roots-conscious proceedings. On the surface, ALL THE ROADRUNNING is a quiet and unassuming record, but its subtlety and grace are part of its lasting charm.



This lush and earthy collaboration between Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris may sound like it rose from an amiable weeklong studio session, but the 12 tracks that make up All the Roadrunning were actually recorded over the span of seven years. The boot-stomping "Red Staggerwing" and the gentle "Donkey Town," both of which were bumped from Knopfler's Sailing to Philadelphia record, give the ex-Dire Straits leader a chance to flex his country muscle, while the wistful title track spotlights the lovely Harris, whose playful demeanor and guarded confidence helps keep Knopfler in check during his sometimes excessive soloing. The two couldn't be more at odds vocally, but Knopfler's laconic drawl is like an easy chair for Harris' fluid pipes, and standout tracks like the 9/11-inspired "This Is Goodbye," the wistful "Beachcombing," and the infectious single "This Is Us" come off as effortless statements of vitality from both camps.

James Christopher Monger - All Music Guide



Over the last seven years, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris quietly recorded an album by stealing "a few precious hours of studio time here and there," as the ex-Dire Straits singer/guitarist puts it. Good thing they kept it largely under wraps--expectations would have pushed through the clouds, especially as Knopfler conjured 10 of the 12 cuts, and Harris, who writes potently, but little, contributed two ("Love and Happiness," "Belle Starr"). Yet now that it's here, All the Roadrunning - while beautiful - seems somehow underwhelming, and without a true centerpiece. Anyone familiar with the artists' famous catalogues would expect the repertoire to be poetic and brooding, and that Harris's ethereal soprano would add light to Knopfler's dark Prozac rumblings. But the surprise is that the album is too tame, never breaks out of its midtempo groove, and never takes any big chances.
That said, there is much to like: The marital scrapbook romp of "This Is Us," the bluesy bickering of "Right Now," the wrenching poignancy of the 9/11-inspired ballad "If This Is Goodbye." Knopfler, ever the hypnotic guitarist, turns in some thrillingly droll and laconic vocals, and Harris brings the spirited coltishness of her early work to "Belle Starr." In the end, though, this is not so much a duet album as two famously melancholy musicians singing together -at times, strikingly so.

Alanna Nash - Amazon.com



Mark Knopfler und Emmylou Harris lernten sich einst in einem TV-Special zu Ehren von Nashville-Legende Chet Atkins kennen. Später trafen sie sich dann im Studio, um Duette für ein Hank-Williams-Tribute einzuspielen. Weil ihre Begegnungen stets angenehm verliefen und der ehemalige Dire-Straits-Chef aus dem schottischen Glasgow und die Americana-Sängerin aus Birmingham in Alabama bald merkten, dass sie auf einer Wellenlänge funken, entstand die Idee eines gemeinsamen Albums. Es dauerte allerdings noch sieben Jahre, bis das endlich im Kasten war. Die prall gefüllten Terminkalender erlaubten in dieser Zeit nur selten Zusammenkünfte der beiden.

"Wir haben die Songs immer dann aufgenommen, wenn wir irgendwo ein bisschen Studiozeit abknapsen konnten", erinnert sich Knopfler an die ungewöhnliche Entstehungsgeschichte. Mag sein, dass All The Roadrunning wegen der langwierigen Prozedur nicht der große Wurf wurde. Das transatlantische Paar erfüllt hier nicht ganz die Erwartungen, die man mit einem Gipfeltreffen solcher Giganten unweigerlich verknüpft. Einige der Songs zwischen Country, Folk und Rock, die die zwei mit Knopflers Tourformation und Sessionsprofis wie Glen Duncan und Dan Dugmore verwirklichten, sind leider etwas brav und bieder geraten.

Neben allzu vorhersehbaren Titeln wie der Akustiknummer "Donkey Town", dem Slowsong "Rollin' On" und dem mediokren Countryrocker "Belle Starr" sind dem gemischten Doppel freilich auch ein paar Spitzensongs für die Ewigkeit gelungen. Und allein deshalb lohnt sich die Anschaffung für Fans schon. Das im Square-Dance-Rhythmus gehaltene "Red Staggerwing" zum Beispiel macht so richtig Spaß. Der Uptempo-Track "This Is Us" kann mit Dire-Straits-Hits wie "Money For Nothing" mühelos mithalten. Der Folkwalzer "All The Roadrunning" ist mit seinen keltischen Untertönen ganz zauberhaft. Und das abschließende "If This Is Goodbye" rührt einen fast zu Tränen. Dieses Liebeslied, das das Zeug zum Klassiker hat, ist von einem Zitat des Schriftstellers Ian McEwan (Saturday) inspiriert. Er schrieb kurz nach den Terroranschlägen des 11. September über die Anrufe, die aus den Twin Towers in New York abgingen und in denen die vom Feuer bedrohten Menschen ihren Angehörigen ein letztes Lebwohl schickten. Hier besticht das Roots-Dreamteam mit einer Klasse, wie sie eben nur echte Ausnahmemusiker erreichen.

Harald Kepler - Amazon.de



This duets collection, which was recorded in fits and starts over the course of six years, affirms it: Good things come to those who wait. Guitar guru Knopfler and honky-tonk angel Harris have long run in the same circles and share a common sensibility about what constitutes lasting listening. The earliest of the tracks captured here - the Cajun-styled "Red Staggerwing" and the dusty, high-lonesome "Donkey Town" - date back to Knopfler's Sailing to Philadelphia sessions, but unlike the work of more ephemeral artists, they could've been recorded last week or a half-century ago. The same can't be said, however, of "Beachcombing," one of several tracks to vividly spotlight Knopfler's deft (and immediately recognizable) finger-picking. That's not a complaint: The song's wistfully panoramic vistas of "wreckage washing up all along the coast" is one of the most moving post-Katrina musings you're likely to hear. All the Roadrunning covers plenty of stylistic ground. The Harris-penned "Love and Happiness" - a manifestation of motherly love wrapped in a two-stepping Texan melody - may be the most old-school country song of her long career, while the waltz-time title track conjures up images of a misty Irish hillside. Much like its creators, All the Roadrunning never calls attention to its charms, instead simply laying them out without pretense, allowing the pleasures to seep into the system on their own.

David Sprague - Barnes & Noble



What critics says:

Rolling Stone (p.57) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[B]allads like the title track and the Springsteen-esque 'Beyond My Wildest Dreams' are world-wise and gently gorgeous."

Entertainment Weekly (p.73) - "[T]he tension between their vocal personas - she's ever hopeful, he's relentlessly glum - is the highlight of ALL THE ROADRUNNING." - Grade: B-

Mojo (p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[W]hen translating his trademark languorous picaresques into his'n'hers arrangements the result is a series of ordinary life duets that...suggest moments of sun-setting harmony at the end of tired lives. Real hardcore country..."

Uncut (p.126) - 3 stars out of 5 - "When Harris is upfront - as on the wonderfully delicate 'Rollin' On' or 'Love And Happiness' - it's sublime, emotive stuff."

Dirty Linen (p.49) - "When it comes to artistic integrity, commercial appeal, and sheer transcendency, it doesn't get much better than this."

No Depression (p.125) - "[A] remarkably cohesive album...sonically every track here sounds like it belongs..."



All the Roadrunning is an elegant, sometimes sleepy collection of country-folk duets pairing Dire Straits' former frontman with one of Nashville's elder stateswomen. Mark Knopfler, who's been working in roots mode for a while now on his solo records, sings in a shopworn tenor and works up graceful harmonies with Emmylou Harris, whose crystalline voice is put to better use here than on her arty recent records. The pair mostly keep the tempos slow and the arrangements light on these portraits of heartbreak and small-town life, and a handful of songs -- including the reggae-tinged "Rollin' On" -- meander by unremarkably. But ballads like the title track and the Springsteen-esque "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" are world-wise and gently gorgeous.

CHRISTIAN HOARD (Apr 18, 2006) - Rolling Stone
 

 L y r i c s


Beachcombing

They say there’s wreckage washing up
all along the coast
No one seems to know too much
Or who got hit the most
Nothing has been spoken
There’s not a lot to see
But something has been broken
that’s how it feels to me

We had a harmony
I never meant to spoil
Now it's lying in the water
Like a slick of oil
The tide is running out to sea
Under a darkening sky
The night is falling down on me
And I‘m thinking that I

Should head on home
Been gone too long
Leave my roaming
Beachcombing

Little wild kitten out hunting
To see what he can get
You’re in a big city now
won’t stop growing yet
The sun is going down smoking
A flaming testament
Something has been broken
And it feels permanent

Little seabird flying
He knows where he wants to go
Guess i ought to pack my stuff
And do the thing I know
I turn around and head on back
Along the old sea wall
I felt something give and crack
And now I’m sorry that’s all

Head on home
Been gone too long
Leave my roaming
Beachcombing


I Dug Up a Diamond

I dug up a diamond
Rare and fine
I dug up a diamond
In a deep dark mine
If only I could cling to
my beautiful find
I dug up a diamond
In a deep dark mine

My gem is special
Beyond all worth
As strong as any metal
Or stone in the earth
Sharp as any razor
Or blade you can buy
Bright as any laser
Or any star in the sky

Maybe once in a lifetime
You'll hold one in your hand
Once in a lifetime
In this land
Where the journey ends
In a worthless claim
Time and again
In the mining game

I dug up a diamond
Rare and fine
I dug up a diamond
In a deep dark mine
Down in the darkness
In the dirt and the grime
I dug up a diamond
In a deep dark mine


This Is Us

This is us down at the Mardi Gras
This is us In your Daddy’s Car
You and the missing link
Yeah, I’d had a little too much to drink,now
Too long in the sun
Having too much fun
You and me and our memories
This is us

Rocking at the barbecue
Yeah, when we said I do
Hand jiving on the Ballroom floor
You in that wedding coat you wore
And you in that amazing dress
I was stoned on love I guess
You and me we were meant to be
This is us

This is us on our Honeymoon
In our hotel room
Sitting by the wishing well
Checking out of the love motel
Making plans for the sunshine state
Waiting at the terminal gate
You and me making history
This is us

And our baby boy
With our pride and joy
You at the Sunday Game
Standing next to What’s hisname?
On our Anniversary
With the family
You and me and our memories
This is us

Red Staggerwing

If i was staggerwing plane
A staggerwingpainted red
I'd fly over to your house, baby
Buzz you in your bed
If i was a taperwing
A taperwing painted blue
I'd be barrell-rolling over you
You're gonna need a rider anyhow
Let me be your rider now

If i was a maserati
A red 300s
I'd ride around to your house, baby
Give you a driving test
If i was a mustang racer
White with a stripe of blue
You could ride me,baby
Whenever you wanted to
You're gonna need a rider anyhow
Let me be your rider now

If i was a fender guitar
A fender painted red
You could play me, darlin'
Until your fingers bled
If i was one of them gibsons
Like a '58 or '9
You could plug me in
And play me anytime
You're gonna need a rider anyhow
Let me be your rider now

If i was a motorcycle
A vincent red rapide
I'd ride around to your house, baby
Get you up to speed
If i was short track racer
I'd be an indian
You could ride me around
And ride me round again
You're gonna need a rider anyhow
Let me be your rider now
You're gonna need a rider anyhow
Let me be your rider now


Rollin' On

Been kickin’ sawdust
In these clothes
For a blue moon
And a red nose
The boys will put 'em up
And tear 'em down
We’ll wash away
The dirt
Just a glass a day
Ain’t gonna hurt
Pretty soon we’ll move on
Out of town

We pass them by
Across the plains
We don’t even try
To catch the names
It’s supper-time and their kids
Are home from school
They draw the shades
On their shops
While we go a'checking
Through the props
And putting on the paint
To play the fool

Then we're rollin’ on
Rollin' on
Feeling, better
Than we did last night
Rollin’ on rollin’ on
It’s hard some times
Pretty much it’s alright

I’ll go soft shoe
When it rains
I’ll go shuffle through
The aches and pains
Mr. young at heart
That’s what I try to be
They all laugh
And cry
They get to feeling better
And that is why
If it was good for you
Truly it was good for me

Then we're rollin’ on
Rollin’ on
Feeling better
Than we did last night
Rollin’ on rollin’ on
It’s hard sometimes
Pretty much it’s alright


Love and Happiness

Here's a wishing well
Here's a penny for
Any thought it is
That makes you smile
Every diamond dream
Everything that brings
Love and happiness
To your life

Here's a rabbit's foot
Take it when you go
So you'll always know
You're safe from harm
Wear your ruby shoes
When you're far away
So you'll always stay
Home in your heart

You will always have a lucky star
That shines because of what you are
Even in the deepest dark
Because your aim is true
And if i could only have one wish
Darling, then it would be this
Love and happiness for you

Here's a spinning wheel
Use it once you've learned
There's a way to turn
The straw to gold
Here's a rosary
Count on every bead
With a prayer to keep
The hope you hold

You will always have a lucky star
That shines because of what you are
Even in the deepest dark
Because your aim is true
And if I could only have one wish
Darling, then it would be this
Love and happiness for you
And if I could only have one wish
Darling, then it would be this
Love and happiness for you


Right Now

Miles between us, here we are
Side by side in a stranded car
Right now, baby right now
And it’s too dark to see
Anyhow so where are we
Right now, baby, right now?
You could say we’ve both come down
To a place called lonesome town.
When'd you loose a hold on me
Anyhow and where are we
Right now, baby right now?

We stood up and said 'I do'
Vowed to see each other through
Right now, baby right now.
I’m looking down this road tonight
And I don’t see a light
Right now, baby right now.
If we're so clever tell me how
We're waiting for the wrecker now.
Let’s forget what used to be
Anyhow and where are we
Right now,oh baby right now?

   

Donkey Town

I’ve been around in Donkeytown
too long baby too long
Checking out of Donkeytown
So long, so long, so long

Her pretty eyes are pretty still
But Jim’s got a kind of a squint Yeah
I dug up my last check from out of the mine
Now I feel like I’ve done my stint
Jim got an army pension
When he walked from the military court
No body ever mentioned
The medical report

She does little things for me
She likes to get the both of us high. Yeah
She says I’m a tender-hearted man
Prince charming,yeah, sure, I’m the guy
He likes the wrecker's dogs on chains
and the smoke from the company fires
diesel oil in the trucks and cranes
And the smell of burning tires

But I’ve been around in Donkeytown
Too long, baby ,too long
Checking out of Donkeytown
So long, so long, so long

There’s a purple heart in a silver tin
and a grey .45 in a drawer. Yeah
Most of the time you can drink with him
but some other time he’s just sore
On days when she says she can’t think straight
Or she feels like she’s getting the jumps
She’ll go shoot off her .38
At cans on a Donkeytown dump

It was Friday late and she crossed those legs
She told me flat out she would. Yeah
If I could pull up my trailer pegs
We could get away together for good
I sure wish her the best of luck
She’s going to need it thinking of Jim
I don’t like to leave her stuck
But she’s near as bad as him

But I’ve been around in Donkeytown
too long baby too long
Checking out of Donkeytown
So long, so long, so long
Checking out of Donkeytown
So long, so long, so long

Belle Starr

My mamma and my daddy
Told me that love is a two-way street
But lately baby, you've been finding
New ways of dragging your feet
So come on, make your best shot
You don't have to take the blame
I'll be your belle star
You can be my Jesse James

There's lonely people everywhere
From Abilene to Arkansas
The way they run for cover
You'd think love was against the law
Well i don't need a pistol , baby
You won't have to rob a train
You can be my belle star
And i can be your Jesse James

I know you've done some hard time
Baby, and you've got your doubts
When you feel surrounded
And it's looking there's no way out
I'll come riding to rescue
All you gotta do is call my name
I'll be your belle star
You can be my Jesse James

It don't take a genius, baby
There aint no big mystery
You can't play it safe
And still go down in history
So saddle up the horses
'Cos we're headed for the hall of fame
I'll be your belle star
You can be my Jesse James
I'll be your belle star
You can be my Jesse James


Beyond My Wildest Dreams

I didn't ask for much
As maybe I ought've
But I'm staying in touch
With the one I love
And I can see in the dials
And in these headlights beams
Beyond my wildest
Beyond my wildest dreams
Beyond my wildest dreams
Beyond my wildest dreams
I've been with you
I've been with you

These are the big payloads
Hammer down on the floor
These are the restless roads
Every one a war
But in the flashing lines
I see a love supreme
Beyond my wildest
Beyond my wildest dreams
Beyond my wildest dreams
Beyond my wildest dreams
I've been with you
I've been with you

They promised me some good home time
And some layover pay
The agent he's a friend of mine
Says it's due my way
I'd drive a thousand miles
haul a trailer of tears
Just to see you smile
And as the dawn appears
At the edge of the night
There's still a light that gleams
Beyond my wildest
Beyond my wildest dreams
Beyond my wildest dreams
Beyond my wildest dreams
I've been with you
I've been with you


All The Roadrunning

A million miles our vagabond wheels
Clocked up beneath the clouds
They’re counting down to show time
When we do it for real with the crowds
Air miles are owing but they don’t come for free
And they don’t give you any for pain
But if it’s all for nothing
All the road running has been in vain

The rim shots come down like cannon fire
And thunder off the wall
There’s a man in every corner
And each one is giving his all
But this is my piper, this is my drum
So you never will hear me complain
And if it’s all for nothing
All the road running has been in vain

All the road running
All the road running

Well if you’re inclined to go up on the wall
It can only be fast and high
And those who don’t like the danger soon
Find something different to try
And when there is only a ring in your ears
And an echo down memory lane
Then if it’s all for nothing
All the road running has been in vain

All the road running
All the road running

The show’s packing up, i sit and I watch
The carnival leaving town
There’s no pretending that I’m not a fool
For riding around and around

Like the pictures you keep of your old wall of death
You showed me one time on the plane
But if it’s all for nothing
All the road running,it’s been in vain

I've a million miles of vagabond sky
Clocked up above the clouds
And i’m still your man for the roaming
For as long as there's roaming allowed
There’ll be a rider and there’ll be a wall
As long as the dream remains
And if it’s all for nothing
All the road running it’s been in vain

All the road running
All the road running


If This Is Goodbye

My famous last words
Are laying around in tatters
Sounding absurd
Whatever I try
But I love you
And that’s all that really matters
If this is good bye
If this is good bye

Your bright shining sun
Would light up the way before me
You were the one
Made me feel I could fly
And I love you
Whatever is waiting for me
If this is good bye
If this is good bye

Who knows how long we’ve got
Or what were made out of
Who knows if there’s a plan or not
There is our love
I know there is our love

My famous last words
Could never tell the story
Spinning unheard
In the dark of the sky
But I love you
And this is our glory
If this is good bye
If this is good bye


 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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