Another Community-Inspiring Guest Post this time from one of my truest buds, Benitals. We've traveled over a bunch of this world together, Hacky-sacking our way through Canada and Europe. In fact he pulls double duty as a model for the my clothing line, FTTees.
Matt and I go way back to our high school days when neither of us really knew what good music was. I had some Zeppelin records I spun on my parents' dusty ol' turntable, heard a lot of Rap, and I think I bought a Metallica CD at some point. By 2007 my taste had become more solidified with lots of Dylan and The Band (in any combination), The Who and a lot of R&B (the old kind). I don't think I could tell you where my Metallica CD went but along the way I acquired a more permanent edition to my record rack, Mark Knopfler and his Dire Straits.
A band with a repertoire as eclectic as EDAS itself, they really have something to offer anyone. From the tight, twangy numbers off their self titled album
, to the epic masterpieces on Making Movies
, the band's feel can change dramatically from song to song. The common thread between all of it is Knopfler's one-of-a-kind finger picked, silky smooth tone. The guitar almost speaks under his precise control. He is a master of the instrument, not to mention he's singing lead while he's tearing it up. This track, off the previously mentioned eponymous debut is one of my favorites. It's a warm, soothing contrast to a lot of the album and other recordings, and you can get a sense of how much fun it must be to play. The slide guitar and the solid groove really make it one of the best. I have the unfortunate pleasure of driving to and from work every day. What I want to listen to never seems to actually be on my iPod. But whenever I hear the telltale plucking of Knopfler, I always stop searching. There's something about his awesomely deep voice that just makes me happy every time I hear it. I feel like he must have been in a band on stage one time and the singer didn't show, he got the short straw, killed the show, fired the singer and that was that. He's just got one of those "holy crap I can sing?!" voices that's rare in anything before '80 (Clapton and Danko come to mind), and almost impossible to find in contemporary music (I refrain from saying "nonexistent" out of humbleness to all the music I have no clue about, but I can't think of anyone). Anyway, the wail of the slide guitar really lets you hear the thirst and yearning that this dude has, missing that touch and feeling. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Get out there and get some of that Water of Love.
Song 120: Dire Straits - Water of Love
