Knopfler is a far better guitarist than Clapton. IMO. I’ve got Sultans + a bunch of his CDs in my collection.
Sailing to Philadelphia is a theme album, based on Mason and Dixon’s mapping of the US. It’s Knopfler’s tribute to his adopted country.
Thanks for posting this FRiend!
Band I’m in plays Sultans now, I’ve been playing it for...ok since as soon as I could manage to learn all that fingerpicking...I already knew how to finger pick, been doing that since years earlier. Joe Walsh tunes, Stairway to Heaven, a bunch of others. Just took a lot of practice to get his style down. (I’ve learned loads of songs note for note. Still doing it. Sultans was one of the toughest.)
I started working on it soon as I heard it on the radio mid 70’s. took a couple of months to get it almost note for note. It has one section toward the last part of the 2nd lead I can’t do, tendon on left ring finger cut in half when I was 12, don’t have full use of that finger anymore, never did. Had to learn guitar again, modify a few chords, leads are limited sometimes. Except for that short section, I get it note for note almost every time. Been playing it since it was still on the charts.,..
I think that album and “On Every Street” are the only 2 I have, several good tunes on “every street” too. Calling Elvis, The Bug, Heavy Fuel, another I can’t remember.
I liked the entire 1st album, not a bad cut on it. Wild West End and 6 Blade Knife were just as good as Sultans I thought.