$12.99  John Fogerty - Deja Vu All Over Again |
$11.99  U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb |
$13.99  Mark Knopfler - The Ragpicker's Dream |
$13.49  R.E.M. - Around the Sun |
$14.99  Brian Wilson - SMiLE |
 [Larger view] | Mark Knopfler - Shangri-La
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Average user rating:  | |
 Great listening music... | |
| I find that this album is very soulful and soothing. Some of the tunes make you feel as if you are in a paradise...it is an easy listen. Perhaps the thing I found to be this album's greatest achievement was the recording quality. This is as good as I've heard as far as perfect, dynamic music goes. Knopfler's voice and guitar work sounds so lifelike, like he's playing in the room with you. Its hard not to appreciate music like that. Favorite tracks are : Own Shangri La, Everybody Pays, and of course Boom Like That. there are really no tracks that I dislike, but some are not as interesting. Knopfler shows frequent songwriting brilliance despite his more reserved guitar style. Nevertheless, it all just comes together in an album that is worth owning if you like ANY of his prior work including that of the Dire Straits. Get it. | |
 Takes time to appreicate. Not as goot as "Sailing to Phila" | |
| I received this as a gift. I have "Sailing to Philadelphia" permanently mounted in my car CD player. The only song on that CD I bypass is "Sands of Nevada". I expected something that good for Shangri-La. I was immediately disappointed. 5:15 was blah, "Boom, Like That" was OK, "Sucker Row" was blah, "The Trawlerman's song" was good, "Back to Tupelo" was OK, "Our Shangri-La" was OK, "Everybody Pays" was blah, "Song for Sonny Liston" was good, "Whoop De Doo" was good, "Postcards from Paraguay" was good", "All That Matters" was OK, "Stand Up Guy" was OK, "Donegan's Gone" was fun, and "Don't Crash the Ambulance" was offensive.
I've played the CD in my car several times since then. Now, I skip the first three, the ones I listed as good I REALLY like now, the ones that were OK, are good now or better, and I skip the last one as it is still offensive. This CD is not as good as "Sailing to Philadelphia" but it still ranks as one of the better CD's I own, and "Song for Sonny Liston" is my favorite from this CD. I am not disappointed that I have this CD, in fact I am happy to have it. However, it definitely has to grow on you to be appreciated. | |
| It is 2005, not 1978. This is a mature album. | |
| I have many albums that I loved on first listening, but have not had on my stereo in years. Like a meteor, they burned out fast after impressing with superficial flash.
Then again, I have albums that took several times of playing through to "get it". These have more substance than flash, and they also have longevity. You hear something new on each subsequent listening. Shangri-La falls into the second category. Great melodies, finely honed deep lyrics, and songs that are actually about something make up this album. For me, it is almost a compliment that I like this album, which is rejected by people that are into reading the lists of the top 10 records of the week. I'll still have Shangri-La in my short list of CDs being run through my players in both home and car when those folks are on their 50th crappy album of mindless fluff. Knopfler is a grown man in his 50s now. His music should have and did change over the years. If you don't "get" this record, it might say more about you than the album. |
