IN music, one-time Dire Straits mastermind Mark Knopfler, 51, seems to have done it all. As a guitarist, he’s an original who developed his own electric finger-picked style. His songwriting credits include “Sultans of Swing” and the MTV booster “Money for Nothing.” As a producer, Knopfler has a reputation of being able to bring out the best even in such esteemed artists as Bob Dylan and Chet Atkins. And if that isn’t enough, the man has had success scoring nearly a dozen films, including “Wag the Dog,” “The Princess Bride” and “Last Exit to Brooklyn.”
Since the ’88 breakup of Dire Straits (they reformed briefly in ’91), Knopfler has released only two solo albums: The first was “Golden Heart,” released in ’96, and the second, “Sailing to Philadelphia,” comes out on Tuesday.
In conversation, Knopfler speaks slowly, in a deep English-accented voice and is prone to erupt in a rumbling laugh. He is really serious only when he talks about his music. In this interview, he speaks about where he gets his inspiration for the music, and the importance of “keeping it on the hard stuff.”
Post: You’ve written some great songs. Do you have any rules when you write?
Knopfler: I let the song be the boss. That’s it. You treat a song like a person and do the right thing by it.
Post: Could you elaborate on that?
Knopfler: Say, if a song didn’t want any guitars on it, there wouldn’t be any guitars, but if the song wants a concrete mixer, I’ll give it that.
Post: Any cement mixers on “Philadelphia”?
Knopfler: No, but “Speedway to Nazareth” is a good example. It starts out as a bluegrass song, but then I have another world fall in on it. That’s what keeps it interesting.
Post: Many solo musicians are loners, while you seemed to really enjoy collaboration, whether it’s with Van Morrison or a film crew using your songs as a sound track.
Knopfler: I like to get away from myself. If I didn’t do music for films, for instance, I’d end up spending my life having lunch. This way, I have to show up at work. I have to get behind my instrument and play it. I have to get the job finished in time.
Post: Is the no-boss factor why it’s been 4½ years since your last solo record?
Knopfler: The reason the album took so long wasn’t because I was in the studio for a long time or that the songs weren’t there, but because I was wrapped up in film music. I often end up in diversions off the main path. It makes for a more interesting life. You know, you travel, you meet new people.
Post: You once worked as a journalist. Is it fair to say you need a deadline?
Knopfler: For the album, I didn’t have a deadline, but a deadline isn’t such a bad thing. But as far as “Sailing to Philadelphia” goes, my attitude was, “It takes as long as it takes.”
Post: There are a number of excellent songs on “Philadelphia,” but the standout is “The Last Laugh,” where you sing with Van Morrison. Could you clear something up? Is the last laugh a good or a bad thing?
Knopfler: The sound of the last laugh can be very beautiful, but it can sometimes have a sour edge to it.
Post: Most of the songs you write tell a story. Where do you get inspiration for them?
Knopfler: [The song] “Sailing to Philadelphia” came to me while I was reading Thomas Pynchon’s “Mason & Dixon.” “Junkie Doll,” I was reading an account of a heroin addiction. In that song, I was playing around with the idea that you can be addicted as easily to a drug as a person.
Post: Do the words usually come first to you?
Knopfler: I’ve been asked that question 742 times …
Post: 743.
Knopfler: … but I still don’t know how to answer it. Sometimes, it is a simultaneous thing – you write and hear the music, too. That’s the way it happened on “The Last Laugh.”
Post: Is making music fun or is it your business?
Knopfler: I can’t imagine being in music without a sense of humor. It is the most important thing. Sometimes, I can’t help myself from writing something spoofy, like “Do America” on the new record.
Post: Aren’t you concerned somebody might confuse the spoof, the humor of that song, as a confession of your life as a rock star?
Knopfler: Well, it’s not supposed to be autobiographical. Anyone who knows me would know that.
Post: A little-known fact about you, for those interested in autobiography, is that you’re a racing enthusiast.
Knopfler: I have a red 1957 Maserati 300 S. I don’t get to drive as much as I’d like, but I do manage to get in three or four races a year.
Post: Are you are a competitive person?
Knopfler: When I’m on the track, I race against myself. I mean, I’m in a race, but the really good drivers are up at the sharp end and I’m back at the blunt end. I do it because I find it very relaxing.
Post: That sounds like a contradiction.
Knopfler: It isn’t. When I’m on the track, I’m completely absorbed in the race, completely relaxed. The other interesting thing is that there’s no questions of choice.
Post: What do you mean?
Knopfler: Well, in music, I’m always making choices. What instrument should I play? What is the alternative in this song? Should I turn that around? What voice and what chord should I use? In music, there are always alternatives. Whereas when I’m driving down a straight and there’s a right-hand corner – I don’t turn left.
Post: Besides the relaxation, do you have other reasons for driving?
Knopfler: It’s exciting. I’ve loved racing since I was a kid, and it is a part of me that just won’t grow up.
Post: Does your family discourage you from the sport?
Knopfler: It’s surprising, but they don’t. In fact, my mom said to me that she wished she’d done it, too. That’s pretty cool. There isn’t all the need for concern. I don’t try to get too heroic about it. I just try to keep it on the hard stuff.
Post: Any close calls?
Knopfler: One or two, but everybody has them.