Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive US premiere of Mark Knopfler's "Got To Have Something."
The track is from Privateering, Knopfler's acclaimed double album, which was released last fall outside the US.
Now, thanks to a worldwide deal with Universal Music Group’s Verve Records, Privateering will finally be released in the US September 10. Check out the pre-order information below.
Privateering is Knopfler’s first double album in his 35-year career.
“The older I get, the more I want to write,” he says. “Whether that is just panic at time running out, I’m not sure. I’m enjoying the process more than ever, writing, recording and playing live, I enjoy all of it. I’m almost tripping over songs.”
The 20 tracks on Privateering are consummately crafted folk, blues, country and rock originals.
“I have always thought in terms of the transatlantic nature of music," he says. "My idea of heaven is somewhere where the Mississippi Delta meets the Tyne. What I wanted from the very first album with Dire Straits and songs like 'Sultans of Swing' was to write my own geography into the American music that shaped me, to identify the English, Irish and Scottish landmarks on Chuck Berry’s road.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
"I think what I’m doing now is synthesizing those influences and separating them. The band I have is so talented, and so flexible, they give me the kind of palette to go anywhere I want, so I can jump from a hill farm in the north of England and go straight to the streets of New York city or go down into the Delta for a straight-ahead blues.”
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
