Sultins Of Swing

Unfortunately I was not around when this amazing song came out, but I know someone who was. He said that everyone's ears kinda opened up because all the bands were going punk and distorted. If you were around when this song came out,or even if you weren't, what did you think when you first heard it?

"Badass."

I especially like the live version I used to hear every once on a while on WEBK.

I was knee high when it came out but the guitar playing's pretty legendary, especially the triplet runs where he picks with thumb and forefinger.

i just mellow out to that song. Kick ass song!

Mark Knopfler blew us all away by reminding us that the best sounds come from a skilled set of hands - not a pile of effects pedals!

The twistin' truth is that what really made this song special was that it was released to a Rock audience. Good country music has featured that sound, and similar style, since very nearly forever. If it had been released as a country song, it would have been enjoyed for a while by some, criticised by others because the vocals sounded like a city-boy, and then left to fade away. It's sad to think how much good stuff people miss by ignoring other genres.

I find it awesome how Mark uses his fingers for the whole song, including the solo.

If anyone has seen the video of a live version of this song, where Mark is using a sparkly gold guitar, could you tell me what kind of guitar it is. It has such a sweet clean sound.

I haven't seen the video, so take this with a grain of salt...

I read somewhere that his Strat switching has been modified to allow all three pickups to be active at the same time. I haven't tried this mod myself, but it makes sense that it would allow the tone to 'follow' where the strings were being picked, i.e. closer to the bridge or the neck.

Don't strats already have that setup? (I.E- the middle position of the toggle switch?)

Anyways, its not a strat for sure. Well at least not a Fender, it could be a re-make or something.

Originally posted by Tele Master
Don't strats already have that setup? (I.E- the middle position of the toggle switch?)...

The middle switch position selects just the middle pickup. The first and last positions select the bridge or the neck pickup. The 'in between' positions pair the middle pickup with either the neck or the bridge pickup. The middle pickup is out of phase with the other two, giving that characteristic 'hollow' sound.

As for the kind of guitar, I've heard one guy nail that sound really well, and he had a mid-80's Strat with that switch mod. I also believe that two people playing the same gear still sound like two different people, so I have to attribute a lot of that tone to the player.

Here I am, 4,000 miles away from home listening to the song for the first time in 10 years.

I’m originally from Newcastle in the North of England (not that far from where MK grew up) and currently working and living in Iowa and was surprised to feel a real bond with this song, particularly after hearing references to "The Spanish City" which is an amusement park in Whitley Bay (not many people in Iowa know that)!

Any of you people like J.J Cale ? Well worth checking out if you haven’t heard of him !

Hey Doc, good to see somebody else familiar with JJ Cale. I've been listening to him for years. Ironic thing is that most people have heard his songs covered by other artists ( "Cocaine" and "After Midnight" by Clapton, "Call Me The Breeze" by Skynyrd ), but have no clue who he is.

Ill take JJ Cale over Clapton or MK or most other guitar players for that any day !