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Eric Clapton’s opinion on Dire Straits
Part of the music business since the early 1960s, Eric Clapton first achieved fame as a member of The Yardbirds. He quickly gained recognition after playing with John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Cream and many other successful projects throughout his career, in addition to his acclaimed solo records.
He had the opportunity to witness the evolution of British rock up close and see many incredible guitarists emerge. Over the decades, he has spoken about numerous bands, sharing his opinions, for example on Dire Straits and the band's vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Mark Knopfler.
What is Eric Clapton's opinion on Dire Straits
Eric Clapton is a big fan of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler, they played together multiple times and called him a "great craftsman". “Well, Mark Knopfler, I think, is totally unique. He’s a great craftsman, which brings it back to that. I mean, with Dire Straits, if you listen to any of their albums the first time, it sort of goes by you a bit. Then gradually it just gets better and better, and it stands the test of time. They’re fantastic craftsmen.”
“Sting (The Police) has that same quality. Soul Cages was exactly the same thing for me. I liked it the first time, but it was a bit esoteric. Then it grew and grew. For a period of time it was all I listened to, over and over again. I would listen to it in my car in a CD cartridge. Along with Mozart and Puccini and the Band and Muddy Waters. And it stood up on its own, amongst all those other classic things,” told Rolling Stone in 1991.
As Dire Straits bassist John Illsley said in his book "My Life in Dire Straits", the first time Clapton went to see them play was in the early 80s, after they released "Love Over Gold" (1982). But as he said, the guitarist was probably more interested in seeing Mark Knopfler playing. "We hit the road with a warm-up gig at Guildford Civic Hall, a sketchy performance memorable only for the after-show appearance backstage of Eric Clapton, a guitarist much admired by anyone who has ever picked up the instrument. It was flattering that he came to see us or, more probably, to see Mark in action," John Illsley said.
The first time Eric Clapton and Dire Straits played together
Curiously, one of the few times during his career that Eric Clapton played in a band mainly as a rhythm guitarist was during his performances with Dire Straits. Illsley even joked once that the legendary guitarist is actually quite good playing rhythm guitar.
The first time Eric Clapton played with Dire Straits was in 1985, when he joined them at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. That night, the guitarist joined them to perform "Two Young Lovers" (Dire Straits song), "Cocaine" (J.J. Cale song made famous by Clapton) and "Farther Up the Road" (Bobby Blue song recorded by Eric).
After 1985, Knopfler and Clapton played together again in 1986 at the Prince’s Trust 10th Birthday Concert. The following year, when Clapton began his Royal Albert Hall residency, he recruited Knopfler as his second guitarist. In 1988, they once again performed together at the Prince’s Trust show and the Nelson Mandela concert.
That same year, when Clapton embarked on an American tour to celebrate 25 years of his career, Knopfler was part of his band. The tour’s final shows in Japan featured Elton John as a guest. The setlist ended up being a mix of hits from their respective careers. Even Sting, the voice behind “I want my MTV,” appeared one night to sing “Money for Nothing” with them. They continued performing together on special occasions in the following years.
Mark Knopfler said that he and Clapton play differently but have the same roots
Knopfler and Clapton have similarities but their styles are actually different, starting with the fact that the Dire Straits guitarist didn't use a guitar pick. Not long after their performance in 1988 at the Prince's Trust, Mark talked in an interview with Scott Muni about his friend. He revealed that the first time he heard Clapton was on the famous album Clapton recorded in 1966 with John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers. He also noted that although they didn’t play the same way, they shared the same roots.
"I like playing with Eric because is fun making Eric sound as good as possible. (...) I know all of Eric's stuff," he said. Then the interviewer says he thinks Clapton also knows some of Knopfler's music and the musician replies: "He does know, he has to learn it now. He is up there now doing it, he have to for (the) Wembley (show). He has played (with us) before. So it's not quite hard for him."
"He did lend me a guitar or two (for the album 'Brothers in Arms'). Acoustics and stuff, which was very, very kind of him. He took his favorite guitar and took all the way to Salem, Montserrat (In the West Indies). I suppose we are both rooted... We play differently, but we both rooted in the same kind of stuff. We both like the same kind of stuff. So the similarity comes in the Blues playing, basically.
Later in the interview, Knopfler recalled the first time he heard Clapton playing. "The John Mayall album. That was serious (stuff), serious," he said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). During the same conversation, the guitarist said that when people like Clapton say they like what you do, you should feel good about it because it’s a very important thing.
What makes Eric Clapton special according to Mark Knopfler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zOjRlVpAOQ&list=RD_zOjRlVpAOQ&start_radio=1&pp=ygUhZXJpYyBjbGFwdG9uIGRpcmUgc3RyYWl0cyB3ZW1ibGV5oAcB0gcJCfwJAYcqIYzv
According to Mark Knopfler, a guitarist can be really talented and play the guitar really well but if he doesn't have the background in Blues, he can't really play that kind of music. He explained that in an interview for the documentary "Eric Clapton: Standing at the Crossroads" (2009).
"With Eric, it's just really (has) been a blues-based thing, that has been refined here and there. Extended backwards in time and refined around what there is then. It's an excellent base for explorations, really, and for just doing different things. In fact, you can hear it, when you get figures who are maybe popular in Rock bands who play, but they don't have that basis. When they try and do bluesy things or blues type things... I remember Eric laughing at some people's efforts to do that. Because I suppose people achieve a sort of facility on instruments. So they think they can therefore play that stuff. It's not as easy as that," Mark Knopfler said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).
More recently, Mark and Eric have recorded together a few times. In 2014, Clapton put together the J.J. Cale tribute album "The Breeze: An Appreciation of J.J. Cale". Knopfler played with Eric on the tracks “Someday” and “Train to Nowhere,” as both of them were heavily influenced by the musician, who had passed away the previous year.
In 2024, it was time for Clapton to be part of a Mark Knopfler project. Alongside many incredible guitar players, he covered Mark's "Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)" to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America. Besides them, were also part names like Slash, David Gilmour, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Wood, Jeff Beck, Brian May, Bruce Springsteen and Tony Iommi.The post Eric Clapton’s opinion on Dire Straits appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.
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