Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

One Deep River, that is the fortune of those whose lives are touched by their close proximity to the power and the pull of the seas as they make their way in land, like an artery carrying vital blood to the heart we require the belief that the river is the pulse of the town that sits by its banks, that is fed by it, inspired by its temperament, fearful at times of its rage, but always respectful of the secrets it keeps, and those like a spy it chooses to disclose to its faithful followers.

Mark Knopfler returns to the public eye once more with a brand-new studio album after a six-year hiatus and it could be acknowledged that One Deep River is the artist’s most personal album to date, a feat of beauty when the listener considers the sheer scope of work the musician has released as part of Dire Straits, his lengthy cv of solo recordings and plethora of soundtrack releases, but it is there, a set of songs that haunt with style, that reach into the performer’s hopes, his past, his vision, and like the river itself is willing to reveal a secret treasure hoard placed within reach on the banks of the mind.

Across tracks such as Ahead Of The Game, Scavenger’s Yard, Sweeter Than The Rain, This One’s Not Going To End Well, Tunnel 13, Along A Foreign Coast, and What I’m Gonna Need, Mark Knopfler’s music is a dramatic reassurance of the gift he possesses, the enduring appeal of one of the kings of their craft, but one that is delivered with a heartfelt yearning for exploration; one that is not tossed aside just because the route has been navigated before, but because the horizon has shifted, the terms of life have altered, and there is so much more to say and emotionally feel.

Cross that river in anyway you can, dive into its embrace and toil beneath the waves, for in acknowledging how deep the river goes, just how fast the current can be, we might find a kind of peace we weren’t expecting, and when we do climb onto the other bank, when we look back to where we started, we can smile and appreciate the most difficult of journey’s we could ever hope to symbolically cross.

Ian D. Hall