Be honest: How many times have you Mark Knopfler heard on the radio? How often do "Song for Sonny Liston"? How many times "Postcards from Paraguay"? Not often ... in most cases, probably not. This is exactly the problem. Knopfler is one of the world's best guitarists, which he has proved in the 80s with Dire Straits. Today Knopfler plays alone. The man has become noticeably older: The lyrics have become poetic, the guitar solo is not bad, but quiet and in Knopfler's voice manifested a mild to severe melancholy. Shangri-La is a plate to enjoy. To sink into the reef, to inhale the "singing" guitar and listen to a poet. A rocking delicacy is "Boom, Like That", a shallow song to fall asleep is "Our Shangri-La". I find particularly interesting "Song for Sonny Liston" because Knopfler thereby fulfills the wish Sonny Liston and wrote a song about Boxer. A posthumous tribute to a tragic figure. Conclusion: Knopfler played more for himself than for his audience. At times the album is lengthy and is definitely no longer be described as rock. However, it is difficult to find a better guitarist and who seems to fight against the trend and is interested in lyrical very good lyrics "with brains", should not hesitate in this CD. Rock a la Dire Straits but one should not expect!
