Andrew Spinner - 9/22/2009

A return to form for Mark Knopfler, after his mildly disappointing Kill To Get Crimson. Here, by contrast, he's willing to up the ante a little, as tracks like Cleaning My Gun and Border Reiver display a slightly more aggressive stance - although aggressive is hardly a word to associate with the gentle Knopfler. The rest of the album is made up of generally low-key, folk-style affairs; while he shows his Celtic influences, he doesn't allow them to run completely amok, and the overall result is an understated, impeccably-produced, and rather beautiful collection of songs from the fingerpicking maestro.