Triple P is not one of the thirty million people around the world who owns this album
Triple P caught the end of a documentary about Mark Knopfler the other night. He seems a thoughtful and intelligent man and very much a musician; which seems to be an increasing rarity in the music business these days. He is obviously a skilled and distinctive guitarist but we just can't bear to listen to his work.
Partly, this is beacuse we don't listen to male vocalists very much; we just don't respond to them as we do female singers. Partly, this is because we once had a girlfriend who thought that Knopfler was the greatest thing since sliced bread, partly because her cousin had recorded with him, and would bang on an on about him all the time.
The main reason that he sets Triple P's teeth on edge is that he sings in the most apalling and mannered fake American accent. He was born in Scotland and brought up in the North East of England. How did he develop that dreadful singing accent? This is not unusual for British (or Australian, Kylie Minogue also has a very strange "American" accent) pop singers. Knopfler's accent is just particularly weird; probably as he is trying to synthesise blues and country styles rather than just bland pop-Californian. So, although we enjoy his instrumental soundtrack to Local Hero, appreciate that he is a fine guitarist, good songwriter and interesting musician we just can't stand to listen to him singing!
