Mark Knopfler – Local Hero
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab – MFSL 1-505, Warner Records – MFSL 1-505
Series: Original Master Recording, GAIN 2™ Ultra Analog LP 180g Series
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album, Numbered, Reissue, Remastered, Special Edition, 180g
Country: US
Released: Jun 21, 2022
Genre: Jazz, Rock, Folk, World, & Country, Stage & Screen
Style: Folk Rock, Soundtrack, Ambient

A1 The Rocks & The Water
A2 Wild Theme
A3 Freeway Flyer
A4 Boomtown (Variation Louis' Favourite)
A5 The Way It Always Starts
A6 The Rocks And The Thunder
A7 The Ceilidh And The Northern Lights
B1 The Mist Covered Mountains
B2 The Ceilidh: Louis Favourite Billy's Tune
B3 Whistle Theme
B4 Smooching
B5 Stargazer
B6 The Rocks And The Thunder
B7 Going Home: Theme Of The Local Hero

Mark Knopfler's First Soundtrack Album Is One for the Ages, Features Folk Inflections, Celtic Themes, and Jazz Accents: Local Hero Includes "Going Home" and Intricate Melodies. Mastered from the Original Master Tapes

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI on dead-quiet 180g vinyl, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g LP of Local Hero gives the beloved effort audiophile-grade sound on a par with the reference-quality sonics afforded Dire Straits' Mobile Fidelity reissues. In each arrangement, Knopfler's methodical guitar lines emerge with supreme transparency and multi-hued textural detail. The intricate notes, finger-picked passages, and cosmopolitan lines come across as if they're transmitted just feet away from you in real time.

Ditto the diverse accompaniment, including the Celtic-themed effects, supplemental jazz accents, and folk inflections. The keys to the nearly 44-minute effort's success and continuity relate not only to Knoplfer's laidback style and low-key approach, but his ear for uncanny melody and blues traces. Woven acoustically and electrically, his tapestries benefit from the newfound airiness, openness, and balance that live on this reissue. No matter the instrument or treatment, the music arrives with pinpoint imaging and vibrant liveliness. Close your eyes, and the Mobile Fidelity version of Local Hero projects movies in your head.

For instance, take the closing "Going Home," a cherished instrumental whose proud spirit resonates with English football fans and features saxophone playing by the late, great Michael Brecker. Heard before every Newcastle United F.C. home game, it has become an anthem on both sides of the Atlantic. Or, look to "The Ceilidh: Louis' Favorite Billy's Tune" on which Scottish-flavored vibes and dance tempos conjure a festive jig until a transition gives the number a more subdued, romantic feel. Then, the pattern repeats. Seeking to expand beyond the parameters of Dire Straits, Knoplfer taps into a global economy of structures and sounds, and takes anyone with a sense of adventure along for the ride.

Not that his hallmark six-string is absent from the proceedings. It frames the lovely tin-pan whistle motif of the aptly titled "Whistle Theme," acts as a beacon for the elegant, vibraphone-kissed "Smooching," and pushes forward the jovial, top-down momentum of "Freeway Flyer," among other highlights. Knopfler also receives assistance from session pros Mike Mainieri, Steve Jordan, and Terry Williams, as well as vocalist Gerry Rafferty on the set's sole vocal tune, "That's the Way It Always Starts."