Sailing to Philadelphia
by Mark Knopfler
User Score
8.9

Universal acclaim- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 40
  3. Negative: 3 out of 40

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  1. Lollenzo
    Feb 19, 2014
    9
    Maybe the best Mark's solo album (with Get Lucky and Golden Heart). Magnificent guitar, beautiful songs. Mark's the best combining different music styles, and this is the demonstration. In my opinion the best songs are What It Is, Sailing To Philadelphia, Silvertown Blues and Speedway At Nazareth (!).
  2. MiguelD
    May 2, 2007
    9
    Almost 7 years after its launch and I still enjoy it a lot (specially when driving my car on the highway). I looooooove it! It will remain there as a very good job from the centuries to the centuries, for sure!
  3. JacobL
    Aug 25, 2006
    9
    A marvellous album. Standout solo on Speedway at Nazareth. Masterful guitar work.
  4. BeaL
    Mar 28, 2006
    10
    Great tunes on the whole cd
  5. tamj
    Feb 23, 2006
    10
    superb sound and wonderful history brought to the forefront...
  6. DamoM
    Dec 5, 2005
    10
    This ahd got to be Knopfler's best solo piece of work. All amateurs step aside, as a master shows how it's done!
  7. Allen
    May 30, 2005
    10
    I give it a 10. Great sound mix. James Taylor is excellent as ever. Love the music. Knopfler is the best.
  8. Taural
    Feb 24, 2005
    10
    Fantasic mix of tracks appealing to most tastes, with the sweet, soulful voice of James Taylor backing up the title track! A great CD to just relax to!
  9. DanielL
    Nov 22, 2004
    10
    excellent!
  10. SabSan
    Jun 25, 2004
    9
    Beautiful, strangely accurate.
  11. DanC
    Mar 30, 2004
    10
    Mark continues his very impressive guitar work. "Speedway..." has got to be the song of the decade. With Taylor and Morrison, tears flow. To see him and David Gilmour on the same stage would be the show of the century.
  12. ASecret
    Feb 15, 2004
    10
    This is an excellent album. Not one song drags or sags. The title track is riveting!
  13. WeldonS
    Sep 10, 2003
    10
    Brilliant!! This is what a stratocaster can sound like in the hands of a master
  14. richards
    Jun 27, 2003
    10
    This is an album and a half. I am in Zimbabwe, unfortunately i only got hold of my copy a year after the album was released. please do something about this timing lag.
  15. JHart
    Nov 22, 2002
    9
    intoxicating guitar
  16. DominicP.
    Aug 22, 2002
    10
    Mark Knopfler is a genious, putting out yet another amazing album. The use of his Celtic stylings are absolutely masterful.
  17. toastchum
    Aug 16, 2002
    7
    Some of the songs are awkward vocally but otherwise outstanding. For instance....The title track: "the Masooooonnnnn..." "Dixonline" Just sounds goofy to me.
  18. FilipSecret
    Aug 2, 2002
    10
    This is GOOD music! I listen to it all the time.
  19. SusanB.
    Feb 8, 2002
    10
    I have always liked Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits, etc. The ballads are a nice change from some of the other "junk" that we hear these days. This comes from an old Eagles, Steve Miller, Stones, Beatles fan who has the money to buy many CD's, but is very picky about what she listens to.
  20. PhilipJ.
    Nov 12, 2001
    8
    A talent like Mark Knopfler should be able to make good combination of guitar and text, and he does it, but something is missing. But I can't put my finger on it.
  21. ZiishanA
    Nov 8, 2001
    10
    Well, this album perhaps the best released solo work of Mark Knopfler. It actually is very attractive inovation, when you see Mark's old celtic roots combining with his favourite country and bluegrass. In the end this album is just what the doctor ordered atleast when there is non-sense music capturing the mainstream.
  22. BradK.
    Oct 19, 2001
    10
    This is a super album. Knopfler is a great storyteller -- always has been. If you read his lyrics, they read like poetry. This album is no exception -- stories, great licks and growley vocals. What more could you want?

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. CDNow
    60
    Sailing to Philadelphia, the singer's guest-star-heavy sophomore outing, is a deliberate, grown-up record (in a season which has seen a pronounced lack of adult offerings) that feels -- heavily in places -- like Dire Straits: Five Years Later.
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  2. The A.V. Club
    70
    Sailing To Philadelphia often sounds outright anachronistic, from the "Sultans Of Swing"-like "What It Is" to James Taylor's voice on the title track, yet it never comes across like another old English coot courting Baby Boomer record buyers. Knopfler's ability to keep his talents in check serves the music, which benefits from the simple structures and tiny (but significant) guitar flourishes.
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  3. Sonicnet
    80
    With Sailing to Philadelphia, however, Knopfler fully reclaims his near-unique position as an instrumentalist of purpose -- one whose every note seems to have a reason for being. That reason, of course, is in service of his beautifully written and masterfully arranged songs.
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