Sailing to Philadelphia - Mark Knopfler
User Score
9.1 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 36 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 36
  3. Negative: 2 out of 36

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    10 out of 10
    Rate this:
    out of 10
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
  3. Characters remaining: 5000 out of 5000

  1. 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.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. SteveC.
    Aug 18, 2001
    10
    An Excellent revisitation of early Dire Straits. Mark combines his 'straits roots with Celtic sound to make an ear pleasing combination.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. ElvisV.
    Apr 20, 2002
    10
    Amazing!! One of his Best I guess! Keep it going Markie!!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. Wally
    Feb 7, 2003
    7
    the solo at the end of speedway at nazerath is one of the best going around
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. WeldonS
    Sep 10, 2003
    10
    Brilliant!! This is what a stratocaster can sound like in the hands of a master
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. 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.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. 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!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. 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.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. JHart
    Nov 22, 2002
    9
    intoxicating guitar
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  10. 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.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  11. FilipSecret
    Aug 2, 2002
    10
    This is GOOD music! I listen to it all the time.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  12. 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.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  13. DanielL
    Nov 22, 2004
    10
    excellent!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  14. SabSan
    Jun 25, 2004
    9
    Beautiful, strangely accurate.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  15. 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!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  16. 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!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  17. BeaL
    Mar 28, 2006
    10
    Great tunes on the whole cd
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  18. 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.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  19. 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?
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  20. edk
    Oct 12, 2002
    1
    YYYaaaawwnn, The only reason this album get no 0 is that it made me fall asleep almost before I heard it...
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  21. 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.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  22. 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.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  23. ASecret
    Feb 15, 2004
    10
    This is an excellent album. Not one song drags or sags. The title track is riveting!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  24. tamj
    Feb 23, 2006
    10
    superb sound and wonderful history brought to the forefront...
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  25. JacobL
    Aug 25, 2006
    9
    A marvellous album. Standout solo on Speedway at Nazareth. Masterful guitar work.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.