Talk:Sultans of Swing/Archive 1

Archive 1

Comment

I don't think that this article has a NPOV. It sounds to me as though it more a article from a music critic than something you would find in an encylopedia.

Some of the stuff could probably be kept but it needs to be rewritten so that it at least has some paragraphs and the like - enceladus

"trying to become popular"

NPOV or not, am I the only one who disagrees with the description of the lyrics? The song gives me more the impression of describing a jazz group who only cares about playing and enjoying it, and doesn't give a damn whether they're popular or not. It may be my personal interpretation, but it seems pretty clear to me. -- leoboiko 01:10, 2005 August 25 (UTC)

'And Harry doesn't mind if he doesn't make the scene, he's got a daytime job he's doing alright' - I agree. Not really the thoughts of someone intent on making himself popular. Bgh251f2 18:12, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

Agreed. I've changed it, but feel free to re-write if you can do a better job. I have also removed some links. - I didn't think we need links to 'Song' and 'London'. Not sure about the link for 'Jazz', so I have left it in. Anyone else feel it could go? - JP Godfrey 14:27, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

I love this song!

George and Harry

"One player is mentioned by name"? What about Harry?
And Harry doesn't mind if he doesn't make the scene
He's got a daytime job, he's doing alright
He can play honky tonk just like anything
Saving it up for Friday night
With the Sultans, with the Sultans of Swing
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 138.217.137.219 (talk) 11:15, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

Mark Knopfler did most of it himself?

Most of the instruments as well as the vocals were performed by band founder and leader Mark Knopfler.

I would have thought that the instruments were all played by their respective band members, which would mean Mark Knopfler played only one instrument (in addition to singing), not "most". So I need a citation for this statement. - furrykef (Talk at me) 11:47, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

I think that statement's highly dubious, and so added the "dubious" template.Andrew Spinner 20:09, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

Definitive Version?

"The definitive live version of the song came as an 11-minute epic performance at the 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert in London when Eric Clapton teamed up with the band to play the song." Why should this version should be the definitive one? I for one think the definitive version is the one at The Old Grey Whistle Test. And i'm sure everyone of the readers has its own definitve version, 'cause it's an OPINION, and it doesn belong on wiki.Sickboy3883 (talk) 20:27, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

I changed it in "one memorable live version". I heard the thing on Youtube, and to me it was one big disappointment. Seems to me that MK is really bored of the whole "Big fucking stadium" thing, and, if i may add, i think this is the reason Dire Straits exploded in the end. But after all, it's the "Arena Version" of the Dire Straits, which made them sell a big handful of copies of Alchemy, it has Eric Clapton on it (which does almost nothing, buit hey, that's it). So i'm leaving this stuff as it is now, i'm not removing even if i wnated to. If you want/care, let's discuss about it. Sickboy3883 (talk) 20:41, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

could there ever be a "definitive" version of a song that has been performed several hundreds of times all over the world? apart from that, i have to disagree about MK being bored... if you take a closer look at random live appearances, you'll have to admit he always LOOKS bored, i.e. physically fairly inactive (except for his fingers and arms, which are his divine limbs, of course =)) just listen,he's an artist who is and supposedly has ever been aware of the fact that he is making his living (partly) on gigs in a "Big fucking stadium"... imho he's just not paying much attention to creating a big show instead of just playing virtuously... back to topic, the mentioned version is, regarded from a musical perspective, one of the most haunting ones ever recorded... 92.196.23.104 (talk) 23:17, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

co-authorship claim

Just deleted a section about someone claiming uncredited co-authorship of the song. The citations given supporting this were a commercial link to an apparently unrelated album on CD BABY, and an audio clip of unknown origin on youtube of a singer claiming to have co-written the song. The link given for the singer's name pointed to a disambiguation page with no obvious link to the correct person. To me this clearly must be deleted as the citations for the claim are so weak and it's a potentially controversial claim that falls under the guidance of WP:BLP. Glad to discuss here. Jgm (talk) 23:58, 18 April 2009 (UTC)The gentleman in question also claims he wrote the song with Knopfler during the Muscle Shoals sessions when Knopfler worked with Bob Dylan on the SLOW TRAIN COMING album. The problem with this claim is the Dylan sessions coincide with sessions for the second Dire Straits album, not the first (which features "Sultans of Swing"). The guy may have met Knopfler in Alabama in the late seventies. They may have collaborated, but it wasn't on "Sultans of Swing" based on the existing evidence.

Lyrics

I've heard to versions of the lyrics. the most known says at the end "goodnight, now is time to go home", but I've heard another one with an extra phrase "goodnight, thank you, now is time..." Someone know if the version with the additional phrase has been released? how to find it? Googling I've found a claim that was an edited version for radio. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.241.5.9 (talk) 21:38, 22 August 2009 (UTC)