Emmylou and Mark

At 20 years old, I was not very interested in fine art or what made certain paintings great. I was aware of the “great artists”, but really had no appreciation for what made them great. Didn’t get modern art, though I liked the colors. Andy Warhol painted soup cans and a nice portrait of Marilyn.

Still, I found myself in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. I was stationed in Europe and taking every free time to see the continent. While in the museum, I “attached” myself to a tour group, who were being led by a very congenial guide, who would describe the art and artists for this group of middle aged Americans. We entered a very large, well-lit room that had two paintings dominating the room. The room was large enough to hold a 5 on 5 pick up game.

One of the paintings was the Night Watch by Rembrandt. The other was by a painter who was wildly successful (read rich) at the same time Rembrandt was painting. These paintings had the same theme. They were portraits of military men in their units. These paintings are not small. The Night Watch is 12 feet long by 14 feet wide. “My” guide explained that commissions to the artists were not paid on the entire painting, but each person in the painting pays for their portrait. So Mr. Successful Artist paints a picture of these men that looks like the ending bit in Rowan and Martin’s "Laugh In". Every face carefully posed in a window frame, full frontal, and no mistake whose face was being painted.

The Night Watch is astonishing as Rembrandt paints our soldiers, as they would be assembling to go out on patrol. You see the activity, “hear” the shouts and shuffling of feet and the clank of steel and armor. I was particularly drawn to the small dog in the bottom right of the painting. You can feel the barks and excitement of the dog as everywhere he turns there is a foot or shout that scares and excites him more. Some of our soldiers are obscured, as in some big oil snapshot. I’m sure that they didn’t feel obligated to pay their share. But this was realism “TV” for the 17th Century. The painting radiates movement and energy. This is the day I got it! Now I knew why the Night Watch was considered great, what made Rembrandt important, why museums were built to keep these works for posterity. And why the only reason “what’s his name” was in the Rijksmuseum was to show us what not to do.

Tuesday night in Stockholm, I was privileged to “get” it again. I was witness to two artists true to their talent, liking each other’s company, doing what they have to do. Playing music for the enjoyment of others and themselves.

Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris walked out on an unadorned stage with six other musicians and proceeded to turn a hockey arena into a very intimate room. Accepting the applause of the audience, they turned to one another and played. Oh, how they played! It was called “An Evening With…” and it was no hype.

My partner asked why there were no big screens to highlight the “stars”. As the evening went on, it was apparent why. These two people immerse themselves in their music. It’s not about them. They are comfortable in their skins. It’s about the joy that the music brings and the fun they have playing it together. Watching Emmylou two step on many off the songs proved that. They would do this around a pot stove in Birmingham, Alabama or Glasgow, Scotland.

I have always admired Emmylou Harris. I was introduced to her on her work with Gram Parsons on “Grievous Angel”. I'm not a big fan, I still admire the voice unlike any other. She is instantly recognized and has played with many different artists from all over the world.

Another reason to respect her is for her ethic. She has always worked and toured. She is loyal and thankful to her fans. She has maintained her dignity in a very undignified profession. In a culture that clings to youth, she has allowed herself to age naturally. In doing so, she is as lovely as ever. As with her craft, experience has only made her better.

Moreover, she has never allowed the winds of current trends to blow her off course. She continues to mine the lode of country and folk bringing up nugget after nugget of rich reward. Yet, she does not stay still in the genre, using different idioms, players and producers to keep expanding her musical universe. Her integrity has stayed in tact. Her talent is unimpeachable. I am privileged to have been able to hear her voice live.

Mark Knopfler, and his band Dire Straits, became famous with the song “Sultans of Swing” and went through the roof with the MTV parody, “Money for Nothing”. As with Emmylou, I was aware of his talent, but had my thoughts on other artists and genres. Yet, the song “So Far Away” was one that was dear to me. It resonated with emotions I was feeling at a time.

I didn’t know it at the time, but “Money for Nothing” did something to Mark. He began to purposely pull away from the limelight. He began to play with many different people and do small intimate projects. He refused to fall into the Big Time trap. He was too deep an artist to do Moneys for Nothings for the rest of what would have been a short career. Record companies want to exhaust the now. Artists need to create a future built on the foundation of their past.

Mark Knopfler is one of the world’s great guitar artists. There is no style he cannot play and play well. And does the man ever sweat? His playing is absolutely effortless. There are no grimaces or gyrations to reach notes no regular human can reach. Yet he is so unpretentious that he will sit down to play these incredible rifts. It became apparent why his peers revere him. This is just a good guy with an incredible talent who is humble enough not to need a spotlight. And not once the night that I saw him did he ever mail it in. He was always in the now.

These two artists, each established in their own right, came together to play for us. I thought that if this were 1985 what hoopla this combination would have made. The term super group might have been thrown around. Silk tour jackets would be coveted by the in’s and out’s both. The coverage in Rolling Stone would have rated a cover. The Bunny label would have been full steam ahead with the publicity machine. Tickets would be at a premium. The single would have been all over FM.

But it’s 2006 and two artists born in the ‘40s barely spark a ripple in the mainstream news. No matter that they are consummate masters. No matter that the audience I was in brought them out for two encores. The winner of “Idol” is what is important now. And the “Idol” winner will be as important as that painting that hangs next to the Night Watch. To help us get it. To illuminate what greatness really is. Showing the future generations how not to be remembered.

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