Shot at Glory

1	Sons Of Scotland / Mark Knopfler 2:17
2	Hard Cases / Mark Knopfler 3:26
3	He's The Man / Mark Knopfler 4:39
4	Training / Mark Knopfler 3:28
5	The New Laird / Mark Knopfler 2:15
6	Say Too Much / Mark Knopfler 2:36
7	Four In A Row / Mark Knopfler 4:41
8	All That I Have / Mark Knopfler 3:21
9	Sons Of Scotland: Quiet Theme / Mark Knopfler 2:57
10	Its Over / Mark Knopfler 4:59
11	Wild Mountain Thyme / Mark Knopfler 3:36

Barnes & Noble

While this, Mark Knopfler's eighth soundtrack album, is culled from a sports-oriented film -- the movie follows an underdog Scottish soccer team to the finals of the Scottish Cup -- there's not a lot in the way of rah-rah, fist-pumping music to be found. Instead, Knopfler concentrates on the dignity of the pursuit, and in doing so, he crafts some of his most subtle, dignified sounds, as on the ethereal opener "Sons of Scotland." While some passages might be a bit new-agey for diehard Dire Straits supporters, Knopfler does nudge the volume up fairly often, as on the string-bending showcase "Hard Cases," on which he pits his axe against a background of bagpipes. A Shot at Glory, while largely instrumental, includes three vocal performances that convey Knopfler's typical regular-bloke worldview, notably the casually cocky "He's the Man." Appropriately enough, the air of Scottish tradition wafts over many of the songs here, from a melancholy, fiddle-tinged "The New Land" to a sweet, restorative version of the Celtic traditional "Wild Mountain Thyme." The pure, simple sounds on A Shot at Glory offer a quiet respite and a showcase for Knopfler's instrumental virtuosity. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Mark Knopfler has the luxury of being selective about soundtrack work, and this is only his tenth film score in 17 years. It may be that he waits for films that can benefit from his approach, which is generally a lighter version of what he used to write and perform for Dire Straits and what he does on his solo albums. The soundtrack albums of his films usually are so closely identified with him that it's a dilemma where to shelve them in the record store, and this one is no exception; it is billed on the cover as "a Mark Knopfler soundtrack." The music will come as no surprise to anyone who's seen and heard such previous Knopfler soundtracks as those for Local Hero and The Princess Bride. There are some Scottish themes in keeping with the movie's setting (it's one of those sports films about a hapless team that somehow reaches a championship), a couple of slow-moving instrumentals in which Knopfler fingerpicks an acoustic guitar, and three vocal tracks. "He's the Man" sounds like it could fit on a Dire Straits or Knopfler solo album, with its rocking tune; "Say Too Much" is a jazzy number with trumpet and saxophone solos, but minimal lyrics; and "All That I Have in the World" is a tender ballad. Chalk up another Mark Knopfler soundtrack that finds him repeating himself, however pleasantly. William Ruhlmann