John Illsley (Ex-Dire Straits) - Solo Albums Collection 1984-2014 (6CD)

John Illsley is an English musician who rose to fame as the bass guitarist of the critically acclaimed band Dire Straits. With Dire Straits, John has been the recipient of multiple BRIT and Grammy Awards and a Heritage Award. As one of the founding band members, with Mark Knopfler, his brother David and drummer Pick Withers, John played a major role in the development of the Dire Straits’ sound.

Throughout it all, John and Mark were the only founding members to remain in the line up of Dire Straits right through from 1977 until they decided to call it a day in 1995. They still remain close friends and recently produced a programme “Guitar Stories” for Sky Arts.

During their time together as Dire Straits they sold over 120 million albums and toured extensively across the world. When Dire Straits took a couple of well earned breaks John released two albums; Never Told a Soul (1984) and Glass(1988). Both featured Mark Knopfler as a guest musician.

John happened upon the Irish band Cunla in a Leicestershire pub in March 2005. He appeared with them on several occasions, most notably on 23 September 2006 at Cathedrale d’Image in Les Baux de Provence, France. The performance was recorded and subsequently released as an album, Live in Les Baux, in 2007.

In October 2008 John released Beautiful You, an album with Greg Pearle from Cunla and followed the release with a a short tour of Ireland. May 2010 saw the release of Streets of Heaven, with appearances from Mark Knopfler and a host of other musicians. The album was recorded at British Grove studios and produced by John and Guy Fletcher.

John signed Native Roses to his label, Creek Publishing, in February 2011. He produced their debut album alongside Guy Fletcher between December 2011 and July 2012.










Never Told A Soul is John Illsley's first solo album and sees him growing in stature as a performer and writer. As on previous records he is ably assisted by Mark Knopfler who plays on four of the seven tracks as well as star drummer Terry Williams and Chris White on sax.

Tracklist:

01. Boy With Chinese Eyes (5:05)
02. The Night Cafe (4:57)
03. Never Told A Soul (5:45)
04. Jimmy On The Central Line (4:43)
05. Northern Land (8:57)
06. Another Alibi (4:27)
07. Let The River Flow (6:25)





Original releaser: snakesharmer





Glass sees John Illsley emerge as a vocalist and guitarist to complement his talent as a bass player, notably with Dire Straits. Nine original compositions see a further development in his songwriting.

Tracklist:

01. High Stakes (4:36)
02. I Want To See The Moon (4:49)
03. Papermen (4:29)
04. All I Want Is You (4:51)
05. The World Is Made Of Glass (5:33)
06. Red Turns To Blue (7:22)
07. Let's Dance (5:10)
08. She Wants Everything (4:59)
09. Star For Now (5:09)





Original releaser: Alex Fal





Beautiful You is the result of a two-year collaboration between John Illsley, and Irish singer-songwriter Greg Pearle. The album also features the talents of Paul Brady, Guy Fletcher and Chris White.

Tracklist:

01. Secret Garden (3:49)
02. Shine (3:55)
03. One (5:25)
04. Demons (4:32)
05. Loving You (4:00)
06. Beautiful You (3:04)
07. Love Let Me Breathe (4:54)
08. Got No Plans (5:12)
09. Crazy Kind Of Life (4:59)
10. I Believe (3:50)
11. Precious (4:33)





Original releaser: Camerado





John Illsley has been called 'the engine room' of Dire Straits. It's an apt description. He was the co-founder of the band and whilst he wasn't necessarily in the limelight, his contribution to the sound and feel of the band and their music is undeniable. 11 tracks in all, this new album was recorded in London and is produced by Guy Fletcher together with John. It features a terrific musical line-up, an Irish rhythm section and a certain Mark Knopfler guesting on two of the tracks. Streets Of Heaven is a very personal album that deals with family, friends and personal events.

If you're missing Dire Straits—and who isn't? — then co-founder John Illsley's solo work is a good resort. When his debut Glass came out, I got it and liked it but wasn't particularly bowled over; just a good LP with quite listenable tracks and a favorable feel. Well, since then, he's been polishing the traits that made him indispensable in DS but also pushing the borders out to broaden his mellifluous wont. The damped-down Mexicalii brass in Tell Me, for instance, is a great touch, touring Herb Alpert through Madrid to get a distant bullfighting vibe mixed with sultry Mediterrannean warmth.

Illsley's voice here also takes on new dimensions, a cross between exposition and poetry, and not without a bit of the baroque here and there either, as in Streets of Heaven. One thing, though, becomes crystal clear: in Straits, Mark Knopfler's was the energy and sun while Illsley provided the moody mellifuity and lament. The combination of the two was what imbued the legendary band with its unique sound so attractive over many years, to so many ears, and for an enduring chart history. And Knopfler here dropped in for a couple of cuts, though much restrained each time out.

Streets of Heaven is perhaps somewhat misnamed, as there's actually a grey limbo feel to everything, a preternaturally purgatorial fog subduing into the blues-folk trademark that signals so much of Illsley's material, guaranteeing the listener that beautifully effulgent heartbreak we listener-dramaturges love to pine over. Thus, Streets marks the perfection of his slowly evolving trek to exactly this set of statements. More, it seems to mark the beginning of what should, hopefully, re-establish the gent as a worthy chart competitor and renew the old Dire Straits sound, because, now more than ever, the singer-player-songwriter has reshaped what brought he and Knopfler together in the first place. Mark may be going in new directions (soundtrack work, etc.), but John has re-invented the venerable old group, and I'm betting there's still a strong place in the market for it.

Mark S. Tucker, AcousticMusic.com

Tracklist:

01. Toe The Line (4:12)
02. Tell Me (4:43)
03. Streets Of Heaven (4:23)
04. Young Girl (3:21)
05. Only Time Will Tell (4:26)
06. Banks Of The River (4:15)
07. No Way To Say Goodbye (4:33)
08. I Thought I Saw It Coming (4:48)
09. Is It Real (4:21)
10. Big Top (4:21)
11. Foreign Land (4:47)





Original releaser: Swamp Fox





Multiple Brit & Grammy award winner and founder member of Dire Straits, John Illsley follows his studio album 'Testing the Water' with this splendid live album recorded in 2014 at the Half Moon in Putney, London! "Live in London" includes no less than seven Dire Straits hits like "Sultans of Swing", "Romeo and Juliet" and "Money for Nothing". Plus great versions of Leonard Cohen's "First We Take Manhattan" and Roger Water's "Another Brick in the Wall". John includes several of his own songs which have appeared on his solo albums like 'Streets of Heaven' and 'Testing the Water'.

Tracklist:

01. Toe The Line (4:03)
02. Walk Of Life (4:22)
03. Once Upon A Time In The West (4:28)
04. Private Investigations (5:24)
05. Young Girl (3:07)
06. Sultans Of Swing (7:32)
07. First We Take Manhattan (5:01)
08. Another Brick In The Wall (3:56)
09. Streets Of Heaven (4:27)
10. I Thought I Saw It Coming (4:28)
11. Romeo And Juliet (6:42)
12. When God Made Time (4:08)
13. Is It Real (4:15)
14. Brothers In Arms (6:25)
15. Money For Nothing (5:52)





Original releaser: Swamp Fox





2014 album from the multiple Brit and Grammy winner and former Dire Straits bassist. Recorded and produced with Guy Fletcher at A-Bay Studios and British Grove, TESTING THE WATER sees the 'engine room of Dire Straits' in fine form. From the opening riff of the first single, 'When God Made Time', John's classic sound is unmistakable. As the man who was a significant element in the pace and feel of Dire Straits' music from the outset, this familiarity is not surprising 'that's not me being influenced by the band, that's just the way I've always played and it continues in my own work' he reflects. Written over the last three years these songs are deeply personal narratives, 'the last few years have been so turbulent politically, militarily and personally and I wanted to try and create some songs that reflected these strange times and perhaps were worthy of sharing with others.'

Tracklist:

01. Railway Tracks (5:00)
02. Nothing To Do (4:25)
03. Testing The Water (5:10)
04. Sometimes (3:47)
05. Run For Cover (4:55)
06. Darling Heart (4:51)
07. When God Made Time (4:54)
08. This Is Your Voice (5:02)





Original releaser: Swamp Fox