Mark Knopfler Local Hero

Mark Knopfler used the Local Hero soundtrack—his first album without Dire Straits—to stretch his wings a little bit, attempting to tell his own story through music, with almost no lyrics. On "Wild Theme," his folky guitar playing is joined by synth and piano, the three instruments swirling together like the sonic equivalent of a Georgia O'Keeffe painting. "Freeway Flyer," meanwhile, is a honky-tonk romp in the tradition of Jimmie Rivers, with Knopfler's distorted guitar leading the way for a full-band desert highway chase.