Mark Knopfler will release The Ragpicker's Dream, the follow-up to his critically acclaimed album Sailing to Philadelphia on October 1st. The Ragpicker's Dream was produced by Chuck Ainlay and features Dire Straits member Guy Fletcher on keyboards, Jim Cox on piano and hammond organ, Richard Bennett on guitar, Glenn Worf on bass and Chad Cromwell on drums.

Bluegrass fiddler Glen Duncan and steel guitarist Paul Franklin also contribute, as does Emmylou Harris, who provides guest vocals. "[Knopfler's and Harris'] voices blend particularly well," according to Fletcher, "and the album will be a real treat."

"The record has a kind of an acoustic feel to a lot of it," Knopfler said. "But I've really been writing about the things I've always been writing about. The things that broke my heart as a kid continue to do so now, nothing really changes. . . . I suppose because in my life there's been a fair bit of movement and I've always been interested in that, and in the fact that the music travels, so it's a sort of transcontinental blues in a way. The music has traveled to the States and come back again, Irish songs, Scottish songs, English songs and European songs too."

Knopfler is planning a world tour in support of the album for spring 2003. "We'll definitely be a loose collection of musicians and do some shows somewhere," he continued. "I like the idea of playing in places where you can see people and they can see you."

The Ragpicker's Dream track listing:

Why Aye Man
Devil Baby
Hill Farmer's Blues
A Place Where We Used to Live
Quality Shoe
Fare Thee Well Northumberland
Marbletown
You Don't Know You're Born
Coyote
The Ragpicker's Dream
Daddy's Gone to Knoxville
Old Pigweed

CHRISTINA SARACENO
(August 28, 2002)