The Ragpicker's Dream is the third solo studio album by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler, released on 30 September 2002 by Mercury Records internationally, and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album received generally favorable reviews upon its release.
Composition
The album is a collection of songs written from the point of view of poor but dignified itinerant men, struggling to get by in life, often enjoying small triumphs. Knopfler gives a folk imprint to the whole album without relying too heavily on the acoustic guitar. The first song, "Why Aye Man", was used as the theme tune for the third series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet which first aired in 2002. The album contains numerous other references to North East England, including the village of Tow Law on "Hill Farmer's Blues".
Artwork
The album cover shows a black and white photograph of a man and a woman dancing in a kitchen. The photograph was taken by Elliott Erwitt and is titled "Spain, Valencia, 1952, Robert and Mary Frank". The photo was also used as the book cover for two novels: The Marriage Artist by Andrew Winer, and Ancient Light by John Banville.
Critical reception
In his review for AllMusic, Hal Horowitz gave the album three out of five stars, calling the album "a pleasant, classy, often inspired effort whose unassuming charms are best appreciated after repeated listenings." Horowitz continued: Horowitz acknowledges Knopfler's versatility and breadth of music on the album: the atmospherics of "Hill Farmer's Blues" and "Fare Thee Well Northumberland", the unaccompanied folk/blues of "Marbletown", the "shuffling groove" on the spooky "You Don't Know You're Born", the mid-tempo "Coyote", the authentic honky tonk swing of "Daddy's Gone to Knoxville", and Roger Milleresque "Quality Shoe". Horowitz singles out the title track, which he describes as "an homage to the American roots music he's always admired."
Track listing
All songs were written by Mark Knopfler. ;Bonus disc
"Why Aye Man" is the first single from the album, released in September 2002 by Mercury Records in four CD versions: the promotional single containing two version of track 1, one of which was a 3:56 radio edit, the single containing tracks 1 and 2, the single containing tracks 1–3, and the Maxi single version containing tracks 1–4. "Why Aye Man" was the theme music for the comeback third season of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet in 2002, and its lyrics are based upon the same premise that the original series was based upon – that of Geordie tradesmen during the Thatcher years, going abroad to find work in Germany. Track listing
