“Chet had such facility and knowledge, and yet what he wanted to do was play two chords all morning long. He’d say to me, ‘You’re pretty good, but you’re no Mark Knopfler’”: Mark Knopfler looks back on his jams with fellow fingerstyle legend Chet Atkins

JANUARY 01: NASHVILLE Photo of Mark KNOPFLER and David HUNGATE and Chet ATKINS, L-R Mark Knopfler, David Hungate and Chet Atkins performing on stage.

Not only is Brothers in Arms widely considered to be Dire Straits’ magnum opus, it’s also deemed to be a nine-track showcase of generational guitar playing that has since cemented Mark Knopfler’s place in the pantheon of electric guitar greats.

In fact, the hysteria surrounding Brothers in Arms was so great that Knopfler himself was soon receiving calls from the guitar world’s most respected figures, who all wanted to sit down and jam with the Strat-wielding fingerstyle player.