He’s been praised for his guitar work since he first emerged leading Dire Straits in the late ‘70s—and he is a magnificent player—but more than anything else, Mark Knopfler has always been a compelling storyteller. He’s placed those sagas in a number of musical settings over the years, some efforts more successful than others, but increasingly in recent years, he’s foregone pop ambitions and reacquainted himself with his allegiance to the roots. Tracker, Knopfler’s eighth solo album, is one of his comfiest and most down-home sets, co-produced with Guy Fletcher, who provides all of the keyboards, and populated with all manner of instruments ranging from fiddles and flutes to accordion, horns, washboard and uke. And, of course, that guitar—stellar. Two tracks, “Lights Of Taormina” and “Silver Eagle,” came about when he toured with Dylan: that the songs bear a marked resemblance to Mr. D would only be noteworthy had Knopfler not found inspiration in the bard since day one, but one can easily imagine Dylan himself covering them. Of the rest, it’s the more minimally endowed tunes—“Basil,” “Mighty Man,” Long Cool Girl”—that are most effortlessly embraced, and “Beryl,” the most Dire Straits-ish of the bunch, that oddly feels the most out of place.