Inside the commercial beast that Dire Straits became in the '80s lurked a subtly talented singer-songwriter. Mark Knopfler always seemed a bit like he'd rather be somewhere else at the peak of his fame. He had a respectable career writing and recording film scores (Local Hero, Cal). His skill as a guitarist was undeniable. Why not just chuck the arena-rock and scale down?

Well, whether by design or fate, that's what Knopfler has done, and it looks good on him. Having quietly retired the Dire Straits name in the mid '90s, the singer returns with his third solo album.

The Ragpicker's Dream (out Tuesday) is hardly a shock. With its bluesy guitar ambience and story-based songs, it's instantly recognizable as a sort of Dire Straits epilogue. What Knopfler has done, though, is pare down big ideas into tidy tracks. He bends his Celtic folk fascinations toward American country-blues without so much as a tonal flinch on Why Aye Man and the spacious Fare Thee Well Northumberland.

The Straits-style You Don't Know You're Born wouldn't sound out of place on a late-period Lou Reed record, and Quality Shoe rewrites Roger Miller's King Of The Road to folksy effect. Arguably more appealing are delicately jazzy pop laments like A Place Where We Used To Live and the title track.

The gentle mood and adult contemporary feel of The Ragpicker's Dream may obscure its finer points as a songwriting venture. Behind the high polish, though, is a quietly inventive and single-malt smooth listen. (More on Mark Knopfler)

Track Listing
1. Why Aye Man
2. Devil Baby
3. Hill Farmer's Blues
4. A Place Where We Used To Live
5. Quality Shoe
6. Fare Thee Well Northumberland
7. Marbletown
8. You Don't Know You're Born
9. Coyote
10. The Ragpicker's Dream
11. Daddy's Gone To Knoxville
12. Old Pigweed