All Dressed Up

So much to say about this rendition of this song:

1) I always have been and I always will be in love with Mark Knopfler, even though he's never had really good hair.

2) It is always amazing to me when I see performances with artists of equally huge talent collaborating together. Because really, all too often, in the real world, it seems people are very competitve when it comes to talent. But true artists seem to be very generous people. Sure, bands break up over artistic differences all the time but when I see two immensely talented people sharing a stage like this it really inspires me.

c) I'm not sure when this was recorded, but from what I've been able to find, it looks like 1988. Clapton's eyes look really sad. Either that or he's on something. If he's really sad then I'm amazed he could perform anyway. (We'd see his ability to do that a few years later, after the death of his son, so I guess he's got it in him). If he's high, well, that's even more amazing. But it does make me want to give him a hug and tell him everything's going to be alright.

What I'd like to say specifically about this song:

a) It is my number one favorite Clapton song ever. ("Layla" is number 2).

2) It is also one of the most romantic songs in the history of rock and roll. Romantic, I tell you. This isn't a song about sex and attraction but of love and admiration. Let's face it, most of 'em aren't. Not in this way, anyhoo.

3) I remember when I was little, watching Dame Judi getting ready for a night out with Sean Connery. I'd sit on their bed and watch, fascinated, as she negotiated all the whizbangery of women's underthings (in the days before the magic of control-top panty hose, mind you), slipping a pretty dress over her head, putting on her pearls, brushing her hair. She looked so beautiful. This is one of those things I did so often that it is no longer a specific memory but an iconic one: mommy getting ready. It always felt a little magical and I remember thinking, "I wonder if I'll ever be that pretty". And later, "I wonder if I'll ever be going out with anyone, ever".

This song is the grownup equivalent of that, a man observing, almost from the outside, the beauty of his partner. I always thought that what he says to her in the song is just about the sweetest, most romantic thing ever a man could say to a woman.

Eric Clapton & Dire Straits "Wonderful Tonight"