*** Mark Knopfler, “Sailing to Philadelphia,” Warner Bros.

The former Dire Straits frontman’s second full-fledged solo album is all over the map--and the calendar. He creates mini-dramas set in various times and places--mostly the U.K. and the U.S.--enlivened by the atmospheric rock, folk and blues music he’s also drawn on for his many film scores. When he tries for Randy Newman-esque commentary, he often falls short, but the music is consistently appealing, Dire Straits-like adult rock helped along by high-profile guests including James Taylor, Van Morrison and the Squeeze boys, Glenn Tillbrook and Chris Difford.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).