[2] The first studio double-album of Knopfler's 35-year career as a recording artist, Privateering consists of 20 original songs (plus four more released in other editions), and integrates blues rock with traditional folk and country genres.

For the Bap Kennedy project, Knopfler enlisted the help of several top session players, including Jerry Douglas, Glenn Worf, John McCusker and Michael McGoldrick.

"[3] By late May 2011, Knopfler and Fletcher were joined in the studio by Glenn Worf (bass), Richard Bennett (guitars, bouzouki, and tiple), and Jim Cox (piano, organ), as well as Ian Thomas (drums) who had played on the Bap Kennedy sessions earlier in the year.

The recording process Knopfler and Fletcher chose for this album involved pre-tracking the songs with the core lineup and later bringing in the folk musicians to overdub their parts.

The mixing to master process involved three analog two-track Ampex ATR-100 tape machines, fitted with one-inch, half-inch and quarter-inch head blocks.

"[3] In February, Ruth Moody from the Wailin' Jennys was invited to sing some backing vocals, and Ian Thomas came in to rerecord his drum part for one of the songs.

"[12] The back cover appears to show a section of the van's rear brake light and bumper with a weathered sticker bearing the letters "GB" (Great Britain).

"[13] Knopfler's official Privateering Tour of Europe started on 25 April 2013 in Bucharest, Romania and included 70 concerts in 63 cities, ending on 31 July 2013 in Calella de Palafrugell, Spain.

[14][15] In his review in The Gazette, Bernard Perusse gave the album four out of five stars, noting its continuity with Knopfler's previous solo efforts in its mix of "gentle folk rockers with moody portraits painted by acoustic guitars and whistles.

"[16] His voice is sounding more like Leonard Cohen than ever and while the melancholy flavour we expect of this all-time great is still very much in evidence, there are forays out into classic blues and bluesy rock, both of which suit him down to the ground.

[16]In her review in The Telegraph, Helen Brown gave the album four out of five stars, calling it "a warm, authentic and durable record: the musical equivalent of a well-worn plaid shirt.

"[17] In his review for AllMusic, James Christopher Monger gave the album four out of five stars, calling it Knopfler's "most ambitious and pugnacious set to date.

"[1] Monger continued: Upon first spin, Privateering feels a little like a garage sale, offering up long cold plates of once warm, late-night porch jams that feel like pre-studio session warm-ups, but the album's stately, yet schizophrenic nature, which pits lo-fi, studious, yet ultimately forgettable exercises in rote American blues like "Hot or What" and "Gator Blood" with amiable, highway-ready rockers ("Corned Beef City") and incredibly affecting, spooky folk-pop ballads like "Redbud Tree," "Kingdom of Gold," and the magnificent "Dream of the Drowned Submariner," all three of which owe a couple of polite high fives to Dire Straits songs like "The Man's Too Strong" and "Brothers in Arms," reveals an artist in complete control of his arsenal.

[1]In her review in the Financial Times Ludovic Hunter-Tilney gave the album four out of five stars, calling it a "fine set of songs about masculine struggle and salvation.

"[18] The songs are populated with a "Knopflerian cast of working-class characters—sailors, farmers, van drivers—and set to a variety of moods: Celtic folk-rock, gnarly blues, gruff rock and roll."

The 20 songs, most top-shelf, are a textbook of folk styles, from Irish ballads ("Kingdom of Gold") and country-flavored weepers ("Seattle") to slide-driven blues ("Don't Forget Your Hat") and Tin Pan Alley nostalgia ("Radio City Serenade").

[21]In his review for musicOMH, Andy Baber gave the album four out of five stars, praising Knopfler's ability to deliver "material of such high quality" with production that captures "the sound of Americana".