It is very impressive to compare the guitar playing of
Mark Knopfler on this song in the
Alchemy vs. the
Dire Straits recording.
In Dire Straits it sounds good, regular, well organized but basically square. The man is on the ball, he plays well (not for nothing this record sold a gazillion copies).
In Alchemy, years later, one is clearly in the presence of a guitar god. The piece starts off with some bizarre sounds, and only gets better from there. Mark makes the guitar do strange and beautiful things.
So, yes, some things do improve with age.