There have been lots of 'what are your favourite albums by Dire Straits' and Top 5's etc, some small ones even quite recently, but I think this band surely deserve a full featured retrospective here, broken down album by album? My last of this style was the REM Album by Album thread, a few years back (The R.E.M. album-by-album Thread (2015) ), and before that, the Sonic Youth one. As I have some free time the next few months, let's change pace and go with this in(famous) British rock band from the late 70's, who I happen to also personally rate very highly indeed. Let's just say this much, as a small intro on the band... "At 10.10pm on October 9, 1992, Mark Knopfler bid goodnight to 40,000 people and walked off stage in Zaragoza, Spain. It was the last time he did so as the singer, guitarist and undisputed leader of Dire Straits. It brought to an end a 15-year journey during which time the band had risen from the pubs and sweaty clubs of London to the very biggest stages in the world. The simple facts are these: Knopfler formed Dire Straits in London in 1977 with his younger brother David on rhythm guitar, John Illsley on bass and Pick Withers on drums. Emerging from the city’s fertile pub-rock scene at the dawn of the punk era, they were an overnight sensation. The white-hot success of their first single, 'Sultans Of Swing', and self-titled debut album was founded on the elder Knopfler’s fluid, finger-picked guitar style, which sounded as lovely as a bubbling stream. Theirs was no fleeting moment, either, with three more hit records following before they reached their apogee on their fifth studio album, 'Brothers In Arms'. That record was unstoppable from the moment of its release in May 1985. It made Dire Straits superstars, but it also warped the popular perception of both Knopfler and his band. Dire Straits became a byword for a certain sort of safe, homogenised music, and Knopfler was turned into a caricature of the middle-aged rocker, with jacket sleeves rolled up and wearing a headband. What was forgotten in the wake of its stellar success was just how striking and sometimes radical Dire Straits had seemed from their inception......" from 'Sultans Of Swing: The Untold Story Of Dire Straits' By Paul Rees April 17, 2015. (www.loudersound.com) a terrific article, and one I recommend you read if you have a real interest in the band. _______________________________________ It would be great if you would contribute your thoughts on each album as we go, and to help you gather those thoughts in the most productive way, can I suggest the following? Some or all of the following will help promote discussion: -- Tell us WHY you like the album -- Tell us WHY it particularly matters to you -- Tell us any memories around the album, or the songs from it, that are relevant to you -- Tell us if you still listen to it, and if there is a particular medium or pressing in that medium, that you think best shows it's quality. So, here's what I think I could reasonably cover, including official Live albums, but stopping short of covering the solo efforts from Knopfler & the other band members. I'll cover each of these albums in turn, with decent pauses between each to allow you to write out your thoughts and get 'em down here: (1) Dire Straits (2) Communique (3) Making Movies (4) Love Over Gold (5) ExtendedancEPlay (6) Alchemy (7) Brothers in Arms (8) Money For Nothing (9) On Every Street (10) On The Night (11) Live At The BBC (12) Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits (13) Private Investigations: The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler You with me? Jon ___________________________________ credits for the below intro texts: Wikipedia, Rolling Stone, Allmusic.com, Loudersound.com, various internet sources and forums. Dire Straits - Dire Straits (ST) - 1978 Released on 7 October 1978 by Vertigo Records internationally and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. All songs written by by Mark Knopfler. Side One 1. "Down to the Waterline" 3:55 2. "Water of Love" 5:23 3. "Setting Me Up" 3:18 4. "Six Blade Knife" 4:10 5. "Southbound Again" 2:58 Side Two No. Title Length 6. "Sultans of Swing" 5:47 7. "In the Gallery" 6:16 8. "Wild West End" 4:42 9. "Lions" 5:05 Recording notes Ed Bicknell, then handling the band in an unofficial capacity, cemented his credentials by booking the band onto a 23-date UK tour with Talking Heads in December 1977. By the end of it he was appointed their official manager and within two months Dire Straits were recording their first album at Island Records’ Basing Street studios with producer Muff Winwood, elder brother of Stevie and former bassist with the Spencer Davies Group. “Or Spluff Windbag, as we called him,” says Bicknell, laughing. “He pretty much recorded a live record but without the audience. It cost £12,500, including the sleeve, and it sold eight million within nine months of coming out. We were reeling: ‘**** me. What’s happening?’” The self titled album was released in October 1978. At a point when such second-generation punk and new-wave acts as The Jam, Boomtown Rats and Generation X were making an impression, it stood apart. Knopfler’s songs were characterised by the intricacies of his guitar playing, the rolling gait of the band’s rhythms and by their open spaces, as uncluttered as prairie lands. It was a rich musical terrain that drew comparisons with Dylan, JJ Cale and Ry Cooder. But in spirit it was closest to another great record released that year, Bruce Springsteen’s symphony to the working man, 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town'. Like that record it had the same connection to time and place. In Dire Straits’ case this was to the back streets of Newcastle and the bright lights of London, with Knopfler narrating his journey from one city to the other. Reception The album was a success from the off, going Top 10 all across Europe. When it was released in America six months later it vaulted to No.2 on the Billboard chart. The band drove themselves around the States on their first tour of the country at the start of 1979. Dylan came to see their show in LA, popping backstage afterwards to ask Knopfler to play on his next album, 'Slow Train Coming'. Knopfler, who had seen Dylan at Newcastle City Hall on his first electric tour in 1966, would later recall hiring an open-top convertible and driving down Santa Monica Boulevard to the session, getting sunburnt on route and thinking to himself: “This is it.” As of this writing, the album is a strong second for the all time largest selling release from the band (including all official digital sales, according to chartmasters.com ) with 23 million units generated in total. It stands alone as the single biggest rock album from all of 1978. “Mark was our standard bearer and ticket to being exceptional rather than merely good,” acknowledges David Knopfler. “He was actually rather humble at that point – hard for me to imagine now. John Illsley and I pretty much dragged him to the altar all the way.” In his review for Rolling Stone magazine published in early 1979, Ken Tucker wrote that the band "plays tight, spare mixtures of rock, folk and country music with a serene spirit and witty irony. It's almost as if they were aware that their forte has nothing to do with what's currently happening in the industry, but couldn't care less." I reckon that's pretty much bang on.... Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine (Allmusic) "Dire Straits' minimalist interpretation of pub rock had already crystallized by the time they released their eponymous debut. Driven by Mark Knopfler's spare, tasteful guitar lines and his husky warbling, the album is a set of bluesy rockers. And while the bar band mentality of pub-rock is at the core of Dire Straits -- even the group's breakthrough single, "Sultans of Swing," offered a lament for a neglected pub rock band -- their music is already beyond the simple boogies and shuffles of their forefathers, occasionally dipping into jazz and country. Knopfler also shows an inclination toward Dylanesque imagery, which enhances the smoky, low-key atmosphere of the album. While a few of the songs fall flat, the album is remarkably accomplished for a debut, and Dire Straits had difficulty surpassing it throughout their career.."
The original RS review ended with the reviewer essentially sighing and saying how this album would not deserve its fate, which was to be ignored. Something like that. One of the biggest underestimations in that publication’s history, I think. It’s still my fave of them all. Inspired, terrific music.
I will follow this thread. Before anyone else says it: There was another thread with the same topic recently but it was quite rushed and kind of fell apart. This one looks quite promising! I’m all for a Knopfler solo thread as a coda (when that time comes) as well.
My Dire Straits experience started with Brothers In Arms and I discovered the debut much later. I have a version of it on vinyl and I enjoy it a lot when I have time to spin it. Very solid debut!
Love this record. Great songs and it sounds so real. Water of Love and Wild West End are my faves, but the whole album just flows. Have the original and the remaster on vinyl and cd. The original can’t be beat.
When I first heard "Sultans" on the car in '78 I did a double take. Wait a minute, who was that? Dylan? Lou Reed? Loved 'em ever since.
A nice early performance, live on the Old Grey Whistle Test. Already showing that tight form on one of their best songs.
I discovered Dire Straits around the time of Brothers In Arms and worked back in the next couple of years. All of their albums were in the charts in 1985-86 - they were a phenomenon. I could tell straight away that the debut was special. It does not really have a weak track and stands apart from the trends of the other music of the time. Down To The Waterline sets the scene perfectly. Rightly regarded as one of the best debuts of all time.
Dire Straits were about the biggest thing ever in New Zealand - and for over a decade. Their first album entered the charts at #2 (amazing for an unknown band) and Brothers In Arms reputedly sold 300,000 copies in a country of 3-1/2 million people. For many New Zealanders Dire Straits is their favourite band of all time. Their debut album entered the album charts at #2 (its top position) in December 1978 and stayed in the top ten for six months. It spent an extraordinary 112 weeks in the charts, including reaching the top ten again in 1983 and #14 in 1986 - possibly on the back of tours. I love this album. It's an extraordinary collection of songs and performances. I would have had this on LP in the day, but my go-to version since 1984 or so is the German manufactured CD.
I thought I was the only one who thought it was Dylan. The first time I heard SULTANS... I immediately sped to the MUSICLAND store at the Cherry Vale Mall in Rockford, Illinois to overpay for DIRE STRAITS (mall record store prices, you know, but I was within a 2 minute drive to the mall at the moment). Sultans & Wild West End are my favorite tracks on this debut album by a nose. The grit and raw vibe of Sultans of Swing contrast nicely with Wild West End, which points to the refinement that was there, and would be developed very shortly on future projects. It was here in these 40 or minutes of recorded greatness where I absorbed Mark & David's guitar artistry as a main ingredient to the group's ultimate excellence. With the release of Communique', I became a lifelong fan of both DS as a group, and Mark Knopfler as a writer, producer, and performer as solo and with other artists. Pick Withers seldom gets mentioned in conversations of key drummers, yet I would elevate him into the top echelon. I spun my Japanese SHM version of this debut last week, and it reveals Pick's chops nicely...... GT
I am still trying to get my head around the Dire Straits story if brotherly conflict did not drive David from the band. Its a topic I would love to know more about but neither brother says much as far as I know.
But it most certainly did..... From Paul Rees again, Sultans Of Swing: The Untold Story Of Dire Straits'. "....With the band laid to rest, John Illsley settled down to indulge his love of painting and is currently preparing an exhibition of his work in London. He also continues to record and tour with his own band. Ed Bicknell managed Mark Knopfler for several years after the split but has now retired. Having run his race with Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler has since contented himself in a quieter, more comfortable niche – composing soundtracks, collaborating with the likes of Chet Atkins and Emmylou Harris, and making a succession of roots-based solo albums, of which the latest, and possibly best, is this year’s Tracker. He was married for the third time, to actress Kitty Aldridge in 1997, and continues to indulge his lifelong passion for motorbikes and collecting classic cars. He and his brother are still not speaking. “I spent a lot of time doing therapy and dealing with my issues and ghosts and demons,” says David Knopfler. “Maybe Mark has too. I don’t know what he does. Of course, it casts a huge shadow on both our lives and on our families. We’ve got cousins who don’t know each other.” Ed Bicknell says that people ask him regularly when Dire Straits are going to get back together. His answer remains the same. “I tell them the same thing: why would they? None of them needs the money. Peter Grant once said to me: ‘When you’ve had an experience like I had with Led Zeppelin and you had with Dire Straits, there is no point trying to reproduce it.’ And he was exactly right. That was the one.”
The only Dire Straits I have are this self-titled one and Love Over Gold, which is probably all I need. I never understood the point of the cover, if any, but once I got past that the music is great. The opening two tracks are the cliched "one-two punch", two quite different songs that are both excellent. I like the laid back sound that DS manage to get on songs like "Water of Love". After those two, the next three songs are fairly ordinary before things pick up again with "Sultans". This is how Dylan SHOULD have sung. I was in South America when this album and its follow-up came out, and the local people seemed to have a problem with identifying the band. Many seemed under the impression that the name of the band was "Sultans of Swing".
Surely one of the best debut albums of the late 70's. Great songs, clever lyrics, wonderful production by Muff, and an interesting cover that draws you in immediately. I can see why others might prefer their later work, but personally (and perhaps controversially) I think all the subsequent albums didn't quite have the same magic as this one. 'Wild West End' is just sublime.
My love for Dire Straits started with Love Over Gold and worked back from there love all there albums and will be watching this thread, waiting for the reissue of the box set I hope by the end of July fingers crossed.
I may have expressed myself badly. I meant the hypothetical band that included both brothers. What if ....? I am not sure it would be at all the same. I liked your quotes though. I need that book!
Dire Straits (s/t) is one of the handful of debuts that was a sensation when it was released and is still a wonderful listen 40 years later. I think it will always surpass it's follow ups, in public opinion, regardless of how good they are.
"In The Gallery" stands out for that pure and expressive tone in the solo, if for nothing else. A 1961 Strat with a DiMarzio FS-1 in the neck, through what I believe was a Music Man HD130 amp. Surprising to see how many memorable solos Knopfler played via the neck pickup rather than the bridge. Then again, Robin Trower soloed through his Strat's middle pickup almost exclusively.
Was about 10 when it was released, so it went over my head at first. About 3 years later I was already taping a lot and they grabbed me first with "Making Movies" (my older brother played the LP a lot). Quickly I worked my way back and fell in love with it. Never heard anything like Sultans or Knife before and the sound was just fascinating, it's still great and in steady rotation.
Pick Wither's drum fills on this album are so well placed, and always perfectly executed. As Gramps Tom said upthread, he's a top tier drummer that deserves to get more recognition.
Great idea for a thread. I discovered Brothers in Arms. Played that record so much yet I couldn't tell you how many years its been since I last listened. Ended up asking my parents for their other records on vinyl - this would've been around 1986 and I was 14 at the time. The first two albums and Love Over Gold are the ones that mean the most to me (we'll get to the other ones later,) but the debut is a gem. Tight band, great songs, just superb. Tell us WHY it particularly matters to you - I played it so much, it is a part of my younger years, back in the time I had all the time in the world to sit back with headphones on, read the credits and listen in full. It has the same impact when I listen back now after all this time. Tell us any memories around the album, or the songs from it, that are relevant to you - That eery intro then straight into Waterline. Water of Love is a huge fave, Setting Me Up I used to love back in the day but less so now. Six Blade Knife is class, one of my very favourites. Southbound Again, a bit close to Setting Me Up, those two are the weakest on the record but by no means are they bad. Sultans I have heard to death, overkill, I actually prefer the single version, sadly that isn't played much on the radio, they only seem to play the more polished album version. In the Gallery is a another gem. Wild West End is my favourite. "Greasy, greasy, greasy hair, easy smile, she made me feel 19 for a while." Just superb! And Lions to end, another gem, the way those last 2 work together. the fade in for Lions. Love this album and have done for over 30 years! Tell us if you still listen to it, and if there is a particular medium or pressing in that medium, that you think best shows it's quality. - yes, my 80's vinyl sounds wonderful, no need to change or upgrade. I bought the 90s cd remasters, but vinyl much, much better.
As a kid, I always thought of Sultans of Swing as a really sad song, actually - must've been the guitar playing, especially the dramatic solo. Even today, I think it's a very, very sad song, although it only deals with a band playing the pubs of southern London, right? Anyway, the album: Brothers in Arms was my first DS album, but I've come to prefer the first two albums by miles - such calm and beautiful playing, dry and yet so deeply moving lyrics and, oh, the melancholy that goes hand in hand with songs like Wild West End and Follow Me Home (from the 2nd effort Communiqué). Actually, Communiqué might happen to be my favorite LP by them, but that debut sure ranks in very close second position, if even. Glad I've made it to this thread rather early on Favorite tracks: Down to the Waterline, Water of Love, Sultans of Swing, Wild West End
Tried to search a bit. It is a painting by a Chuck Loyola. Hard to find much more. My take: woman in dire straits. Forced to move out of her fancy studio apartment. One last glance before walking out the door. Could be waiting for someone in a parking house as well.
