DIRE STRAITS: "On Every Street"

Original released on LP Vertigo 510.160-1

(UK 1991, September 9)

It took Mark Knopfler more than six years to craft a followup to Dire Straits' international chart-topper, 2Brothers In Arms", but though "On Every Street" sold in the expected multi-millions worldwide on the back of the band's renown and a year-long tour, it was a disappointment. Knopfler remained a gifted guitar player with tastes in folk ("Iron Hand"), blues ("Fade To Black"), and rockabilly ("The Bug"), among other styles, but much of the album was low-key to the point of being background music. The group had long-since dwindled to original members Knopfler and bassist John Illsley, plus a collection of semi-permanent sidemen who provided support but no real musical chemistry. The closest thing to a successor to "Money For Nothing," the big hit from "Brothers In Arms", was the sarcastic rocker "Heavy Fuel." It became an album rock radio favorite (though not a chart single), and fans still filled stadiums to hear "Sultans Of Swing," but "On Every Street" was not the comeback it should have been. (William Ruhlmann in AllMusic)

This is their best album, if you ask me. There are no weak spots here, Dire Straits can trade the pop rock for everybody with the highest quality, just check it. The release defines of sharp rhythms, rich guitar passages everywhere, exciting arrangements with a wide spectrum of styles. The variety is a distinctive feature of their 1991 "On Every Street" album. Honestly, I like almost all content here that starting with fine, infectious Elvis song. But espesially I was impressed and grabbed by neck by drum work on "On Every Street" track at the composition's final part-incredible skills indeed! Great man called Danny Cummings worked as a perfect mechanism, it's purely an unhuman ability. Fantastic track worthy of many replays. The rest material are arguable and perhaps not accepted by some strict metallers, but I find it's all as an excellent, it's a really cool if you can digest soft rock. While the first, early Straits's production could suffer of the clinical bias, this one is rather bracing, entertaining, humorous stuff. Overall, this issue suits any collection, or almost any. (in RateYourMusic)

DIRE STRAITS: "Brothers In Arms"

Original released on LP Vertigo VERH 25

(UK 1985, May 13)

"Brothers in Arms" brought the atmospheric, jazz-rock inclinations of "Love Over Gold" into a pop setting, resulting in a surprise international best-seller. Of course, the success of "Brothers in Arms" was helped considerably by the clever computer-animated video for "Money for Nothing," a sardonic attack on MTV. But what kept the record selling was Mark Knopfler's increased sense of pop songcraft - "Money for Nothing" had an indelible guitar riff, "Walk of Life" is a catchy up-tempo boogie variation on "Sultans of Swing," and the melodies of the bluesy "So Far Away" and the down-tempo, Everly Brothers-style "Why Worry" were wistful and lovely. Dire Straits had never been so concise or pop-oriented, and it wore well on them. Though they couldn't maintain that consistency through the rest of the album - only the jazzy "Your Latest Trick" and the flinty "Ride Across the River" make an impact - "Brothers in Arms" remains one of their most focused and accomplished albums, and in its succinct pop sense, it's distinctive within their catalog. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

DIRE STRAITS: "Love Over Gold"

Original released on LP Vertigo 6359.109

(UK , September 1982)

Contrary to the blasé buying habits of the general listening public, "Brothers in Arms" is not, in any way, shape or form, Dire Straits's best album. It is commercially detestable, aurally indigestible and critically contestable. But hey, if you enjoy such annoyingly overplayed bits of MTV tripe like "Money for Nothing" or "Walk of Life", then avert your eyes, as this review aint for you. If, however, you enjoy moving songs played elegantly and some genuinely gorgeous riffs plucked by guitar-picker extraordinaire Mark Knopfler, then there's hope for you yet! "Love Over Gold" is an album that was very ambitious, but was successful in achieving an incredibly evocative sound and an impeccable clarity, even over the 14+ minute composition "Telegraph Road", the stellar centerpiece of the album. Then there is one of my favorite songs of the 80s, "Industrial Disease", one of the funniest takes on technology overload ever written (with a wonderfully infectious organ line and sly Dylanesque lyrics and rhyme scheme). There is also the dark "Private Investigations", and jazzy stylings of the title track. And Sting was not required to sing backup anywhere on the album. (in RateYourMusic)

Statements don't get much riskier than a commercially ambitious '80s album with five songs and two of those stretching over eight minutes, but the artistic gamble paid huge dividends for Dire Straits in Europe with "Love Over Gold". The near-quarter-hour "Telegraph Road" starts as Mark Knopfler meant to go on, a sprawling landscape of a track depicting the tale of a growing one over the years that gradually chugs faster until reaching its epic crescendo, a guaranteed live favourite from this point until the group's demise a decade later. The only other track on the first side, "Private Investigations", is a slow and largely brooding, acoustic guitar-led saga from the first-person view of a jaded cash-for-hire detective. Not exactly a recipe for hit-making in 1982, right? Wrong, it climbed all the way to number two in the band's native United Kingdom, the joint-biggest single they ever released. Side two opens with by far the breeziest and funniest cut "Industrial Disease", followed by a piano-laden title track ballad of high-wire circus working and living. This is Dire Straits at their most atmospheric, you need to be patient with this one, but the vast rewards are there. (in AllMusic)

DIRE STRAITS: "Making Movies"

 

Original released on LP Vertigo 6359.034

(UK 1980, October 17)

Without second guitarist David Knopfler, Dire Straits began to move away from its roots rock origins into a jazzier variation of country-rock and singer/songwriter folk-rock. Naturally, this means that Mark Knopfler's ambitions as a songwriter are growing, as the storytelling pretensions of "Making Movies" indicate. Fortunately, his skills are increasing, as the lovely "Romeo and Juliet," "Tunnel of Love," and "Skateaway" indicate. And "Making Movies" is helped by a new wave-tinged pop production, which actually helps Knopfler's jazzy inclinations take hold. The record runs out of steam toward the end, closing with the borderline offensive "Les Boys," but the remainder of "Making Movies" ranks among the band's finest work. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

DIRE STRAITS: "Communiqué"

 

Original released on LP Vertigo 9102.031

(UK 1979, June 15)

Rushed out less than nine months after the surprise success of Dire Straits' self-titled debut album, the group's sophomore effort, "Communiqué", seemed little more than a carbon copy of its predecessor with less compelling material. Mark Knopfler and co. had established a sound (derived largely from J.J. Cale) of laid-back shuffles and intricate, bluesy guitar playing, and "Communiqué" provided more examples of it. But there was no track as focused as "Sultans of Swing," even if "Lady Writer" (a lesser singles chart entry on both sides of the Atlantic) nearly duplicated its sound. As a result, "Communiqué" sold immediately to Dire Straits' established audience, but no more, and it did not fare as well critically as its predecessor or its follow-up. (William Ruhlmann in AllMusic)

The DIRE STRAITS Debut Album

Original released on LP Vertigo 9102 021

(UK, May 1978)

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. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

DIRE STRAITS - Why Worry (1985)