"We have just one world, but we all still live in different ones"
- ALCHEMY
Well, when Dire Straits started their voyage to fame in 1977, they consisted of the Glasgow-born brothers Mark and David Knopfler, on guitars/vocals, and guitars/keyboards, respectively. Other members were John Edward Illsley on base, and, after some while, Pick Withers on drums also joined the group, which at that time called themselves Café Racers. That Pick Withers buddy had played with groups and artists like Ian Anderson, Rockpile (Dave Edmunds, you know) and Spring (with Brian Wilson), and was at that time the most experienced group member. Their first real gig was at a punk festival when they warmed up for Squeeze, and after that they called themselves Dire Straits. The group then recorded some demos, which was released as "The Honky Tonk Demos" in 1980. They also played in Charlie Gillett's programme Honky Tonk Show at BBC, they got a contract with Vertigo, toured with Talking Heads, Styx and Climax Blues Band, recorded this album which became big in Australia, New Zealand and in the US, and the rest is pretty much history.
Alright, to get on to the actual review, it really sounds like something very CCR-inspired but updated retro rock by nostalgic buddies. Indeed one of the most American sounding UK albums I've heard, and the fact that it sold way better in the US than in the UK should make that clear. The most special thing with the album is that it managed to become a hit during era, even though it sounded more like classic old Southern or rock'n'roll record, or maybe it was because of that it sold so well? The people probably needed something like this during the darkest years of punk?
Unnecessary and boring speculations aside, the album opens with "Down To The Waterline", which opens with some trademarked Mark Knopfler guitar noises, before it becomes a nice, easy-going little rocker...with a touch of indie? I'm certain I've heard those rythm guitars on something latercoming - did Dire Straits start the wave of indie bands in the 80's? This song is surely too rock'n'roll to fit on some Felt album, but listen - there is something indie about this song, isn't it? It's great anyway.
"Water Of Love" rips off any old CCR song, with a slow beat and John Fogerty-inspired guitars. It sounds just too southern, or it at least reminds me of something from CCR's Bayou Country (except of "Proud Mary", which I enjoy a lot!) - it's too hookless, and even if the atmosphere might rule, it's just, well, pointless.
"Setting me Up" is another story, with a speedy, upbeat sound with lots of rock'n'rolling guitars and lots of strong hooks. It's that kind of song you might have in your mind when doing some downtown cruise and you just feel that everybody should pay attention to you because you're COOL!
"Six Blade Knife" is another slow thingy, dominated by an uncomplicated bass line. Nothing you pay too much attention to, but inoffensive. Like something from Bayou Country.
"Southbound Again" is, yet again, a speedier, quite rocking tune, with a big touch of Southern rock. Hey, I dig these rythm guitar lines! It's a harmless little rocker, that's all. I like it, but I don't really dig it - what's so great with this tune, Dire Straits lovers? Or about the earlier songs? A tune that alone helps up the rating quite a bit is...
"Sultans Of Swing", which, with its peculiar touch of laziness and speed together, its rythm guitar and all the hooks, and its atmosphere, is GREAT! AWESOME! EXCELLENT! I've got no better way to describe it, but this is the best song Mark Knopfler wrote in a loooong time, if ever! You'd better hear it, of course, I'm just trying to make you eager to get the album, right?
"In The Gallery" quite predicts, just as the opening song, what's gonna come; it has a lot of Mark Knopfler's guitars, and an, um, more adult-oriented touch? Anyway, there's still some rock'n'roll, and some gorgeously rough chorus, so we're not in 1980 yet..
"Wild West End" has...an acoustic guitar! Whoa! That's unusual, isn't it?! It's another US-sounding tune, calm, and maybe inspired by early Steely Dan? In that case, it's the only Steely Dan-inspired tune they've ever made, even if it's not necessarily something special because of that. It's just another pretty plain tune.
Allright, "Lions" has some Steely Dannish chord progressions as well, and it's a quite gentle tune, with a certain sound of...night. There's a cool guitar solo. Well, good song.
OK, that's that. The problem with the album is that too many of the songs aren't anything special, unlike most of the latter stuff, and if "Sultans Of Swing" wasn't here, I'd only give it a 9! So, be careful with which album you begin your DS collection!
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Smoother. That's what immediately comes to mind when comparing this one with the first. It was recorded on Bahamas, maybe the climate had its influence? But really, it is a lot smoother, while the earlier album was quite rough, and it's therefore more like the latter stuff. Another difference from the other album is that the songs this time aren't too full of hooks, or at least they haven't got a personality as before, where each song differed from the other. In fact I've listened to the album some 10 times and still can't recall more than a hook or two. Of the whole album. But, the songs are quieter, and the album as a whole didn't attempt to be rough or easy-listened when it came out, and it obviously didn't need to; it sold good anyway.
The first track is "Once Upon A Time In The West", continuing the US formula of the first album. It's a slow thingy with a rough bass, and Mark's vocals are quite harsh during the verses as well, but strangely enough, the guitars and drums are doing smoother licks, and the strong hook in the chorus is a pretty neat thing as well. So I guess one could say that the song work against itself. But you won't have troubles with that unless you really think about it, and it is a good song.
"News" is just a song among others, while "Where Do You Think You're Going" has an aggressive acoustic guitar and a dark atmosphere. It's slow. Ehm, not the typical Comminqué song, but the power which is on later albums still haven't appeared yet. The instrumental part towards the end is really nice.
"Communiqué" has a nice little hook within the vocals, but this time it feels as if the wanna-be-American factor is a little bit too big and drags down the experience. But, it's still a good hook. And a good song.
"Lady Writer" is the fastest tune on the album, and is a really good song, except that it's obviously a "Sultans Of Swing" rewrite, and I don't like obvious rip-offs, even if they're good. But if I try to be objective, which I should, I have to admit that it IS really good. Far from beating "Sultans", though!
"Angel Of Mercy" has also got a very American sound, and isn't really anything special, until the chorus come, where there's a great hook. Great harmonies. Oh, that's all. Nothing special, except of that hook. Says a lot about the rest of the album, doesn't it?
"Portobello Belle" is another nice tune. But again, nothing to get excited about. Another song amongst other.
"Single-Handed Sailor" has at least got a peculiar guitar lick, but other than that, nothing here either. "Follow Me Home" opens with some percussion which could be the predecessor of "Ride Across The River". Another US-sounding song. Oh well.
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Hmm? Oh. Brain breakdown. Gotta be the heat.
Allright, historical facts first. The band toured a whole
lot after the release of Communiqué, and then took a holiday
for 6 months. Imagine that you're a rock star who can take holidays like that!
Life would rule! When looking at the album they eventually recorded in
June-July 1980, though, the sound is more "classic" Dire Straits,
with a quite relaxed atmosphere, half-epic, pretty innovative songs
and finally without that useless Southern style. OK, the sound is still
quite American, but in the early Bruce Springsteen style, but that might be
because Roy Bittan from The E Street Band was used as a studio musician on keyboards
- there's LOTS of those gorgeous piano licks that also were on Springsteen's
Born To Run! Well, Mark Knopfler had at last developed THE
Dire Straits sound, but with a little borrowing from Bruce Springsteen, OK?
And, more historical facts! David Knopfler left the group after this album
in order to start a solo career, and he was replaced by Hal Lindes (ex-Darling).
It's no wonder that he left, he always had to play the rythm guitar, and on
this album he's had nothing fun to play at all. Another lineup change was also
made shortly after this album had been recorded, Alan Clark was brought in as
permanent keyboardist.
The album opens with a gentle little organ/piano lick, before the song moves over into a quite rocking song with an, um, broad sound with a well filled up sound picture, just as the rest of the albu also has. The song has some gorgeous chord changes, and Mark's voice fits in ultimately. Bitten's keyboards really adds something important to the song, just as they do to the whole album, no matter if it sounds like The Boss. Another striking change from the earlier sound is that it's not so distinct; the band just...darn! What's the English word(s) for "smöra på"? Well, they play like hell, and that's where the mentioned "broadness" of the song comes from. Extremely nice tune!
"Romeo And Juliet" is, as the title suggests, a romantic tune, with beautiful harmonies withing the instrument interplays. It changes in intensity from being a calm ballad to a, um, loud ballad.. but, it is beautiful, and neither the lyrics nor the music are neither too pretentious nor too less pretentious for the subject in the song. It is just an awesomely well balanced tune, where everything is just...pefect. Oh. Anyway, it couldn't have been better!
"Skateway" sounds modern! Cool, huh? With reverbed drums and some chord progressions in the keyboards which I remeber strongly from either Mister Music 10 or 11 from 1990, '91 or '92...That year when Shamen's "Ebeneezer Goode" came out, anyway. Enough of that! Who gives a damn about ten years old Mister Music discs? This song has some really strong, just mighty moments as well, the choruses are really similar to some of the songs on Born To Run, there's that feeling that the ensemble is a unit, and that gorgeous loudness...It does not really live up to its predecessors within the songs on Born To Run, but nothing really has, and this is probably the closest anybody has ever come to reproduce the Sound with a big S, including Springsteen himself.
The second side opens with "Expresso Love" which is a rather rocking tune, whose verses lacks that fat sound, they sound rather rough, but the choruses are more flattering, with that beautiful boadness again, but in general, it doesn't really live up to the standard of the first side's tunes. Still good, though - anything on Dire Straits, with exception of "Sultans Of Swing", is worse.
"Hand In Hand" is another romantic tune, opens with a neat piano à la "Jungleland" and then moving on becoming an almost boy-bandish ballad, it's only that boybands like Westlife didn't exist at that time. But it sounds too generic - just as Bruce Springsteen's post-Born To Run ballads! It's still good, I repeat - anything on the first album with exception of you-know-which-damn-song is worse.
"Solid Rock" is more of a straight-forward rocker. Could have been generic. But, as it is now, its booming bass, the quick drums, the crunchy guitar riffs, I can't complain about anything except that it doesn't sound like the first side! OK, the choruses are where the song becomes generic, but that's only a minor part of the song.
"Les Boys" deals with homophobia, I think, and is an odd little tune, totally inoffensive, maybe except of the lyrics, and, um, it is the only tune in Dire Straits' whole catalog that sounds like this. Quite cool, but not great.
Well, the first side is definitely where the record's greatness is. The second side's songs aren't bad, but they're far from being up the the first three songs' standard. These three tunes manages to keep the rating of 13, and now let's avoid discussing what the rating would've been if the whole album would've been that great, shall we?
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Okay, let's take the historical part first. And, first of the historical part, David Knopfler quit the group shortly after the release of Making Movies, and got replaced by Hal Lindes. And, there's more line-up news! Mark Knopfler realised/decided (choose whichever!) that the band needed a full-time employed keyboardist, using Roy Bittan all the time didn't work. So, in with Alan Clark, who later on would play with Eric Clapton as well as with (Mark) Knopfler on Bob Dylan's Infidels. And, EVEN more! After recording this album in the spring 1982, drummer Pick Withers quit the group, and was soon replaced by Terry Williams, who had played with Dave Edmund's group Rockpile and with Man. One of the rejected songs, "Private Dancer", became a huge hit for Tina Turner in 1984, and John Illsley, Clark and Lindes where there to record the song with her, as well as touring with her.
So, well, that was the historical part. Now the musical part! Yippee! Taht's what matters, I admit, but I've just GOT to boast with my awesome knowledge! Anyway, there's, as I think I've mentioned somewhere, less Springsteen sound this time around, with exception of "Telegraph Road" and a piano lick or another, but Springsteen was also influenced by something when he wrote down those little melodies, wasn't he? Oh, and when thinking about it, the title track is quite Springsteen-ish as well. Huh, I've never before thought about how similar Bruce Springsteen and Dire Straits are in places until I started reviewing the latter's Making Movies. How come? Now I think that it's obvious on these two 1980-82 albums! Um, besides of Springsteen ramblings from me then, the album is consisting of five long tunes, all very well produced and with a well filled up sound picture. AND, what differs most from the earlier album, lots of great hooks and melodies and everything on BOTH sides!
The album opens with the longest tune, "Telegraph Road", which fades in with some keyboards and becomes a quite moody tune with lots of variations - everything from the hook-ful, Springsteen-sounding verses and choruses, with gorgeous piano and guitar playing, and of course with Knopfler's quite harsh voice, to dark instrumental parts with some moody licks from all band members, a piano solo with lots of classical influences, and onto that a guitar solo, more epic guitar solos, organ/piano parts with church bells and some light guitar notes, even more verses, another vocal section with acompaniment by Alan Clark's piano, more powerful choruses, EVEN more mighty epic solos...just about the mightiest tunes done in the 80's, whatever that means to you, and, well, this song compresses most of what Dire Straits are and have done, and couple it up with "Twisting By The Pool", "Your Latest Trick" and "Romeo And Juliet" and you know what Dire Straits are all about. Which of course doesn't mean you shouldn't investigate any further, of course! Investigate, yeah...the next song is "Private Investigations", another long tune - though not even half the length of "Telegraph Road", which makes this song about 7 mins long. It's even moodier, with a dark atmosphere and stuff, lots of acoustic guitar and piano licks, but never becoming really loud. Only this calm jaming...and it sounds totally awesome! After about half the track, and Knopfler's spoken vocals are no longer with us, the bass comes in and plays about the same tune all the time while the guitarists, one playing the acoustic guitar - and doing it well, one playing the electric guitar, and doing that well, and Clark on his piano has some licks here and there. The guy playing the electric guitar tunes up now and then and comes up with a loud little lick. Um, that's it. Believe it or not, the song IS awesome!
"Industrial Disease" is an upbeat tune with a cool guitar interplay, and a jolly, poppy and truly upbeat keyboard line separates the song from other Dire Straits rockers, "Walk Of Life" excepted. Again, the vocals are half spoken. The bass together with the steady drumming and those guitars and everything, just everything, makes the song, uh, great. You'd better hear it, of course, but I guess you had figured that out already...
"Love Over Gold" has that typical Dire Straitsy opening with Knopflers voice in the foreground, various guitar notes in the background, and some piano notes. BUT THE THING IS THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN! But it's still 'typical' for Straits, and the pompous piano lick surely ain't Springsteen, but I can trace Springsteen everywhere now! What's up with me? Anyway, it is a beautiful song, especially with that classical guitar which is so common in today's commercial-radio ballads. I dig digging at the roots of everything. Well, beautiful, especially the instrumental part with that cool bass line and the xylophone (or if it is some keyboards - nevermind) but it isn't as overwhelmingly awesome as the rest of the stuff. But, almost.
"It Never Rains" is - again - an upbeat song with a neat keyboard line and some gentle vocals and chord progressions. When some louder electric guitars are added and the band plays that "JUST ONE look.." riff from ABBA's "Mamma Mia", though, the song becomes even better; it sort of gets more powerful even if it keeps the gentleness. The little organ licks rules, just as the guitars. After the last verse, you've got a feeling that something is happening with the song, and, well, slowly, slowly the chords changes from major to minor and the song from gentleness to angriness, the rythm guitars plays a dark, oh-so-dark line, and, well, the song almost becomes heavy metal. Almost, really.
Well, the album comes close to be a 15-point masterpiece, and not too much could have been any better, but hey, 15 points are reservated for albums like Hope where every friggin song can fuck any other song by the ass! Uh, oh, sorry, hope you didn't take that too hard? I just got overboard, it happens sometimes. Sorry.
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Well, Mark obviously felt that it was time to change direction of the band before they got too stuck, so he decided to sum up the first years with a double LP set. The numbers on here were recorded in July 1983, no particular day or concert is mentioned, so I suppose it's simply various excerpts from various concerts.
The thing is that this album just screams "MARK KNOPFLER IS GOD! HE'S THE BEST GUITAR PLAYER! THE REST OF THE BAND AIN'T NUTTIN'", well, there's just too much guitar. On the studio albums Mark was rather tasteful, but here he just raises the volume on his amplifier and gives his all. Nothing wrong with that, as long s the rest of the band also does so. Now, it's more like they give their all, but don't get heard. Mark could just as well have recorded a solo live album, the difference wouldn't be so big. Okay, I exaggerate a bit, but that's sort of the truth. Now when I think about it, it seems pretty fair to rate it equal to Al di Meola's Tour de Force, it's sort of the same problem on both.
Furthermore, there's nothing to add, really...Mel Collins plays on some tunes, "Two Young Lovers", "Going Home" and "Solid Rock", which proves that he's an allround sax player - nobody would really call this DS stuff similar to Islands by King Crimson! He rules. Everybody might not have heard "Two Young Lovers" or "Going Home", I guess, the first being a rock'n'roll track from the Twisting By The Pool EP, an upbeat, sppedy, exciting tune which is really awesome. It's nothing special, I guess - a boogie-woogie piano line and so, could be any rock'n'roll tune by anyone, but Mel Collins' saxes brings the song to higher heights. And, rock'n'roll is one of my fave genres. That's why I should probably try to get Twisting By the Pool some day, since the title track is a hell of a rocker as well, and! There's two more tracks which I haven't heard! "Going Home", then, is the main theme from Knopfler's soundtrack to the film Local Hero. It sounds quite Springsteen-like - in his best moments, that is. Beautiful and mighty, though soothing...it's, well, a GREAT little instrumental. Ooh. 'S probably my fave right after "Two Young Lovers", and if everything sounded like that, well, it could maybe challenge King Crimson's Absent Lovers as the best 80's live recording. . . . This is VERY weird - I'd never have believed that I would actually complain about any of the tunes on the album - here's stuff like "Once Upon A Time In the West", "Romeo And Juliet", "Expresso Love", "Private Investigations", "Sultans Of Swing", "Tunnel Of Love" and "Telegraph Road", besides of the mentioned three...all great tunes, maybe with "Expresso Love" and "Solid Rock" being a little weaker as songs...and, it is not bad, it's rather really good...John Illsley rocks on the base, Alan Clark on the keyboards, and Terry Williams on drums...but none of them has nothing in Mark Knopfler's eye, obviously - not to mention rythm guitarist Hal Lindes. Yeah, there ARE two guitarists, believe it or not. Who could guess that?
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Simon Brigham writes:
Alchemy by Dire Straits was the very first record I bought with my own money, at the age of 9. I still listen to it till this day. And I still think it's one of (if not THE) best live album EVER. The only track I don't really like is "Once Upon A Time In The West". If only they released an official live album from the Brothers In Arms tour. I saw a bootleg about 5 years ago at a record store, but it was $30 for the double record set. Oooh well.
Yeah, you may call me rabid, consciously radical, sick, whatever, but this IS my favourite Dire Straits album! AND "Money For Nothing" IS the worst tune on the album, according to my tastes.
Well, the album followed up a live album, which contained material from the earlier, retro period, and eventually ended that period as well. In retrospect, it was probably a conscious movement from mr. Knopfler to release that Alchemy album as an ending to the earlier period's stuff, and then moving over to something new. 'Cause this really doesn't sound anything like the first epoch's stuff. A total revolution. From the well-selling retro rock to to mentioned artsy, moody music, probably with a little inspiration from epic Peter Gabriel songs and other ethnical rock of the 80's. In fact, the album cover quite explanates the whole album's mood: Blue all the way. Dreaming. Introspective. Of course with a couple of singles to make the record sell, "Money For Nothing" and "Walk Of Life", and the whole thing eventually turned out to be a money-making affair for Mark Knopfler, since the album sold awfully well.
Well, the album opens with "So Far Away", a cool and lazy rocker with some strong hooks. Cool, and good. Um, well, I guess I got everything there, so let's go on, even if I do use to write more about each songs, especially the album openers...this one doesn't really set the mood for the album, though, and we've still got two songs to go through before the REAL album begins!
"Money For Nothing" opens with some moody, scaring keyboard art, which gets louder and louder, and some drums are added, and Sting's little voice, and it gets louder and louder once again, and it gets REALLY loud! The climax is obviously mixed louder mixed than the rest of the album, 'cause I always wonder if my speakers are gonna endure this or not. I promise you, it IS really loudly mixed! Anyway, after the climax, which I like a lot, the song becomes a guitar-driven rocker, with a guitar line which is repeated over and over for almost 8 minutes. There are some strong hooks in the chorus, but as a whole, the last 5 minutes is pretty boring listening. There's not even a guitar solo to dig! Cool or not, it's up to you to decide, but I feel that here it's really time for a solo. By the way, I did mention Sting somewhere, didn't I? Well, the thing is that Sting was a holiday near the place where the group was recording this song, so they wrote an invitation to him, and he accepted to co-write this song, and even contribute with some vocals. And I gotta admit that this song is two times better than anything he did with The Police, and it IS really pretty good, but it is awfully misfitting the rest of the album, and I think that there is where some people gets hung up. 'Cause if you immediately proclaims this song to be one of the best on the album, you'll unconsciously sort away the moodier stuff here, and only really like the first three song plus maybe "One World". Do try to listen to the album some times before you do your judgement! Well, even I had this song as my fave besides of "Walk Of Life" once upon a time, until I eventually discovered the greatness in the other songs. The thing is that you'll have to decide between "Money For Nothing" and the other immediately catchy songs, or the moodier tunes versus "Money For Nothing", and decide carefully! Hey - now I forgot to tell you about the definitely best thing about the song, didn't I? It has some MTV-criticizing lyrics, which am rule. A weird thing is that the song got played a lot in MTV, despite the lyrics. This world of commercial...ah, um, whatever.
Well, "Walk Of Life" is a little story about a buddy singing "oldies goldies", and the song is also the most retro of all songs on the album. It's extremely upbeat and mood-raising, and when you hear it, you just need to get out in your old Cadillac cab, loudly playing this song in your fat stereo. Worth to mention is that this song has made the album still live among the hot-rodding youngsters around Scandinavia, and you can ask any car fanatic who's not too old if he has ever heard this song, and he'll say yes. Oh well, it has the most brilliant keyboard melody from the entire 80's, and it has that rock'n'rolling guitar and bass line, but ooh, that keyboard...An interesting note might be that this is one of VERY few, if any, keyboard-driven Dire Straits tunes. Judged by this one, it's a shame that Knopfler didn't write more...
"Your Latest Trick" quite begins the second, introspective
part of the album, with a really gorgeous saxophone playing. Nobody can deny
that that sax is really awesome - even my very narrow outlooking hard-rocking
friend made a comment about "hey, a great sax" when he heard it. That's
cool. Besides of that saxophone line, the song is really laid-back and moody
tune, just as almost everything hereafter. This song is a great one to fall
asleep to if you've got a timer on your stereo. And Mark REALLY did an excellent
work when he wrote that sax melody!
"Why Worry" is another gentle, harmonic little thingy. Little and
little, it is over 8 minutes long, but it's still gentle, and it isn't a pompous
epic or so, just a calm, soothing song with a neat vocal melody mostly being
accomanied by a gentle guitar. It has a very strong mood, and together with
"Your Latest Trick", it is an unbeatable sleeping potion. Oh, the
song isn't only a calm ballad; after some while it becomes an instrumental mood-machine
with a very fine little keyboard line which is repeated some now and then, and
some drums are added, and a bowwing base, and it's just among the finest soul-recovering
medicines ever! It's that kind of song which could go on forever and I wouldn't
care - I would only be happy. Just like Al di Meola's best works, which maybe
won't say you anything, but still means a lot to me..
"Ride Across The River" opens with some woodblock- and pan pipe imitating keyboards, and them alone creates an inner vision of some African rain forest with a "deep and wide" river streaming through, at it's preferably evening- or nighttime. Well, the lyrics are about some rabid freedom forces, but the mood remains, and I want it to be about an African jungle so it'd better be! A great song with a great mood!
"The Man's Too Strong" opens as some sort of an American acoustic ballad about war and theft and stuff. And, in general, that's what it is, except of those loud bursts which overwhelmes the listener each time Mark sings "The man's too big - the man's too strong", and then, boom boom, and it's pretty impressive. Those US-sounding parts rules as well. By the way, I've always misheard the lyrics in this song; in the beginning Mark sings "I'm just an aging drummer boy", but I have ALWAYS thought that he sings "I'm just an aged trouble boy", and fits pretty well with the "I have legalised robbery" part. Well, anyway, a great tune.
"One World" is a funky rocker with the funniest bass line around on the album, with some cool funky tones here and there. Well, this is NOT Dire Straits, but it is a strong song, even if it could just as well have been a Mother's Finest tune. With Tony Levin on bass!
"Brothers In Arms" is the awesome keyboard epic that ends the whole song. It opens with some rolling thunder and stuff, until it becomes the calm, blue ballad about war it is. It hasn't got any overwhelming solos or so, but everything works in a seldomly heard unison, where every little piece builds up the picture, and that's where it's so unbelievably strong. Everything just fits in a big harmony, and the blue feelings literally overflows. It is so calm and gentle, but still so extremely powerful and resonantic, that this song just has to be looked upon as a highlight of the 80's. A big trophy to Mark Knopfler for his amazingly resonantic vocals as well. Oh, and I've got a VERY strong feeling that Mark wrote the song of his life here, and he quite knew it. This is his personal gift from the sky, and that's probably why he never did a similar song again. Like Peter Gabriel and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, this was the furthest Mark could drive this genre.
And, well, just for fun; let's rip off CapnMarvel and add some Joel's Final Word: An EXCELLENT album!!
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Simon Brigham writes:
I believe that Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits was the album
that got me interested in music. I've listened to it for 16 years, ever since
I was two. And I still like it! I have the vinyl version, so I haven't heard
the full version of "Why Worry", but I have heard the full versions of "So Far
Away" and "Money For Nothing" on the radio. Gotta love that intro bass line
on "So Far Away". And that sax line IS great on "Your Latest Trick"! "Brothers
In Arms" is a great epic ballad. For me, "Ride Across The River" invokes an
image of a forest in the northern hemisphere, instead of a jungle. But that
jungle thing is an interesting thought. And for some reason I've always thought
it was about Russians. Oh well. This album surely is one of the best of the
80's, along with Peter Gabriel's third album, Melt (1980) and So (1986).