UKC

Their most solid album? Listening to it through the fog of covid, I know losing your sense of taste is a symptom 😉 but it still sounds good 

Their collaboration with Chris Rea was sh1t.

If you say it three times in front of the mirror Mark Knopfler appear behind you.

Alchemy Live. Their performance is utterly flawless, IMHO.

Cheers, I have Alchemy Live on now. Jarvis Cocker once said he enjoyed listening to Elvis Costello when he had a fever (I think it was Costello, might be someone else!). Either way being slightly crook definitely effects the listening experience

It's a great debut album. No real duff tracks but I've never really enjoyed 'water of life' so much but I love his vignettes of his life in London with 'Wild west end' and 'Lions'.

As an album I really enjoy the follow up Communique. This is really the last album where Dire Straits was band rather than being a backdrop to Knopfler's songs and arrangements.

Making movies has some outstanding tracks in 'Tunnel of love' and 'Romeo and Juliet' but it also features two of my favourite album tracks in 'Skateaway' and 'Hand in hand'.

Love over gold is more remote sounding and heavily produced compared to the first three albums. 'Telegraph road' is worth the admission price by itself and I have a soft spot for Knopfler's wry take on de-industrialisation in 'Industrial disease'. 

Alchemy is an outstanding live album which captures band really on top form. Totally live with no over dubbing. Seriously impressive and great groove.

Brothers in arms could be from a different band. The sound is getting pretty sterile and over produced which is really indicative of its time. There are some great tracks but most of them sound much better performed live.

DS were the headline act at the Mandela 70th birthday concert at Wembley in 1988. This version of 'Brothers in arms' is outstanding. The guitar work is wonderfully emotive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUA4rhznH04&t=2774s

The final studio album, On every street, a bit of a hit and miss affair but hints at Knopfler's growing interest in exploring country and folk sounds.

Knopfler's solo albums are well worth a listen. Golden heart and Sailing to Philadelphia in particular have a strong DS sound. 

The soundtrack work on Local Hero and The Princess Bride are real joy as well.

He's an incredible story teller and his background as a journalist is really evident in his ability to take on different personas telling stories as a third party but also often slipping to first person character.

Lovely, insightful and personal review. Enjoyed reading that, thanks!

Thanks for the thanks!

I find the evolution of the band very interesting.

The first album is a four piece playing Mark's songs but the characters in the band are all strong and there is a the dynamic of having the two brothers in the band. Some of David's songs were still be played at the live shows but the album is very much Mark's project.

On Communique the band are working with serious producers in the US who introduce piano and keys to the sound.

Making Movies feels very much like the title. The songs are made technicolour by bringing a session keyboard player into the session. This was Roy Bittan from the East St band and he really helps to flesh out the sound but some of the immediacy has been reduced. During this album the pressure on the brothers reaches breaking point with Mark re-recording David's rhythm sections because he believed he could do it better. David was pissed off by seeing people kissing the arse of his big brother. I recall him saying that it messes with people when someone is asking them not if they want an ashtray but what colour it should be.  This the album when it is no longer a band, it now the Mark Knopfler show and Dire Straits is useful brand to hide behind. At this time there were no keys in the live band. The lead song 'The tunnel of love' uses Hammerstein's carousel waltz, when the band played it live Mark played on a keyboard and a sound man then held down the key as Mark then moved back to play the lead guitar riffs. It's a lovely glimpse of a brand in transition.

The next album Love over Gold was the final album for Pick Wither, the original drummer. He came from a jazz tradition and did not enjoy having the play the say way every night and having play as he was asked in sessions. For him the creativity had died.

The Alchemy tour that followed brought in new drummer, Terry Williams, who provided a muscular sound to the larger shows the band were playing.  Terry played the tour and then Brothers in Arms tour as well but its a sign of Mark dominance and desire to play his vision that Terry was not deemed to have the right sound to play on the Brothers in Arms album. Despite playing the tours before and after the album his only contribution to the album was the drum crescendo that starts off 'Money for nothing'.

Mark could still be trading as Dire Straits today but he prefers the creative freedom he gets from not carrying that baggage. I find artists that are happy to trade fame for creative control really compelling. So many people today seem to be craving fame instead of following their artistic muse. 

Yes, thank you, very interesting!

I saw DS live at Earls Court, supported by Was (Not Was)... remember "Walk the Dinosaur" ?! Actually Was (Not Was) were fantastic fun live. Really good music.

But wow, Dire Straits were just amazing live! MK is quite the guitarist, seems so relaxed but some of the playing is quite difficult IMO. Sometimes the studio albums perhaps didn't capture the greatness of the band in many ways.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AKiVttFnqkY#menu

One of my favourite tracks of all time. Eyes closed, red in glass, fire glowing, dog sat beside me. Just heaven.

I guess that would have been 1991/2 on the On Every Street tour? I saw them at Cardiff Arms Park supported by Was, Not Was and Lyle Lovett. 
 

Mark is a virtuoso guitarist with a very distinctive style. Finger picking with lots of bends, hammers and vibrato. He’s got a very laid back style with little of the guitar hero histrionics that seem to accompany a lot of players. 
 

A great live band full of top players. Mark and Alan Clark both toured with Eric Clapton and played as session musicians for Bob Dylan. 

Yes, that sounds about right.

That came across live, especially. Not an overly dominant front man and gave others a chance to shine.

I didn't know that, but it doesn't surprise me! Interestingly Eric Clapton was nicknamed slowhand and yet, he also could certainly play! Turns out he was called that for the slow hand clap he would get from the audience when he would stop to replace a broken guitar string and it was not a critique of his guitar playing!

MK’s collaboration with Emmy Lou Harris ‘All the Roadrunning’ is worth a listen.

Loved Dire Straits but that feckin track about microwave ovens killed it forever for me. Sad.

"Money for Nothing" was the first CD I bought. I know it's a compilation album, but I liked all except 2 of the tracks on it.

Pretty sure I had a copy of "On Every Street" - maybe a tape copy of a neighbour's CD - he was the guy that really got me into climbing, as it happens. He was quite into esoteric/prog rock stuff like Yes and so on.

Love 'Wild West End' - one of my all time faves.  This thread had me searching YouTube and finding a live recording from '79;

youtube.com/watch?v=zSJTkNhtHVc&

Great guitar work, low-key and lovely.

ALMOST flawless.

The single flaw is Sultans of Swing, the syncopes in the singing are just too much. The studio version is so much better.

Otherwise I agree, one of my favourite albums for long drives on the motorway (even though going electric will probably mean more classical music now I can actually hear the quieter bits...

CB

It does make it difficult to sing along to!

Ohh, bit picky! 😉

I much prefer the live version to the studio. Just seems to be more ‘relaxed’ somehow. 

Think Private Investigations is my favourite track from Alchemy though, so atmospheric.

Liking this thread.  

Yes, but the syncopated singing almost destroys the perfect, swinging rhythm of the studio version!

Also, why does he have to add a "thank you very much" after "...He's got a daytime job, he's doing alright...". Again, it totally breaks the flow.

As Pedro says, you cannot sing along anymore!

CB

 "Mark and Alan Clark both toured with Eric Clapton and played as session musicians for Bob Dylan." 

M.K. played on Dylan's 1983 album, "Infidels." He also co-produced it with Dylan. However, he went off on tour before the album was finalised and was reputed to be furious when Dylan left "Blind Willie McTell" and another couple of fine songs off the finished album. A lot of Dylan fans reckon that "Infidels" is a very good album but could have been a great one if M.K. had been around to persuade Dylan to include these songs. Mind you, I imagine getting Dylan to change his mind would be no easy task.

Absolutely 

I went to see Mark who was backing Dylan at Manchester in about 2012, everyone who I talked to was there to see Mark, to be honest they were both mediocre at best that evening 

I caught this the other day and really enjoyed it  youtube.com/watch?v=27OT_FSWrIE&

Guitar stories, Mark picks his 6 favourite guitars that he has played throughout his career. Well worth a watch if you’re a fan.