Dire Straits!

Jack Dempsey · Post by **Jack Dempsey** » Thu Feb 05, 2004 5:04 pm

My body and mind go into dire straits every time i hear them !!!!

qjamesfloyd · Post by **qjamesfloyd** » Thu Feb 05, 2004 6:51 pm

Does that mean you don't like them then?and you a Scotsman eh

Flame-Sky Diver · Post by **Flame-Sky Diver** » Thu Feb 05, 2004 7:15 pm

qjamesfloyd wrote:"It Never Rains",is another great song,that does'nt get talked about much,which is strange,i love it.
Also you should get Alchemy,the double live album,which contains great live versions of the pre Brothers In Arms material,i think it's one of the greatest live albums ever,and i hope it gets a D.V.D. release sometime.

As I said, I consider It Never Rains one of their best songs ever.

qjamesfloyd · Post by **qjamesfloyd** » Thu Feb 05, 2004 7:21 pm

And how right you are in saying that my good friend.

Anna-Roza · Post by **Anna-Roza** » Sun Feb 08, 2004 10:14 pm

Not a huge fan, but really appreciate them - and like to listen to them.

simpledumbpilot · Post by **simpledumbpilot** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 5:47 am

Dire Bolical!

I only put that because someone was bound to put it eventually (Diin Jaffa anyone?)

Great band, much of its not to my tastes but youd be hard pressed to find a better way of killing 14 minutes than to spend it listening to ''Telegraph Road'', beautiful song! Im not sure if anyone else will get what I mean here by saying ''Sultans of Swing'' is the jippiest record ever made (that is a compliment by the way), its just ace! I've not got anything after ''Brothers In Arms'' which just wasnt for me Im afraid (sorry but I think ''The Man's Too Strong'' is a reasonable argument for the re-introduction of the death penalty here in England) but the 4 albums prior to that (plus BIA's title track) are great moments in british music and something to be proud of! And what would you have given to have been a fly on the wall when Mark fired his brother?

Flame-Sky Diver · Post by **Flame-Sky Diver** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 4:03 pm

Just bought a bootleg CD in a second hand: Dire Straits Live 1978 it says. The sound quality is superb, must be a radio show. They play:

Down To The Waterline
Six Blade Knife
Water Of Love
In The Gallery
What's The Matter Baby?
Lions
Sultans Of Swing
Wild West End
Eastbound Train
Southbound Again

Great show. I'm lucky to have bought it.

qjamesfloyd · Post by **qjamesfloyd** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 4:59 pm

Well i don't see what wrong with The Man's Too Strong,it's a great song,with thundering accoustic guitar,i think it sits very well on the Brothers In Arms album,also i think you should check out the last Dire Straits album On Every Street,which has some great songs on it,and inspired playing by the great man,Fade To Black is a lovely jazz/blues slow number with some of Mark's best playing ever,it has so much atmosphere,You And Your Friend,is another great track,very cool blues playing again from Mark,it's even better live,the lead guitar sound on Mark's maple Pensa Shur is just amazing,the track is up there with Brothers In Arms.another great track is Planet Of New Orleans,more great blues playing.
Also,you should check out Mark's solo albums,he is recording his 4th solo album right now in California.

Also,the above bootleg album is very similar to the official release album Live At The BBC,which was done in 1978,but also has Tunnel Of Love live from the Old Grey Whistle Test TV show,so,maybe the extra songs you have on the bootleg,are songs the BBC left of the official release.

Flame-Sky Diver · Post by **Flame-Sky Diver** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 5:20 pm

I thought that too, but the recordings are different... and it says it's USA on the inlay! (I don't know if that's possible though).

I agree with you: I don't see anything wrong with The Man's Too Strong, but that's just a matter of taste. I like both Brothers In Arms and On Every Street, though I prefer the early records.

I've got two MK albums - Golden Heart and Sailing To Philadelphia - both great. Songs like Darling Pretty, Imelda, No Can Do, What It Is, Silvertown Blues... too great to miss. I listened to Ragpicker's Dream in the music shop, but I didn't like it much - too country for my taste.

Also got 2 soundtracks - Local Hero, the last track is a classic, the rest is good. and Wag The Dog - the title song's fantastic and the instrumentals are some of the loveliest soundtrack bits ever made on guitar.

I've also seen the movies, both are great.

qjamesfloyd · Post by **qjamesfloyd** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 5:36 pm

Maybe it is a different recording then,well done for getting it

The Ragpickers dream does have some good songs on it,but the first 2 solo albums are better i feel,maybe the 3rd one was done to quick after the huge success of Sailing To Philadelphia,which does have some great moments,but i am a huge fan of Mark,and so buy eveything he does,if country is not your bag i guess you won't be buying the upcoming duets album Mark has made with Emmylou Harris,or the alum Neck and Neck with the late great Chet Atkins,which is amazing from a guitar point of view.

As for the soundtracks,it's a great sideline for Mark,as he does'nt put instrumentals on his albums he uses them for films,and they are great,Local Hero is wonderful,a great debut for a soundtrack album,the next one Cal is just as good,if you love Local Hero,you need to get Cal too,Mark has done 8 films now,so there is much to find and enjoy.The title song to the film Metroland is just wonderful too

simpledumbpilot · Post by **simpledumbpilot** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 1:21 am

''The Mans Too Strong'' for me is just one of those songs that I dont like, Im sure everyone has them by every band theyre into. Im not sure what it is about Mark Knopfler but I find a lot of his playing too ''friendly'' for my tastes, kind of like hes the Val Doonican of the guitar or something. But for every what ''The Mans Too Strong'' is to me theres half a dozen or more songs which are quite simply fantastic. I have heard ''On Every Street'' and felt that it was a very safe album and didnt show Knopfler at his full potential, kind of like the Dire Straits equivalent to AMLOR, but that said I have only listened to it the once so should give it another go. What would you recommend from his solo work to someone who likes their guitars a little menacing but ambitious? I know thats kind of a vague description but I cant think of a better way to put it.

Flame-Sky Diver · Post by **Flame-Sky Diver** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 6:41 pm

I'd say Sailing To Philadelphia is his best solo album, but I don't know if it's fitting your description.

qjamesfloyd · Post by **qjamesfloyd** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 11:02 am

Yeah,i think Sailing To Philadelphia is the best solo album so far,there are some great moments,"What It Is"is a great rocking track about Edinburgh,which was released as a single and got lots of airplay,"Sailing To Philadelphia" is a duet with James Taylor which worked so well,it should have been up for duet of the year,it's a laid back track to start with,then rocks towards the end,it's about Mason and Dickson,the track has the same type of playing and feeling as Brothers In Arms,Mark took the idea from reading a huge book.there is also "The Last Laugh"which is another duet,this time with Van Morrison,which is a liad back ballad,"Silvertown Blues"ia all about London,with backing vocals from Glen Tilbrook and Chris Difford,the track could be a cousin of Tunnel Of Love."Balony Again"has some lovely southern blues guitar playing."Speendway At Nazareth"is another great rocking track,about American car racing,with backing vocal from no less than Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.And the album ends with "One More Matinee"which is a track Mark started writing when he was a trainee newspaper reporter in the 60's for the Leeds Herald newspaper in Yorkshire,it's about the musical variety shows that were going on then,it's a laid back track,with lovely guitar.