Dire Straits "On Every Street" (1991)

On Every Street
release date: Sep. 2, 1991
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,72]
producer: Mark Knopfler, Alan Clark
label: Vertigo Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Calling Elvis" - 4. "Fade to Black"

6th and final studio album by Dire Straits released more than 6 years after Brothers in Arms (May 1985).
The album doesn't reveal new stylistic influences, and it seems the band has come to a halt in more than one sense. Yes, the album faired more than well - it was after all released after a highly successful album and fans had to await new material for quite a while. So, the album of course sold millions of albums world wide, though critics weren't impressed.
I didn't listen to the album in its full length until after the new millennium, and honestly it didn't appeal to me one bit. I had heard the single releases from the album: "Calling Elvis", "Heavy Fuel" and the title track and found all of them more than just plain reproduction. Another three singles from the album were released but little did they do to the overall impression of a band that literally had no more to offer the world. The best fairing single "Calling Elvis" is country rock and blues-shaped and "Heavy Fuel" sounds too much like an attempt to make a follow-up to "Money for Nothing", but without success. Several tracks are like remakes of pieces of familiar compositions from the band's last two albums - long progressive intermissions with Knopfler showcasing his capabilities as the gifted guitar-player he truly is, but all in all, the album sounds like 'everything on repeat'.
The end of the band that many had feared during the long hiatus after the band's fifth album was announced in 1995 after another long brake, and Knopfler finally initiated his solo career which saw him take on more classic styles and genres that may have been impossible as a member of Dire Straits.
Not recommended.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" (1985)

Brothers in Arms
release date: May 1, 1985
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Mark Knopfler, Neil Dorfsman
label: Vertigo Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "So Far Away" - 2. "Money for Nothing" - 3. "Walk of Life" - 9. "Brothers in Arms" (4,5 / 5)

5th studio album by Dire Straits follows nearly three years after Love Over Gold (Sep. 1982) is another fine album, although, I had tired of the band, their sound, and the predictable style of Mark Knopfler. The huge single hit of the album "Money for Nothing" featuring Sting was never my cup of tea. The video, however, was rather neat. The title track is a great tour de force of Knopfler's but it doesn't save the album. This was my last vinyl acquisition of any album by the band. The album is the second by Dire Straits to be enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Dire Straits "Alchemy: Dire Straits Live" (1984) (live)

Alchemy: Dire Straits Live (live)
release date: Mar. 1984
format: vinyl 2 lp (818 243-1) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,63]
producer: Mark Knopfler
label: Vertigo Records - nationality: England, UK

Double live album by Dire Straits recorded over two nights at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, Jul. '83. The album showcases the band at the height of its career playing familiar tracks in extended live versions in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The album is a fine document - in fact it's a live album above average, only, I think, I was fed up with the band at this point. I used to really enjoy Mark Knopfler, his signature guitar and laid-back singing voice, but I basically connected Dire Straits with the 1970s and I was occupied by the many new original styles of contemporary music. This is progressive rock and that was part of another decade - dead and gone, but I also felt that the presence of Knopfler had become too dominating. I mean, Bruce Springsteen wasn't even taking such a role being a solo artist when playing live. Dire Straits IS / WAS Mark Knopfler, and you really have to accept that. The songs are more than good, the performance likewise showing extremely skilled instrumentalists, but you just have to love a sound, and style on repeat to fully embrace this.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Dire Straits "Extendedanc'EP'lay" (1982) (ep)

Extendedanc'EP'lay, 12'' ep
release date: Jan. 10, 1983
format: vinyl (6400 766)
[single rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]
producer: Mark Knopfler
label: Vertigo Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "Twisting by the Pool" (4 / 5) - 2. "Badges, Posters, Stickers, T-Shirts" (2,5 / 5) - - B) 1. "Two Young Lovers" (2,5 / 5) - 2. "If I Had You" (3 / 5)

4-track ep by Dire Straits. The ep is also referred to as the Twisting by the Pool ep, as it was also released as a 7'' single with the first track as title. After releasing the Love Over Gold album, drummer Pick Withers left the band, and this ep features his replacement, Terry Williams. The ep signals a return to a more simple rock & roll inspired pop / rock sound where the new progressive element is absent. Track 1 was a major singles hit, but aside from that the ep doesn't contain memorable material.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Dire Straits "Love Over Gold" (1982)

Love Over Gold
release date: Sep. 20, 1982
format: vinyl (6359 109) / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]
producer: Mark Knopfler
label: Vertigo Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Telegraph Road" (4 / 5) - 2. "Private Investigations" - 3. "Industrial Disease" - 4. "Love Over Gold" - 5. "It Never Rains"

4th studio album by Dire Straits. The new broader style initiated on Making Movies (Oct. 1980) is continued with the addition of more jazz rock and progressive compositions. Before making recordings for the album, two new members joined the band, Hal Lindes on guitar and Alan Clark on keyboards, and especially the latter is probably responsible for the keyboard and piano dominance on this album. My initial thoughts were bland and I thought of the album as too slow and soft but basically it's a rather strong but also the band's most progressive rock-styled album with almost no tracks below 6 minutes playing time and with the longest lasting single-track exceeding 14 minutes running time.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Dire Straits "Making Movies" (1980)

Making Movies
release date: Oct. 1980
format: vinyl (6359 034) / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,76]
producer: Jimmy Iovine, Mark Knopfler
label: Vertigo Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Tunnel of Love" - 2. "Romeo and Juliet" (4 / 5) (live) - 3. "Skateaway" - 4. "Expresso Love" (4 / 5) (live) - 5. "Hand in Hand" - 6. "Solid Rock" (4 / 5) (live) - 7. "Les Boys"

3rd studio album by Dire Straits is the follow-up to Communiqué (Jun. 1979). During the recording sessions of the album, tensions between the two Knopfler brothers culminated in younger brother David leaving the band to pursue his own solo career and also leaving the band reduced to a trio. Mark Knopfler's wish to make use of Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen producer Jimmy Iovine led to the contact of keyboardist Roy Bittan of Springsteen's backing band The E-Street Band, and Bittan is credited as additional personnel (together with guitarist Sid McGinnis) and he plays a central part in the sound of the album, which also marks a stylistic change for Dire Straits. The band had surged playing British blues rock but that style is almost gone here and replaced by a new and more mainstream sound building on American contemporary pop / rock with r&b and rock roots - e.g. Bruce Springsteen. The album was the first I purchased with the band at the time of its release, and it was close to being my favourite album of the time. I just found that it was a bit too nice and polished, but the production sound is quite remarkable for its time, and today, I count the album among the band's top 3 albums.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Dire Straits "Communiqué" (1979)

Communiqué
release date: Jun. 15, 1979
format: vinyl (SRM-1-3791) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Barry Beckett, Jerry Wexler
label: Mercury Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Once Upon a Time in the West" - 3. "Where Do You Think You're Going?" (live) - 5. "Lady Writer" (4 / 5) - 7. "Portobello Belle" - 8. "Single-Handed Sailor"

2nd studio album by Dire Straits following one year after the great debut was originally released by Vertigo.
Now, I really liked Dire Straits way back then but just a few years later as I discovered punk rock and new wave, I saw them as a bit dull and old-fashioned, although I still enoyed their music. I recall how I heard my older brother playing the first two albums by the band all the time, at least when he didn't play Pink Floyd, Jean-Michel Jarre or Mike Oldfield. I really loved "Sultans of Swing" from the debut, so I was actually more than disappointed about this one - initially. I thought it was too slow and a bit boring - too much blues and not enough rock. It has never been my preferred Dire Straits album but over time, I think it is rather good, although still a bit on the slow side and too much rooted in the blues, and I'm not really a blues man. I always loved soul so much more but electric blues and psychedelic blues rock á la Jimi Hendrix is a damn good type of blues. I think the trouble with this album is the total focus on Mark Knopfler, his guitar sound and voice way up front... all the time. I mean, I enjoy some of his post-Dire Straits solo works but that's often much more varied or composed with other elements than his poignant guitar and very distinct voice. Having said that, I really enjoy the song "Lady Writer", which is very much in line with the tracks on the debut album.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 stars ]

Dire Straits "Dire Straits" (1978)

Dire Straits [debut]
release date: May 1978
format: vinyl (6360 162) / digital
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Muff Winwood
label: Vertigo Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Down to the Waterline" - 4. "Six Blade Knife" - 5. "Southbound Again" - 6. "Sultan of Swing" (5 / 5) - 8. "Wild West End"

Studio debut album by Dire Straits. With this album they sort of came out of nowhere and jumped all the way to the front row of modern contemporary pop music. The band consists of Mark Knopfler on vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, his younger brother David on rhythm guitar, and backing vocals, John Illsley on bass, and backing vocals, and with Pick Withers playing drums. The style is quite unique, although, it's also obvious that it's build on mostly British r&b and blues rock as played by The Yardbirds, Cream, The Animals with a twist of early Fleetwood Mac and Dylan, but it also incorporates elements from British pub rock, jazz, and folk, which help making the music rather unique. At the time of the release, I wasn't old enough to discover this by myself but my older brother bought the album and he played it constantly, and I enjoyed it so much that I bought a copy of my own just one year later. Listening to it today, it's also evident that both Peter Gabriel and Creedence Clearwater Revival may have been inspirational sources. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]