Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Dire Straits.


bubinga5

Recommended Posts

49 minutes ago, ubit said:

I liked their earlier stuff but money for nothing and walk of life are among my most hated songs of all time. Maybe it's because they were out when video jukeboxes were all the rage and they used to get played to death. Dancing in the dark and road to nowhere are another two songs I despise!

Thank you kind sir... I now have walk of life going round in my head on repeat.... Here comes Johnny..... 🎶

I'd rather have Johnny from the shining coming through the bathroom door😂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

He's probably made a few million quid off that filler.

That is true, as have many others from things that I also think are throwaway rubbish. In the meantime, I've made nowt from anything I've ever written. Perhaps I'm just bitter? No, I still don't like it. Actually, to be fair, it's not just that I don't like it, it just seems unworthy of MK's talent, rather like Twisting By The Pool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, ezbass said:

That is true, as have many others from things that I also think are throwaway rubbish. In the meantime, I've made nowt from anything I've ever written. Perhaps I'm just bitter? No, I still don't like it. Actually, to be fair, it's not just that I don't like it, it just seems unworthy of MK's talent, rather like Twisting By The Pool.

These songs are homages to the stuff he loves, I think.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mark Knopfler has always come across any time I've seen him as a thoroughly decent chap. Massively talented, massively famous and massively rich but still a down to earth Geordie. 

This on YouTube is an enjoyable way to spend fifteen minutes. 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Maude said:

Mark Knopfler has always come across any time I've seen him as a thoroughly decent chap. Massively talented, massively famous and massively rich but still a down to earth Geordie. 

This on YouTube is an enjoyable way to spend fifteen minutes. 

 

That's a great clip, and the last line is a killer 😄

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mark Knopfler is also a great producer, having 43 albums under his belt, including, as a found out recently reading my Dylan book Down the Highway, Dylan's Infidels and a couple of other BD albums. And of course he's an incredible musician and songwriter.

Now look at them yo-yo's, that's the way you do it
You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain't workin' that's the way you do it
Money for nothin' and your chicks for free

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, bubinga5 said:

After all these years I liked Dire Straits and had never listened to this particular album until I heard this record on the radio. Everything I was doing stopped as what happens when I hear a great record.The whole album is just fantastic..

 

I love the first two albums very much. Sultans Of Swing stopped me dead in my ska/punk/rock tracks when I heard it, still love it now. 

Making Movies was good but my real secret pleasure is Love Over Gold. Don't tell the cool kids they'll get me after school. 

BIA didn't float my boat but when a band gifts you three great albums I don't moan if they want to make some money thereafter. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Local Hero played solo (with backing track) on the Millennium Footbridge between Gateshead and Newcastle before the Great North Run one year: spine-tingling.

Expresso Love and Tunnel of Love are my faves.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Daz39 said:

Local Hero played solo (with backing track) on the Millennium Footbridge between Gateshead and Newcastle before the Great North Run one year: spine-tingling.

Expresso Love and Tunnel of Love are my faves.

I was supposed to be in the band for that, but plans changed...

  • Like 1
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They certainly came out with some great songs and I admire Knoplers talent immensely. There was just that short period when they came out with shameless commercial orientated material, which lets face it, I would have done too if I had the talent. I had forgotten about twisting by the pool 🤢 Thanks ezbass!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, GeeJayW said:

Dire Straits is a great album.

I think my favourite track is Six-blade Knife, but all the tracks are good. The recording is superb.

Agreed: well-written songs and great musicianship. One review described it as 'pub-rock' but, whilst I can see that to an extent, I think it's a bit of a step up from that. Very British/English, though.

The recording quality is outstanding. I have this album on original vinyl (i.e. not a reissue or anything) so it's 40+ years old and it sounds so much clearer, sharper and defined than pretty much all my other records; I just have a reasonable hi-fi, nothing special. I mentioned this to the guy from whom I bought my turntable and he said this particular album was well-known for the production and recording quality and is a good 'test-record' for turntables.

The band photo on the back of the album is very much of its time, it looks as if it was just taken as the guys had stopped for 5 mins during recording and someone had realised they will need a photo for the album - no dressing-up or anything, just whatever you're wearing will do. Nowadays it would be all stylists, artists, marketing, PR etc and would take about a month just to get a picture.

They all look so young, too. Ok, that's not really that surprising, I know, it's just me getting old.

I was a bit too young to be into DS at that time, I started getting into music generally when BIA was released but have only fairly recently started looking at their older albums. Like a few have mentioned, the first 3 are probably the pick. Speaking of Pick, it was interesting that he left DS after the first 4 records as he 'didn't want to get trapped as a rock drummer' (and wanted to get back to jazz). I think his light playing style, with plenty of hi hat and snare, really helps to make that first album.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, ubit said:

I liked their earlier stuff but money for nothing and walk of life are among my most hated songs of all time. Maybe it's because they were out when video jukeboxes were all the rage and they used to get played to death. Dancing in the dark and road to nowhere are another two songs I despise!

Damn right. I'm a big fan of MK's guitar style so much so I've nicked many of his chops over the years. However, those two singles are fvkin atrocious. Up until Little Creatures I had been a mahoosive fan of Talking Heads. It wall went south from there esp with Road and She Was. Hard to believe it was the same band who made a run of three cracking albums from Songs About to Remain in Light

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ha! This album's just been mentioned on Johnnie Walker's Sounds of the Seventies and he's now playing Sultans of Swing. Apparently, when Charlie Gillett first aired this single in 1976, loads of A&R people were phoning him before the single had finished playing, wanting to sign the band.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, wateroftyne said:

You mean the shamelessly commercial album with The Man’s Too Strong, Brothers in Arms and Why Worry on it..?

3 tracks doth not make a complete record... or something along those lines according to the old proverb (even when they were only 37 minutes long anyway). I get both sides of the fence, just yours a bit less🙄. I mean Industrial Machine is poop too, that bloody keyboard again... There is still more killer than filler on Love Over Gold though. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, P-Belly Evans said:

3 tracks doth not make a complete record... or something along those lines according to the old proverb (even when they were only 37 minutes long anyway). I get both sides of the fence, just yours a bit less🙄. I mean Industrial Machine is poop too, that bloody keyboard again... There is still more killer than filler on Love Over Gold though. 

Industrial Disease is a masterpiece. The lyrics are incredible.

And the chorus is an instrumental... not exactly commercial gold-dust.

 I suspect you just don't like songs with cheesy organ noises 🙂

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

He's probably made a few million quid off that filler.

I agree and as I said, if I had the talent I would sell my soul and release Kylies greatest hits if it was going to make me lots and lots of money and keep me in the kind of life I should have been born to!

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

Industrial Disease is a masterpiece. The lyrics are incredible.

And the chorus is an instrumental... not exactly commercial gold-dust.

 I suspect you just don't like songs with cheesy organ noises 🙂

Fair cop. No masterpiece for me though. Now Telegraph road...... Horses for courses and all that. My mums fave was Romeo and Juliet, used to blast that bad boy. Not as much as she did Gallows Pole.... the neighbours kicked right off. She was mortified bless! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, wateroftyne said:

You mean the shamelessly commercial album with The Man’s Too Strong, Brothers in Arms and Why Worry on it..?

I always loved this version of 'Why worry' by The Everly Brothers. Comes from the Chet Atkins and Friends special with Mark Knopfler, -  both play on it too. Apparently MK wrote the song with The Everlys in mind.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

He's probably made a few million quid off that filler.

It may be well-known amongst everyone except me (and I know it's far from a new release) but I only found out recently that Mark Knopfler wrote Private Dancer, heard all over the airwaves in the mid 80's courtesy of Tin O'Tuna. He must have made a few quid from writing that.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...