Dire Straits

[pieceofme]

A popular band from the 80s that is rarely discussed or mentioned here.

Thoughts and opinions about this band.

When I first found out about them in the 90s I thought their computer graphic music videos looked incredibly dated.

[Lobo]

IMO these guys were extremely overrated.

Their albums are mostly filler. I couldn't find anything that had more than 3 good tunes.

The good stuff is great but there isn't a whole lot of it.

Weren't they selling out stadiums at their peak? I have no idea how or why.

[dmbrocker]

They had quite a few good songs. Of course, "Sultans of Swing" and "Money For Nothing" are classics. but "Telegraph Road" and "Tunnel of Love" are long blues masterpieces as well. My dad had On Every Street on cassette when it first came out as well, and that one has "Calling Elvis", which is highly underrated. Not to mention their other great tunes: "Lady Writer", "Skateaway", "So Far Away", "Walk of Life", etc. They were great when they were on.

[Bono Nettencourt]

They had quite a few good songs. Of course, "Sultans of Swing" and "Money For Nothing" are classics. but "Telegraph Road" and "Tunnel of Love" are long blues masterpieces as well. My dad had On Every Street on cassette when it first came out as well, and that one has "Calling Elvis", which is highly underrated. Not to mention their other great tunes: "Lady Writer", "Skateaway", "So Far Away", "Walk of Life", etc. They were great when they were on.

Yeah their best record was Making Movies, which came out 5 years before BiA.

[sirthx2]

Put on the title track from On Every Street, preferably on a good system and just listen to the coda at a decent volume. It's some of my favorite music I've ever heard and I'm far from a Dire Straits nutswinger but great is great, and that shit is great!

[mullet_head]

Great band, saw them live in '92 when I was 13 years old, they were great!

They had quite a few good songs. Of course, "Sultans of Swing" and "Money For Nothing" are classics. but "Telegraph Road" and "Tunnel of Love" are long blues masterpieces as well. My dad had On Every Street on cassette when it first came out as well, and that one has "Calling Elvis", which is highly underrated. Not to mention their other great tunes: "Lady Writer", "Skateaway", "So Far Away", "Walk of Life", etc. They were great when they were on.

I would add Brothers in Arms and Tunnel Of Love to their list of great songs.

[roxxxtar]

They are just like Mötley Crüe to me. Their albums are 99% filler but the one good song is really good.

[Zander]

Tunnel of Love is just awesome. When it comes down to guitar playing, that's definitely one of my all-time favourites. Number of tasty licks and fills throughout the song plus that outro solo, still there's not a single note sounding out of place on that one.

[Hellsinkey]

Good band, I used to listen to their s/t a lot. Love Over Gold was their last record I liked.

[Dyslexicheart]

Their first album was great. And that's all I've got.

[DangerZone]

The Dylan stuff mark produced/played on is very good

[Tommy]

Mark Knopfler was great.

[Whatever Happened To…]

Another band who made it on their image.

[GoodJudge]

Another band who made it on their image.

Ha ha ha .... no. Presume you're joking as their "image'" was the most bland imaginable, at least until the Money For Nothing vid, though they were already huge by then.

They were my gateway band from listening to pop music on the radio to being an active 'music fan', and Alchemy Live, specifically Sultans..., was also my gateway into metal so obviously they were a big deal to me. I still listen to Alchemy, Love Over Gold and Making Movies fairly regularly, even if the latter 2 have 1 clunker each. (Industrial Disease hasn't aged well and Les Boys was always crap). I only saw them once, at an outdoor show in 92 with Was Not Was opening.

[daveg]

Liked their hits enough back then. Not enough to listen to anything else, but I wasn't scrambling to change the station when they came on.

I heard Romeo and Juliette on the radio a while back. Had never heard it before and absolutely loved it. Incredible song


Threw a bunch of the "hits" on my playlists. Gonna check out some of the songs mentioned in this thread...

[tooth]

Dire Straits, then mark Knopfler solo, are one of my absolute, all time faves. Lyrics, vocals, song writing, production are all top notch, imo. And guitar playing? If you are a fan of guitar playing on any level, you will find several things you will like in the music. I get if you aren't into them/him, but to say sh!t like "Another band who made it on their image", "Their albums are 99% filler but the one good song is really good" & "The good stuff is great but there isn't a whole lot of it." is insane.

[Danzig in the Dark]

Another band who made it on their image.

I didn't realize they had an image.

[FreddyFender]

[Turner Coates]

Put on the title track from On Every Street, preferably on a good system and just listen to the coda at a decent volume.

Good call.
Their music was used by several sound companies/FOH engineers to "tune the room" at concert venues, ranging from clubs to stadiums. Same deal with Steely Dan's Aja album.

[CrankerBait]

The self-titled debut, Making Movies and Brothers in Arms are excellent. Love Over Gold and On Every Street are good. The second album is barely worth a listen: a genuine sophomore dud.

Knopfler is an exceptional guitarist and songwriter, with a unique vocal style.

I saw them on their final tour in '92 and they were excellent. Not a lot of stage presence, but the musicianship was great.

A lot of people in North America don't realize how big they were in Europe and Australia. We're talking twenty nights in Sydney, thirteen nights in Melbourne, and thirteen nights at Wembley Arena in London touring Brothers in Arms. (They added another seven shows at the Hammersmith Odeon a few months after the Wembley run.) They were stadium level big by the time they wrapped things up.

Knopfler could have reunited them at any time after 1992 and they would have made an epic fortune, even if they'd only played a few dates in North America or none at all. Instead he was seemingly happy to leave the arenas and stadiums behind and make solo albums and play theaters.

[Mojo]

Knopfler is, without a doubt, one of the most tasteful, eloquent guitar players in pop history. His tone, his phrasing, his note choices, etc, are fantastic. But like others have said, it didn't always translate to great songs. A few good ones per album but mostly filler.

[Ozzy Stradlin]

Dire Straits, then mark Knopfler solo, are one of my absolute, all time faves. Lyrics, vocals, song writing, production are all top notch, imo. And guitar playing? If you are a fan of guitar playing on any level, you will find several things you will like in the music. I get if you aren't into them/him, but to say sh!t like "Another band who made it on their image", "Their albums are 99% filler but the one good song is really good" & "The good stuff is great but there isn't a whole lot of it." is insane.

I concur.

[dmbrocker]

Put on the title track from On Every Street, preferably on a good system and just listen to the coda at a decent volume. It's some of my favorite music I've ever heard and I'm far from a Dire Straits nutswinger but great is great, and that shit is great!

Another good call. That's a great tune.

[alexleehooker]

Tunnel of Love is just awesome. When it comes down to guitar playing, that's definitely one of my all-time favourites. Number of tasty licks and fills throughout the song plus that outro solo, still there's not a single note sounding out of place on that one.

Agree , fantastic song

[inextrem]

I understand most of you are deaf

[HoldenSSV]

They were talented and had some good songs, but "Walk of Life" is one of the most annoying and pandering shit songs ever recorded by a band of their abilities.

[Mister Freeze]

Put on the title track from On Every Street, preferably on a good system and just listen to the coda at a decent volume.

Good call.
Their music was used by several sound companies/FOH engineers to "tune the room" at concert venues, ranging from clubs to stadiums. Same deal with Steely Dan's Aja album.

The production on Brothers in Arms is great. It just sounds so good. Everything is crystal clear - even through the filter of streaming services like Spotify.

[Bono Nettencourt]

They were talented and had some good songs, but "Walk of Life" is one of the most annoying and pandering shit songs ever recorded by a band of their abilities.

Co-sign. Love BiA but that song's awful and was horribly overplayed.

[ParaDime77]

Until this morning I had never listened to Dire Straits “On Every Street” in my entire life. Mainly I wanted to hear how great it sounded in a modern vehicle car stereo. The audio is so damn clear and clean, especially Knopfler’s Strat sound. Sounds very similar to most pop country albums in the early 90’s. Just an outstanding album from top to bottom.

[Bono Nettencourt]

Put on the title track from On Every Street, preferably on a good system and just listen to the coda at a decent volume.

Good call.
Their music was used by several sound companies/FOH engineers to "tune the room" at concert venues, ranging from clubs to stadiums. Same deal with Steely Dan's Aja album.

The production on Brothers in Arms is great. It just sounds so good. Everything is crystal clear - even through the filter of streaming services like Spotify.

It won the Grammy for Best Engineering. The intro to MfN still makes my forearm hairs stand on end.