kim@fritz.UUCP (Kim Poindexter) (05/23/85)
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Am I the only one who reads this newsgroup who is a Dire Straits
devotee?? I've had the new album, "Brothers In Arms", for about 10
days now and can't get enough of it. Great news for Dire Straits
fanatics .. 47 minutes of prime Mark Knopfler work (how can it be that
this man cannot produce a bad piece of work?).
I recall seeing someone mention that they'd heard the new single on
the radio and were a bit disappointed. Well, after hearing the two "radio"
songs ("So Far Away" and "Walk of Life"), I can see how they might seem less
than ground-breaking. But, as usually happens with Knopfler's work, they
both get better and better with repeated listenings. The remainder of the
album is much more ambitious.
The two "radio" songs are very reminiscent of "If I Had You" from
the "Pool" EP. "Money For Nothing" is a slap at MTV with hard driving
guitar work from Knopfler and some very nice supporting vocals from Sting.
"Your Latest Trick" is very pretty .. obviously influenced by Knopfler's
"Local Hero" work (kind of like "Boomtown"). This is followed by
"Why Worry" which is also gourgeous .. this one sounds like its from
Knopfler's "Cal" soundtrack (layers of acoustic guitar).
The last 4 songs are relentless. "Ride Across The River" is a very
dark reggae flavored song. Knopfler finally lets loose with some searing
guitar work. Next is "The Man's Too Strong". Strong changes in dynamics
on this one (a la "Private Investigations"). "One World" is the closest
this album gets to a "rocker" .. like "Solid Rock", but better. The album
closes with the title track "Brothers In Arms". This is Knopfler at his
best. It's a song that grieves about man waging war on himself. Good
strong vocal coupled with guitar work that hangs in the air with such
despair that you can almost touch it (how does he do that??).
Yesterday, I picked up the compact disc. Even better news! Turns
out the album is a full digital recording (no mention of this on the vinyl
copy). The sound is tremendous .. Knopfler's guitar work gains even more
emotion with the clarity. Better yet, the cd runs 55 minutes .. 8 minutes
longer than the vinyl version. Turns out, they've rewarded the cd owner
by including extended versions of 4 tracks. "So Far Away" and "Money For
Nothing" have extended instrumental segments. "Your Latest Trick" has
Brecker/Knopfler intro that is completely missing from the vinyl version.
"Why Worry" gains a full 3 minutes in which the band gets to stretch out.
Well, as you can see I'm a hopeless Knopfler addict, and there must
be other addicts out there .. let's hear from you!.
P.S.
The "Local Hero" and "Cal" soundtracks are very very good. So, if like me,
you have a hard time sitting still between Dire Straits releases .. go out
and get these.
P.P.S
Knopfler has done a 3rd soundtrack for "Comfort and Joy". Has anybody
out there heard it? How is it? Where can you find it?