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Dire Straits [Original recording remastered]

Dire Straits Audio CD
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
Price: £6.29 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Music

Image of album by Dire Straits

Photos

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Biography

Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Dire Straits emerged during the post-punk era of the late '70s, and while their sound was minimalistic and stripped down, they owed little to punk. If anything, the band was a direct outgrowth of the roots revivalism of pub rock, but where pub rock celebrated good times, Dire Straits were melancholy. Led by guitarist/vocalist Mark Knopfler, the ... Read more in Amazon's Dire Straits Store

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Frequently Bought Together

Dire Straits + Making Movies + Communique
Price For All Three: £18.87

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Product details

  • Audio CD (3 Jun 1996)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: Original recording remastered
  • Label: Mercury Records Ltd (London)
  • ASIN: B00000INM1
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,823 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Samples
Song Title Time Price
Listen  1. Down To The Waterline 4:04£0.89  Buy MP3 
Listen  2. Water Of Love 5:25£0.89  Buy MP3 
Listen  3. Setting Me Up 3:20£0.89  Buy MP3 
Listen  4. Six Blade Knife 4:12£0.89  Buy MP3 
Listen  5. Southbound Again 3:00£0.89  Buy MP3 
Listen  6. Sultans Of Swing 5:48£0.89  Buy MP3 
Listen  7. In The Gallery 6:16£0.89  Buy MP3 
Listen  8. Wild West End 4:42£0.89  Buy MP3 
Listen  9. Lions 5:03£0.89  Buy MP3 


Product Description

CD =Remastered=

Customer Reviews

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4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Chunky, wiry, evocative! 25 Feb 2003
By Conrob
Format:Audio CD
This is an album of evocatively written narrative songs with superb and original guitar playing and, unusually, every song a winner.

Though you can discern Knopfler's influences (Dylan, JJ Cale, Chet Atkins-style picking) it's all blended into a distinctive flavour that is hard to fit into normal pop-rock categories. It is also distinctively English, as the detailed storytelling lyrics make clear. Knopfler's singing is Dylanesque without really sounding like Dylan, and his guitar playing is bluesy, elegant and chunkily percussive without really sounding like anyone (unless it's a more bluesy Richard Thompson). Because of the cleaness of the production and Knopfler's guitar tone, you get a palpable sense of his fingers attacking the guitar strings (something many rock guitarists rely on distortion to hide).

Though the songwriting is on one level conventional enough, the various elements of the band's sound combine forcefully to grab the attention. Dire Straits (in this incarnation) are tight, and rhythmically limber, while Knopfler's distinctive vocals and literate writing draw the listener in relentlessly. And unlike many guitar heroes, Knopfler's solos are always there to support the song rather than to be flashy. When the vocals stop, the guitar really does seem to take over the singing and the expressive foce of the song.

Sultans of Swing is of course known to almost everyone. But Down to the Waterline, Six Blade Knife and South Bound Again, respectively urgent, menacing and wirily funky, are also excellent. Anyone who finds Dire Straits' later work bland or overproduced should check out this album. It's as satisfying and sweet as an exquisitely rendered small-scale novel about ordinary people's lives.

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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Breathtaking 14 July 2004
Format:Audio CD
There are not many superlatives to heap upon this album that have not already been used. It is rare in modern music to find anything near as witty, evocative, emotional yet enjoyable as this debut album from Dire Straits. Essentially this is the "real" Dire Straits, not the electronically influenced outfit of "Brothers In Arms" fame, but a group with a classic bar band sound, who combine rock, jazz, blues, country and folk for the ultimate debut album. This shows the roots of Dire Straits, combining Mark Knopfler's folk-tinged vocals and bluesy guitar playing, a rock-solid rhythm section courtesy of Knopfler's brother David and bass player John Illsey and the jazz drumming of Pick Withers.

I would recommend this album to every music fan. From the opening fast-paced "Down To The Waterline" to the classic "Sultans of Swing" to the beautiful "Wild West End," this truly is a class album. Just sit back and enjoy and appreciate the brilliance of the original Dire Straits before they became overwhelmed by the commercialism and temptation of fame. In my opinion this is one of the greatest albums in rock history, I hope after listening to this album you will share the same opinion.

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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Slippery Slope to addiction 3 Jun 2002
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
If you do not currently own a Dire Straits record, then I envy you for the journey of discovery you would embark upon if you bought this album. I have been listening to Straits for over 10 years (I'm only 22) and would give anything to hear this album for the first time again.
If (like many people) you are scared off by the over-playing of Money for Nothing, the "Old Men of Rock" tag Dire Straits have got, or the simply awful 'Twisting by the pool', then 'Down to the Waterline' will immediately change your mind, because from this first song on Dire Straits have produced one of the most irreproachably competent and satisfying debuts I have ever heard: David Knopfler - Rhythm guitar perfection, Mark Knopfler - Lead guitar, song-writing and vocals that will leave you in a frenzied search for more of the same.

You will hear J.J. Cale here as well as any other number of Blues influences, but song-writing on tracks like 'six-blade knife', 'Sultans of Swing', 'In the Gallery' and 'Lions' are unmistakeably Knopfler. Through his distinctive growl and laid back guitar riffs Mark Knopfler tells the story of his journey from Newcastle childhood, to the superficiality of the London arts scene, so the narrative honesty is there if you want to hear it.

Have it loud in your car to pump you up, have it quiet in your bedroom to chill you out. Either way, you have to have it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Not dire!
They are still the best at what they do and the first two albums are the pinnacle, with debts to jjcale
Published 2 months ago by monty ripper
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
I hadn't listened to this album for 20 years, but just bought it again on CD. It's like welcoming back an old friend. Crisp and concise compared to some of the band's later work. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. Alistair M. L. Irvine
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic.
I bought this because I had the vinyl LP but wanted to listen in the car. Not disappointed. Ounces great.
Published 2 months ago by K. Mcgilchrist
4.0 out of 5 stars Not what I thought.
Lets get the fan credentials out of the way first, I was originally a fan of the band from 84 until I got burnt out on the bands overexposure after Brothers In Arms was released. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Boondoggle
5.0 out of 5 stars Ahh Memories
As fresh as the first day I heard it. Fantastic album probably their best, brings back loads of good memories.
Published 3 months ago by Mr. M. A. Davies
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!
Like all Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler albums, this was excellent. He's touring the UK again in May, so get your tickets while you can.
Published 3 months ago by JMP Scott
5.0 out of 5 stars My one and only
Yes the Knopfler brothers mark and David are good guitarists and I did see them play in their stadium era, and they were skilled and polished. Read more
Published 9 months ago by "Belgo Geordie"
5.0 out of 5 stars Straits fan converting to CD!!!
No review neccessary here as I am converting my worn out cassettes to CDs!!!!! I have rated this band since I first heard "Sultans" in1978 and have never tired. Read more
Published 9 months ago by metalhip
4.0 out of 5 stars Very happy with product
Wanted to get this original version of the album having read about the loudness wars and the extra compression added to later releases. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. R. Tarran
4.0 out of 5 stars I Bought It On Vynyl
The best-ever ending to a concert was their Love Over Gold but this was their first album and a brilliant one it remains. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Nik Watt
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