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39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An era-defining classic., 27 Sep 2006
Trust Mark Knopfler not to succumb to platitude, regardless where he is and what's going on around him. There they are sitting on the Caribbean island paradise of Montserrat, and what does the man write? Songs about the pain of separation, love gone wrong and The Blues in general ("So Far Away," "Your Latest Trick," "Why Worry" and "One World"), a part tongue-in-cheek, part grating duet with Sting, who just happened to be available because he was vacationing on Montserrat, on an underdog's gripes about rock stardom ("Money For Nothing"), followed by a more upbeat variation on the "stardom" theme (although even there, we are reminded that "after all the violence and double talk, there's just a song in all the trouble and the strife, you do the Walk Of Life") ... and no less than three songs about war and the abuse of power ("Run Across The River," "The Man's Too Strong" and of course, "Brothers in Arms").
Musically, this album is more diversified than Dire Straits' prior studio albums; there's a sax in "Your Latest Trick," "Walk Of Life" has a rockabilly feel, and the instrumentation of "Run Across the River" is inspired by the Caribbean setting in which the record was produced -- but listen to that song's lyrics and see how they contrast with what at first impression sounds like airy island paradise melodies: "I'm a soldier of fortune, I'm a dog of war and we don't give a damn who the killing is for; it's the same old story with a different name -- death or glory, it's the killing game." ("The Man's Too Strong," which deals with a dictator's thoughts upon being brought to trial, is similar in that respect; although the Caribbean sound is replaced by rhythm and steel guitars, with two single guitar riffs, sharp as bullets, accentuating the chorus.) The band also took full advantage of the advances in production techniques available to them at that time. The result was an album that drove home to even the last uninitiated chump out there that Dire Straits were a musical force to reckon with, and that the success of their prior albums had not been coincidence alone. And the SACD drives this home even more forcefully ... (to the extent this is even possible).
Among all the excellent songs on this album, it is the title track which stands out mile-high. From the growling thunderstorm opening, the sad and evocative electric guitar intro, and the first verse, more whispered than sung, through the slow and steady crescendo of the song's intensity to the closing guitar solo, Mark Knopfler's ode about war, in ancient Scotland and today, "civil" and otherwise, is nothing short of a true masterpiece. The interplay of Knopfler's vocals and his guitar. The sole riff introducing the guitar part after the line "and we have just one world but we live in different ones," tearing through the song's fabric like a sore wound breaking open. And of course, the closing guitar solo which completely defies description and makes any attempt to characterize it by words like "haunting" or "dramatic" sound like a shallow cliché.
"Brothers in Arms" was Dire Straits' most successful studio album, and one of the biggest-selling albums of the 1980, thanks to an exhaustive tour and the high exposure its single releases received on MTV. But more than anything, it helped define a decade; musically and otherwise. It has made rock music history, and it will always stand right up there with the best that anybody in the business has ever produced.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic remaster, 2 Jun 2005
I have owned "Brothers In Arms" in various formats since it's 1985 release, and I have to say that this really does top the bill. The remastering on this hybrid disc is absolutely outstanding. I wasn't completely sold on the SACD format until this release and boy was I blown-away. If you have owned this album before, then do yourself a favour and get this the 20th anniversay edition. A classic album deserving of space on your shelf. Buy it!
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Surround mix review: OK, 3 Dec 2007
Here's a summary:
1) The surround mix uses the full length versions as heard on CD & cassette (rather than the edited 1,2,4&5 tracks on the vinyl)
2) Money For Nothing suffers in surround. Some of the original very prominent keyboard sounds have been mixed out and the track doesn't sound right for it.
3) The mix is very echoey and I found it hard work to listen to in a long sitting.
4) It appears that the 5.1 mix is more compressed than the original mix. The impact of the louder passages on The Man's Too Strong is not really there for me
5) The rear channels are used well, backing vocals and keyboard parts, etc can be heard at the back.
Shame about the reverb!
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