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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2015 18:59:22 GMT
This album is like three different bands; with songs like So Far Away, and Why Worry, we have a laid back country-flavored sound. On Money For Nothing, One World, and Walk Of Life, we have a mainstream arena rock sound with huge guitars and keyboards. Then, on Brothers In Arms, Your Latest Trick, Ride Across the River, and The Man's Too Strong, we have longer, more experimental landscapes ranging from jazz to world music and folk songs.
This is a really great album. Right up there with Bruce Springsteen's Born In The USA, Michael Jackson's Thriller, The Police's Synchronicity, and Prince's Purple Rain , as one of the quintessential 80's albums.
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Post by unomusette on Jun 27, 2015 23:33:33 GMT
I promise faithfully to review this, I meant to do it this morning and was immediately distracted by something else which had to be done right then. It'll be another Sunday morning job but I'll be back, honest
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Post by unomusette on Jun 28, 2015 11:27:44 GMT
I was immediately captivated by Dire Straits when I heard Sultans of Swing and I'm still hoping they might reform for a reunion concert. Due to Mark Knopfler's dodgy back and the equally dodgy past differences within the band's membership this seems sadly unlikely. They were about as big as they could get when this album came out; for me it's not their best but there are still some absolute diamonds to be discovered and I'm going to enjoy revisiting it. Here goes: So Far Away - strikes me as an odd opening track, I would have expected Money for Nothing to kick things off with a bang. Pleasant enough and stuffed with trademark guitar but sounds a bit "written by numbers" if you get my meaning. I can imagine any competant songwriter coming up with it if they had to produce something quickly. Money For Nothing - What can you say? It's a classic and still sounds fresh today. It would have made a brilliant opener especially with the atmospheric intro. I've heard Mark Knopfler in interviews saying how he likes to invent characters to base songs on and he has fun here being the grumpy TV delivery guy getting none of the perks of fame. When he's being quirky like this I really enjoy his vocals. This song simply cannot be faulted. Well, apart from Sting being on it, there's something about him that instantly sends my smug-o-meter off the scale. Walk Of Life - Happy bit of rockabilly 50's throwback fun. You can imagine it filling the dance floor at weddings and family parties. For this reason I'd rate it higher than So Far Away but it still has an aura of being written in a flash to fill out time. Of course this could be deceptive and as I've never written a song in my life I should probably shut up Your Latest Trick - Another atmospheric intro bringing to mind a smoke filled nightclub. I'm a fool for a saxophone break so I'm already grabbed before the singing even starts. And when it does, you can tell there's been a bit of thought put into the lyrics which are excellent. Another 10 out of 10 for me, love it to bits. Why Worry - Such a pretty tune, and it's not easy to write a slowie without descending into cheeseville with the lyrics (Muse should take note here. Whaddeyer mean? Of course they'll be reading this). My only gripe is the horrid electric piano sound which seemed to pop up everywhere in the '80's. And it does take ages to finish whilst it wanders about aimlessly, which loses it points from me. Ride Across the River - *wakes up with a start* Aha, next track at last. Love the intro and the easy semi-reggae rhythm. Definitely a superior track with lots of lovely Knopfler guitar moments and some nifty drum fills. I can listen to this for a very long time so it can go on as long as it likes. The Man's Too Strong - Another character song, nice bit of twangy acoustic guitar with an interesting "whoosh" during the chorus. Yes, whoosh. I told you I've never written a song - I don't know the technical terms. Dire Straits always seemed to come up with lots of different subjects for songs compared to the usual love won/lost/yearned for that most bands fall back on and here's another good example. Nice one. One World - Bit of funkiness creeps in here and there's nothing wrong with that. Not mad about some of the keyboard sounds but it's a solid piece of work decorated with more Dire Straits trademark guitar and nifty drumming. The drum sound is somewhat artificial-sounding on this track but I suppose that's what was de rigeur at the time and I've not really noticed it on the other songs so I can forgive this lapse. Brothers In Arms - The album might not have opened with my choice of track but nobody can fault this as a closer. One of the things I love best about Dire Straits is their knack for extended, lyrical, atmospheric songs such as this, and Telegraph Road for example. To come back to Muse, I can easily imagine this is the inspiration for Aftermath on their latest album. In fact if I were Mark Knopfler I might be phoning Jeff to ask for his lawyer's number over the intro. Both songs bemoan the futility of war, but whilst this song is the crowning glory of Brothers in Arms, Aftermath descends into quite embarrassing sickliness and cliche after the first verse and is decidedly the worst track on Drones. There is a definite skill to writing lyrics to a slow, meaningful song and delivering them convincingly - Mr Knopfler has it in spades, well done, sir! Bellamy, I'll see you later for a spanking It's been a treat to listen to this album properly again and it just reminds me what we're missing whilst Mark Knopfler explores other avenues. It's an 8 out of 10 for me, points lost for the ordinariness of So Far Away and Walk of Life and the endless noodly outro to Why Worry (oh, and Sting being let into the studio), but gained for inventive lyrics and some gorgeous tunes with tasty guitar work. Thanks for sharing 88keys!
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Post by Helmut83 on Jun 28, 2015 15:53:41 GMT
It's an 8 out of 10 for me, points lost for the ordinariness of So Far Away and Walk of Life and the endless noodly outro to Why Worry (oh, and Sting being let into the studio), but gained for inventive lyrics and some gorgeous tunes with tasty guitar work. It's funny how much opinions can differ. The two songs that you point out as ordinary and the worst ones of the album are exactly the ones I think are the best. Then the part which I think is boring is the one that you seemed to enjoy the most. Completely opposed visions...
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Post by unomusette on Jun 28, 2015 19:25:01 GMT
That's why this is such an interesting thread. But of course, I am always right
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Post by 88keys on Jun 28, 2015 21:47:11 GMT
Great reviews, everyone. It's funny how a couple of people compare So Far Way to a country song, while others say it's a pop song. It just goes to show the diversity of the opinions on this forum!
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Post by queenofthehours on Jun 29, 2015 15:50:37 GMT
1 So Far Away – A great introduction to the album. A nice pop song to ease you into the rest of the LP. From what I hear here the production is great too. 2 Money For Nothing – I’ve always liked this track and the guitar on it. But since I found out Sting’s on here somewhere it put me off a bit. Not that I dislike him, just that he sticks out a bit too much.
3 Walk Of Life – I’ve always liked this too – lively and fun. No idea what the words are though.
4 Your Latest Trick – I’m not too sure about this – a bit too jazzy for me, it’s the saxophones.
5 Why Worry – I like this, a nice lullaby. I can imagine this being a Tom Petty song.
6 Ride Across the River – Not my favourite – too much happening with the music, a little bit too jazzy again but I love the guitar.
7 The Man's Too Strong – The contrast from soft to loud is good, the production is great. This track is a little bit country or blues-y. I can hear some Dylan here too.
8 One World – This one’s nice and upbeat. If I’ve noticed one thing on the LP it’s that the guitar doesn’t impose – it just keeps the tune going, keeps it up in the air like air under a balloon.
9 Brothers In Arms – A gentle end to the album. Reminds me a little of a prog track with a spot of jazz. The guitar really makes the song stand out – nice and tasteful.
I don't know if it's just me that thinks this but this LP is unexpectedly dark. Nothing gothic but rather downbeat in general. What really stood out for me on this record was the range of musical styles used.
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Post by Helmut83 on Jun 29, 2015 15:57:24 GMT
I don't know if it's just me that thinks this but this LP is unexpectedly dark. Nothing gothic but rather downbeat in general. What really stood out for me on this record was the range of musical styles used. It's not just you. Take a look at the last paragraphs of my review and you'll find that, even when I used other words instead if "dark" and "beatdown", my conclussion was more or less similar to yours.
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Post by queenofthehours on Jun 29, 2015 16:48:53 GMT
I don't know if it's just me that thinks this but this LP is unexpectedly dark. Nothing gothic but rather downbeat in general. What really stood out for me on this record was the range of musical styles used. It's not just you. Take a look at the last paragraphs of my review and you'll find that, even when I used other words instead if "dark" and "beatdown", my conclussion was more or less similar to yours. Yes. I don't try to look at other people's reviews before writing my own, but I really was expecting such a famous album to be more "rocky" or to have more power. It's a good record in itself, just that it's not what I was expecting at the start.
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Post by Helmut83 on Jun 29, 2015 16:52:19 GMT
Exactly, same as me the first time I listened to it; I was expecting something more powerful, with more uplifting songs.
That's the reason now I have it somewhere between piles of CDs and it's been a long while since I last cared to give it a listen.
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