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Post by 88keys on Jun 21, 2015 7:48:22 GMT
My cd(or album, if you prefer) of the week was a massive worldwide hit in 1985.
Ladies and gents, I give you Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits.
1-So Far Away 2-Money For Nothing 3-Walk Of Life 4-Your Latest Trick 5-Why Worry 6-Ride Across the River 7-The Man's Too Strong 8-One World 9-Brothers In Arms
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Post by jrmugz on Jun 21, 2015 11:16:58 GMT
Cool biz 88, looking forward to delving deeper into one of my favorite albums by one of my favorite artists of all time. This one sold around 30 million, literally, and I believe it was the first album ever on CD. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_in_Arms_(Dire_Straits_album)I feel close with this album, I played it an awful lot when I worked at Oak Ridge Supermarket, my first real non-paper-route job, and I would have to sort out shopping carts filled with returnable cans and bottles in the back room. Jim
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Post by Chippa on Jun 21, 2015 20:35:50 GMT
Oh man, it's been years since I've listened to this whole album. I'll get my review out, very soon.
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Post by unomusette on Jun 21, 2015 21:46:38 GMT
Yes! Nice choice, looking forward very much to revisiting this one
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Post by Helmut83 on Jun 21, 2015 23:20:39 GMT
I own it and used to listen a lot to it a few years a go. It will be fun giving it a review.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2015 0:43:22 GMT
I remember when almost everyone I knew owned a copy of Michael Jackson's Thriller, and this album. It was EVERYWHERE in 1985!
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Post by queenofthehours on Jun 22, 2015 16:15:38 GMT
Looking forward to this, the LP is one of those that you always think you should listen to but never find the time or reason to.
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Post by Chippa on Jun 23, 2015 4:40:30 GMT
So Far Away – Very cool country-style ballad with some tasty sounding slide guitar. Always loved the background harmonies singing “you’re so faaaarrr”.
Money For Nothing – Sting singing the opening part still sticks out as one of the coolest things about this song. Then when that Mark Knopfler guitar kicks in? Holy hell…iconic! The music video for this is one of the best things ever, and was a staple on MTV up until they stopped playing videos!
Walk Of Life – Some sweet organ kicks off this piece of ear candy. Love the relentless rhythm and the overall sunny feel of the song. Damn, this song makes me smile.
Your Latest Trick – Cool, late night jazzy opening with some sexy sax. Almost reminds me a bit of Steely Dan, in parts.
Why Worry – Everly Brothers meets Paul Simon? That’s the vibe I get from this quaint little ballad. Not bad, but a bit too soft.
Ride Across the River – Intriguing African influences on this song. Very interesting piece of work, and definitely the “experimental” track on the album.
The Man's Too Strong – Very strong folk influence, here. I like the loud guitar crescendos juxtaposed with the relatively laid back feel of the rest of the song.
One World – Funky R&B flavor, topped off with Knopfler’s excellent guitar work. Very clever lyrics, too.
Brothers In Arms –Automatic goosebumps with this one! The cinematic opening, the profound lyrics (stop killing each other, assholes!) , the subtle , yet beautiful guitar….man, I can’t think of anything bad to say about this song! Favorite part of the song is towards the end when you hear that Hammond organ kick in. It kills me every time. Absolutely my favorite Dire Straits song, ever.
Overall, I give this a 9 out of 10. One of the best albums, not only of the 80’s, but possibly of all time.
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Post by jrmugz on Jun 23, 2015 14:04:47 GMT
01. "So Far Away" – Perfect pop song, with great slide guitar. I'm sure George Harrison was a fan of this one. 02. "Money For Nothing" – Over-rated, doesn't stand the test of time for me. Love the opening and riff but never liked the dentist drill effect, in it. A humorous character study of the appliance guy, to be sure. 03. "Walk Of Life" – One of the all-time great summer radio songs. Classic summer scene last night, this song came on the radio when I was driving my kids to Erma's Frozen Custard. One of those songs every one is quiet for and just sits back and enjoys. 04. "Your Latest Trick" – Love it, and don't know why love the line "You played robbery with insolence; and I played the blues in twelve bars down on Lover's Lane". Pretty clever lyrics. I still need to look up the word "insolence" in the dictionary though, and think that every time I hear it! 05. "Why Worry?" – Very cool unique song, that makes a good logical case of why we should feel encouraged when we feel worried. A notch above Hallmark greeting card nice sentiments, since it makes some good points (there's sunshine after rain, these things have always been the same, etc.). 06. "Ride Across the River" – I like the melodic percussion. Really solidifies the military theme of most of side 2 of the album. 07. "The Man's Too Strong" – Any song that says "Oh Father, please here my confession" is alright with me. Really unique lyric with a very military feel to it. 08. "One World" – Pretty sharp guitar and bass on this one. I did always find the lyric "there's no such thing as sanity and that's the sanest fact" to be somewhat depressing, and not helpful when in the doldrums. 09. "Brothers In Arms" – So these are the last thoughts of a guy wounded in war and about to die. It makes me think of what my last thoughts will be. I always thought the line "We're fools to make war on our brothers in arms" to be way too simplistic, as, as much as I hate war, it seems like a necessary evil. That said, if I was fighting as a Nazi in WWII, I would definitely be saying "we're fools to make war on our brothers in arms". If was on the American side I would be saying "it's a very very sad but sometimes necessary thing that we have to partake in a war to stop an aggressor". Definitely a very cinematic and beautiful song. Guess it did really good in Poland where it really struck a chord. Star Rating: 4.7 our of 5 Prime Cuts: "Walk of Life", "Why Worry", "Brothers in Arms" Bottom Line: A stunning effort with great results. Certainly a big point of reference in my life. Thanks for sharing 88, have you marked down for a couple months from now. Jim
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Post by jrmugz on Jun 23, 2015 16:18:44 GMT
Ah, here is the definition of "insolence".
in·so·lence ˈinsələns/Submit noun rude and disrespectful behavior. "she was sacked for insolence"
Jim
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Post by Helmut83 on Jun 24, 2015 6:40:16 GMT
- So far away: best song of the album and best song of Dire Straits. Fantastic pop song, a favorite to play too. It’s very simple on the harmonic side but the melody is beautiful and the slide guitar riff is very characteristic. The only con could be that the recording sounds a bit like to a cassette, like there was some background noise there, but that’s just a minor detail on an otherwise extraordinary song.
- Money for nothing: the intro is pointless and harms the song more than it enhances it. Once the song effectively starts, Knopfler’s guitar intro is legendary and might be one of the most recognizable riffs in the history of rock n roll. The song pretty much rolls around that: the riff. The rest is a complement: some verses where the Knopfler speaks more than sings and a not-so-memorable chorus. Yet, in the overall, a really good song.
- Walk of life: again, a direct 3-chords pop song which I love to bits. And again with a very characteristic and recognizable riff, this time from the keyboard. The guitar work making the base should get some recognition too. Another fantastic classic to sing along like mad.
- Your latest trick: ok, the fun has come to an end. This song is not bad, but too long. The sax’s participation is good as well, but again, too much of it. Nice work on the rhythmic section.
- Why worry?: By general rule, I’m not a fan of ballads, but this one has a calm, positive, beautiful melody that gets me. The guitar work is great, very atmospheric, and the voice does a good work too. I really like it, but I’m sure if they had played it a bit faster and with more energy the song would have sounded much better. Uh, and it’s ridiculously long for my taste, with that ending that should have been cut off.
- Ride Across the River: after those two long songs you are pleading to go back to some groove but here comes yet another slow one and this one is not nearly as good as the previous ones. Other than some interesting percussion work, pretty lousy song in my opinion. And, again, too long.
- The man’s too strong: another boring one, this time with some country atmosphere, although Mark’s voice does fit the genre relatively well IMO, particularly for a Britishman. The melody is insipid and quite uninspired if you asked me. Those sudden, violent, isolated guitar/piano strummings go nowhere and achieve no effect at all. Definitely not memorable.
- One world: well, at least a more lively song, even if it’s not too good. I wouldn’t say it’s bad, but it’s nothing special. The funky bassline is one of the few standouts.
- Brothers in arms: I can’t understand why it takes so much praise. I find it terribly dull, and once again, unnecessarily long. It has no life, it has no feeling, the melody is pretty shapeless… I guess the formula was “let’s try to make some sentimental song with lyrics about war, and let’s make it hyper slow so it sounds touching and moving”, but in my opinion the music is unable to project any feeling properly and instead transmits nothing but boredom. Some nice guitar work as Dire Straits songs always have and that’s all.
Playing this album after so much time reminded me why I didn’t use to go deep into it (and by this I mean reaching the middle and last tracks). The first three songs are excellent and up till then it seems like the album is headed for a 10/10. Then a massive snoozefest begins and carries on till the end of the album. And of all of those slow songs, only “Why worry?” is good in my opinion. Then there’s “One world”, which is not slow but not good either. The rest I find to be really boring. I cannot understand why people enjoy so much sitting through more than half an hour of hyper slow, deflated, feeble, lifeless songs, but to each their own.
Having in mind how many copies this album sold and how highly it is generally regarded, to me it’s a bit of a fiasco hidden behind 3 great songs. I find it hard to tag it as a whole because, like I said, I find the album to be divided into 2 clear and very different parts. Maybe people who like slow, weak (in terms of energy) ballads enjoy the whole of it. I generally don’t have a taste for that kind of music so I really liked the first 3 tracks, but from track 4 on I didn’t enjoy it.
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Post by jrmugz on Jun 24, 2015 13:48:09 GMT
- So far away: best song of the album and best song of Dire Straits. Fantastic pop song, a favorite to play too. It’s very simple on the harmonic side but the melody is beautiful and the slide guitar riff is very characteristic. The only con could be that the recording sounds a bit like to a cassette, like there was some background noise there, but that’s just a minor detail on an otherwise extraordinary song. - Money for nothing: the intro is pointless and harms the song more than it enhances it. Once the song effectively starts, Knopfler’s guitar intro is legendary and might be one of the most recognizable riffs in the history of rock n roll. The song pretty much rolls around that: the riff. The rest is a complement: some verses where the Knopfler speaks more than sings and a not-so-memorable chorus. Yet, in the overall, a really good song. - Walk of life: again, a direct 3-chords pop song which I love to bits. And again with a very characteristic and recognizable riff, this time from the keyboard. The guitar work making the base should get some recognition too. Another fantastic classic to sing along like mad. - Your latest trick: ok, the fun has come to an end. This song is not bad, but too long. The sax’s participation is good as well, but again, too much of it. Nice work on the rhythmic section. - Why worry?: By general rule, I’m not a fan of ballads, but this one has a calm, positive, beautiful melody that gets me. The guitar work is great, very atmospheric, and the voice does a good work too. I really like it, but I’m sure if they had played it a bit faster and with more energy the song would have sounded much better. Uh, and it’s ridiculously long for my taste, with that ending that should have been cut off. - Ride Across the River: after those two long songs you are pleading to go back to some groove but here comes yet another slow one and this one is not nearly as good as the previous ones. Other than some interesting percussion work, pretty lousy song in my opinion. And, again, too long. - The man’s too strong: another boring one, this time with some country atmosphere, although Mark’s voice does fit the genre relatively well IMO, particularly for a Britishman. The melody is insipid and quite uninspired if you asked me. Those sudden, violent, isolated guitar/piano strummings go nowhere and achieve no effect at all. Definitely not memorable. - One world: well, at least a more lively song, even if it’s not too good. I wouldn’t say it’s bad, but it’s nothing special. The funky bassline is one of the few standouts. - Brothers in arms: I can’t understand why it takes so much praise. I find it terribly dull, and once again, unnecessarily long. It has no life, it has no feeling, the melody is pretty shapeless… I guess the formula was “let’s try to make some sentimental song with lyrics about war, and let’s make it hyper slow so it sounds touching and moving”, but in my opinion the music is unable to project any feeling properly and instead transmits nothing but boredom. Some nice guitar work as Dire Straits songs always have and that’s all. Playing this album after so much time reminded me why I didn’t use to go deep into it (and by this I mean reaching the middle and last tracks). The first three songs are excellent and up till then it seems like the album is headed for a 10/10. Then a massive snoozefest begins and carries on till the end of the album. And of all of those slow songs, only “Why worry?” is good in my opinion. Then there’s “One world”, which is not slow but not good either. The rest I find to be really boring. I cannot understand why people enjoy so much sitting through more than half an hour of hyper slow, deflated, feeble, lifeless songs, but to each their own. Having in mind how many copies this album sold and how highly it is generally regarded, to me it’s a bit of a fiasco hidden behind 3 great songs. I find it hard to tag it as a whole because, like I said, I find the album to be divided into 2 clear and very different parts. Maybe people who like slow, weak (in terms of energy) ballads enjoy the whole of it. I generally don’t have a taste for that kind of music so I really liked the first 3 tracks, but from track 4 on I didn’t enjoy it. For the record, the album version of, i believe "So Far Away", "Money for Nothing", "Your Latest Trick" and "Why Worry", were a little shorter and didn't do the unnecessary meandering, to address some of your comments on "Your Latest Trick" and "Why Worry". I remember buying the cassette and it saying it had the extended versions, and looks like the same with the CD. I know for sure, with the album on "Your Latest Trick", there was not the intro before the main sax riff. Jim
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Post by Helmut83 on Jun 24, 2015 16:27:53 GMT
jrmugz: Makes sense. All of those songs (as well as a few others) have some unnecesary noodling that goes on for far too long. If shorter I'm sure they would be more enjoyable.
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Post by jrmugz on Jun 24, 2015 16:34:42 GMT
jrmugz: Makes sense. All of those songs (as well as a few others) have some unnecesary noodling that goes on for far too long. If shorter I'm sure they would be more enjoyable. Yeah, I remember I got the cassette of it, and was annoyed that it wasn't just like the album. Especially "So Far Away" was totally unnecessary. For "Your Latest Trick", I guess I didn't mind the setup too much, since it's OK, and at least when it starts it's the same song. Jim
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Post by Chippa on Jun 24, 2015 19:32:18 GMT
Knopfler definitely liked his "noodling". I mean, he was no Keith Emerson when it came to excessively long solos, but he did seem to enjoy them.
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