Dire Straits

Dire Straits

Mark and David Knopfler formed Dire Straits in London in 1977. The following year could only be described as a slow-motion explosion. Their self-titled debut LP was released, the band supported Talking Heads on tour, and the first single—the immortal “Sultans of Swing”—was released twice before it started to bite. The album eventually topped charts around the world and set up an amazing career for chief songwriter and guitar-master Mark Knopfler.

Fame and fortune did not prevent the music developing: you can hear increased complexity on Making Movies and Love Over Gold. Yet Dire Straits also continued to produce memorable singles. The band’s fifth LP, Brothers In Arms, boasted two massive hits (one with Sting guesting) and sounds fabulous. Indeed, the songs were always meticulously recorded and produced, making Dire Straits a perfect artist for high-quality vinyl re-issues. And the music’s pretty damn fine too.

There's been a wealth of reissued material in recent years, including the much lauded audiophile pressings from MFSL which literally sell out within days of being restocked.  A great box set of all five studio albums was released in 2020 featuring the remastering work of Bernie Grundman and Bob Ludwig.  Also worth a mention is the Abbey Road 1/2 Speed Master of Brothers In Arms which claims to have used the earliest master possible. Much to celebrate from one of the biggest bands of the 80's.

More at the Discrepancy Blog

We dig into Love Over Gold here.

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