What made Dire Straits so, erm well, dire

Raptor Mike

Raptor Mike

Messages
2,812
Name
Mike
Edit My Images
Yes
I grew up listening to Dire Straits because both my parents liked them. They were my favourite band as a kid. Then they brought out On Every Street. I persuaded my Mum to get it as a present for my Dad. They both hated it and I wasn't keen either. The reason, they started using using that horrible American whiny guitar thing that's used in American country music and IMHO has no place in British rock.

The reason I'm bringing this up is because I sky plused their 92 gig On The Night and am watching it now. I thought its okay, I can put up with whiny guitar noise in the On Every Street tracks, but second song is the classic Walk Of Life ruined but that horrible guitar. Is it any wonder On Every Street was their las album :(

Anyone else feel the same?
 
I think it all went a bit meh after the live Alchemy album

From memory they split in 1988 due to post Brothers In Arms stress and then set up again albeit a different line up for On Every Street.

When you look at Mark Knopfler's career as a whole the decent Dire Straits era (Dire Straits, Communique, Making Movies, Love over Gold, Brother in Arms) was only 6 or 7 years.
 
Saw them live once, not the best show I ever went to even though the music was good and I like most of their stuff. They just weren't a live band and could have been cardboard cutouts for all the effort they put into making a show of it.

You're right about their last album, the only track I can remember from On Every Street is Heavy Fuel and most of my thinking is it's repetitive and over long.
 
Was Money For Nothing just a compilation of tracks of their other Albums? Or was it a mix of new tracks and others? Private investigations is playing now.
 
Steep said:
Saw them live once, not the best show I ever went to even though the music was good and I like most of their stuff. They just weren't a live band and could have been cardboard cutouts for all the effort they put into making a show of it.

You're right about their last album, the only track I can remember from On Every Street is Heavy Fuel and most of my thinking is it's repetitive and over long.
Click to expand...
I'm noticing this gig is a bit like that lol
 
Last edited:
fabs said:
I went to see them at Wembley Arena in '85 and they were brilliant! Unfortunately, Brothers in Arms was their last decent album IMHO. Making Movies was their best.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure it was that tour that I saw but I went to the cow shed at Shepton Mallet on a coach trip. TBH, if the ticket hadn't been a freebie I wouldn't have gone but since I have very little recollection of the gig and trip back, I must have had fun on the trip up!!! Never bought any of their albums but tempted to see if I can find BIA in the 2nd hand shop I've got some gift vouchers for.
 
I still like them.
They might be "dire" to you, but music is about as subjective as you can get.
Personally I can't bear Pink Floyd. ...and Amy "sainted" Winehouse grates on my nerves.
 
Love PF but can't stand Amy Whinehorse.
 
viv1969 said:
I still like them.
They might be "dire" to you, but music is about as subjective as you can get.
Personally I can't bear Pink Floyd. ...and Amy "sainted" Winehouse grates on my nerves.
Click to expand...
I loved, and still do, all their stuff, that I've heard anyway, except On Every Street. But they are not a patch on Pink Floyd :p I agree about Amy Winehouse though :)
 
Comfortably Numb said:
I know what you mean......;)

I also feel like Dire straits lost their way, but You & Your Friend from that live show, has one of my all time favourite guitar tones & performances. Even the slide guitar didn't seem so bad in that song.

Mark Knopfler is still a musical genius though!
Click to expand...

Knopflers music for "The Princess Bride" was beautiful.
 
Whiny guitar = slide. :ROFLMAO::rolleyes:

You'd hate Lynrd Skynrd then, but I guess they aren't British. ;)

TBH though I did wonder if Local Hero was even the same band.
 
I like Dire Straits and Knopfler as a guitarist, not convinced by everything he's ever done but it is at least always done with a true passion for it.

By the way, you can make an ordinary guitar whine like that if you play it with a glass slide too - a la 'Cannibal's with Sonny Landreth (awesome country blues guy, and the track Mark mentions here on Sonny's Album is called 'Blue Tarp Blues')...

 
Dire Straits were great when Sultans Of Swing came out and their performance of it on The Old Grey Whistle Test with slightly out of tune guitars and wearing scruffy jeans and T shirts was great. Then they changed and got very boring.

And as for the National resonator guitar - myself and a few friends hate Mark Knopfler for putting one on the front cover of Brothers In Arms. We were fans of those guitars and were struggling to raise the money to buy them. Then overnight, the prices rocketed as collectors started to buy them and it got to a point where lawyers, doctors, businessmen, etc, were paying a huge amount for them to hang on their walls as decoration whereas those of us who actually wanted to play them, couldn't afford them.

So yes, Dire Straits, Gggggrrrr!!!!


Steve.
 
I heard Dire Straits and Chris Rea were going to join up. the new band will be called

<drum roll>
Chris Straits...

©Bobby Davro 1982
 
I think anybody that argues against Knopfler being one of the greatest guitarists ever should be shot in the face, but he does like his country music.....
 
Steep said:
Saw them live once, not the best show I ever went to even though the music was good and I like most of their stuff. They just weren't a live band and could have been cardboard cutouts for all the effort they put into making a show of it.

You're right about their last album, the only track I can remember from On Every Street is Heavy Fuel and most of my thinking is it's repetitive and over long.
Click to expand...
Went to see Knopfler in Newcastle last year and he was bloody brilliant. Different backing band now but some great musicians. Knopfler for me is one of the best guitarists ever.
 
I liked all the Dire Straits Albums, I would never classify it Rock music though and Mt Knopfler for me is one of the best guitarists ever - he does have a very strong Country leaning hence the love of the slide guitar. You wont find may bands as enduring or who will have sold as many albums. The Brothers in Arms cd was a standard to have in your car - Happy Days!
 
TopBanana said:
Thanks for the translation, I was wondering what the comments about whiny guitars were referring to!
Click to expand...

The National guitar (which is shown on the cover of Brothers in Arms) is used more for blues than country, however, it is at its best when used for Hawaiian music (proper Hawaiian music, not the sickly sweet electric stuff).

Country players tend to use the similar looking, but technically quite different, Dobro guitar.


Steve.
 
I've not immersed myself in more recent Dire Straits music, but where I've heard resonator guitars like National and Dobro, it has been for stuff like Romeo and Juliet. When I said Whiny=Slide I had in mind more pedal steel (not many people really know pedal steel, hence I called it slide) which is what I think I'm hearing on Calling Elvis. I've not really heard much resonator played with slide from DS, though toward the end Mark might have been using them that way.
 
We used to have a caravan on the same park as Alan Clarke & his family. Him and his kids were a really nice bunch. His kids are only a couple of years younger than me so we'd hang about together a fair bit. He had a pretty cool house in northumberland, loads of private land, a land rover and an old vw polo for his kids (about 12 at the time) along with motorbikes and a couple of guns (not for his kids lol) I remember being there and him having a load of eggs on garden candle stands and taking pot shots at the with a beretta 9mm pistol. It was a bit mad to say the least.
 
Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but BBC Scotland did a programme a few years ago where Phil Cunningham met Mark Knopfler to discuss his music. It's in 3 parts on youtube and here's the first part out of interest.

 
JonathanRyan said:
I think anybody that argues against Knopfler being one of the greatest guitarists ever should be shot in the face, but he does like his country music.....
Click to expand...
Agreed. He's a truly magical guitarist.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ST4
The23rdman said:
Agreed. He's a truly magical guitarist.
Click to expand...

He is. I have the album he did with Chet Atkins. You didn't get to play with Chet if you were terrible!

One disappointment for me was being told that for the live performances of his The Notting Hillbillies band, the banjo parts were played on a keyboard. Still, it could be worse. They could have been played on a banjo!


Steve.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top