Dire Straits Album: “Private Investigations: The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler [Deluxe Edition]”

The recent "Private Investigations" ups the ante for Dire Starits Best of Collections two reasons. First and foremost, on this 2-disc collection, the Dire Straits songs are included in their full length versions (edited versions were on the "Sulatns Of Swing" set for "Money For Nothing" among others), and the live cuts - especially "Love Over Gold" - are replaced with their studio versions. Since Dire Straits were always a product of studio perfections and the belief that great things last longer than 4 minutes, losing almost half of "Money For Nothing" just isn't acceptable. On "Private Investigations," MfN, as well as all 15 minutes of "Telegraph Road" etc, are back as they should be.

Secondly, the "Private Investigations" set has its second disc devoted to the best of Mark Knopfler's solo career. Since that was madly uneven, it beats his spotty solo albums. Here, "Local Hero" is the only changed over to its album version. Great songs like "Boom Like That" or "Sailing To Philadelphia" are as good as his best Dire Straits work, and a track from his duets album with Emmylou Harris is included. All are really worth hearing.

While I have long been a fan of Dire Straits ("Love Over Gold" and "Brothers In Arms" were the two CD's I often used to show off - gawd I'm Getting Old - my brand new CD player and its spanking new technology), "Private Investigations" leaves off "Heavy Fuel" and the goofy "Twisting By The Pool." (That was the first time Knopfler showed off his sense of humor prior to the also missing "Industrial Disease.") On the other hand "Sultans Of Swing - The Very Best Of" under represented the band. "Private Investiagtions" also completely ignores the "Communique" album, and "Lady Writer" is essential Dire Straits in my opinion.

I have a few personal favorites here. The shock of hearing "Sultans Of Swing" during the period of all things Clash or Sex Pistols has never worn off. As a calling card of Mark Knofler as new guitar hero, it remains very hard to beat. The Noir detective tale of "Private Investigations" has long affected me, as has the call for understanding of "Brothers In Arms." My personal favorite missing songs are "Skateaway" and "The Bug." But since they appear on neither collection, maybe Knopfler isn't too keen on them, either.

So while you may finds yourself drawn to this more expansive collection, if you're a casual listener, "Sultans Of Swing" will do ok. If you are really interested in them, starting with the debut album or the still incredible "Brothers In Arms" both an even better bet than this particular Dire Straits best of.

PS - it's time to retire the floating guitar in the clouds image already!

Knopfler has always, from the very first DS record, turned out albums that sounded incredibly brilliant. The hallmarks of that band were its pristine definition as well as its seamless sophistication. Those admirable qualities enhanced great songs.

In this new edition, in time for the holidays, Knop has culled a best od DS and his own work, and while I would have loved to see "Money for Nothing" omitted and "Lady Writer" included, at least Money is buried far enough down the track list on Disc one as to be easily forgettable. That's a song that outlived its shelf life on the first go 'round and should hereafter be retired. The rest is hard to argue with, and the inclusion of the themes from "Local Hero" and "Cal" two of the best soundtracks anyone has ever written, are the perfect transition from DS to the solo career. Pity he couldn't squeeze a Notting Hill tune in or the odd collaboration with Atkins, but maybe on Volumes 3 & 4, he'll correct all that.

For the moment, this is an extremely listenable and highly enjoyable collection that sounds better than you have any right to expect. The presence and the definition, the subtle things going on in the background of the songs have more clarity than they ever did, and that's saying something! As an added treat, the whole collection finishes with a song from the forthcoming Knop/Emmy Lou Harris disc! Inspired! I can hardly wait! Among a collection of amazing songs, this one jumps out and tackles you where you stand. Great stuff!

If you could only own one Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler album this is the one. What you have here on two CDS is a baker's dozen of Straits songs, two of Knopfler's movie themes, six Knopfler solo tunes, and a first-time-heard duet with Emmylou Harris. Total: 140 minutes of music -- which is about as much as you can cram onto two CDs.

You could complain about the song selection. I would have liked to have seen "Railroad Work Song" from the Notting Hillbillies on which Knopfler plays guitar as well as anyone in the world ever has. And a tune from his CD with Chet Atkins would be nice too. But most of Dire Strait's best are here. "Brothers in Arms" is awe-inspiring and sad; "Telegraph Road" is a 14-minute epic of brilliant guitar solos; "Sultans of Swing" is the all time Dire Straits favorite with a chugging beat that can't be beat; "Romeo and Juliet" is a quirky love song played on that weird steel guitar that Knopfler loves. And of course you've gotta include the head-banging "Money for Nothing" because it's famous -- and famously overplayed.

Knopfler's more recent solo efforts are a bit quieter and may not be as well known. "Sailing to Philadelphia" is a wondrous duet with James Taylor; "What Aye Man" is a sea chanty with some fancy guitar licks. There isn't a bad song here.

Knopfler writes clever,thoughtful songs, sings a bit like Bob Dylan, and plays a ringing but ethereal guitar. This is quality rock music. One comment: "Darling Pretty" is on the English version of the CD; on the American version it is replaced with "Skateaway."

Smallchief

I own every Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler CD, but for some reason, I bought this compilation. I am glad I did.

First, this is the best compilation yet in that the songs are the full album cuts, with no curtailing of the long terminal solos to make them more compact. Second, the sequence of the songs ignores chronology for the most part and puts the songs in an order that just flows so nicely. Pink Floyd did this with their best of, "Echoes"; it worked for them and it works for this set. After years of expecting a song to come up after the current song, it was nice to have this new sequence to make the listening fresh.

Sure, we could all come up with songs that should have made the cut for this set, but then again a true fan would already have the albums. I review this as a "bunch" of Dire Straits and Knopfler songs and not a "best of", because the real "best of" would be a set of about 8 discs in my opinion. As a "bunch" of great songs, this is a fine compilation.

For the fans, this is just another way to enjoy the music. It has been spinning in my car stereo for days, and I get over a couple of decades of music in one CD jewelry box. And if you are just discovering Knopfler, this set should be your gateway to the albums, and many, many more great songs.

For the MTV generation, the mention of Dire Straits conjures up images of their groundbreaking video for the mega hit "Money for Nothing" (three weeks at No. 1 in 1985). For this aging Baby Boomer, my love affair with the music of Mark Knopfler came six years earlier with the release of "Sultans of Swing." I bought every album (yes, vinyl!) through 1985's BROTHERS IN ARMS. I didn't upgrade to CD until 1998's BEST OF. Now along comes this two-disc collection which all but duplicates the earlier anthology and adds a second disc primarily devoted to Knopfler's solo work.

There are no real suprises on disc-1. The primary difference is that this release uses the studio versions of "Love over Gold" and "Your Latest Trick," in addition to adding the 14-minute-plus "Telegraph Road" (by far the longest track in the Dire Straits canon). [Although I do miss the exclusion of "Twisting by the Pool."] What makes this a worthwhile purchase is the tracks from Knopfler's solo career--including his soundtrack work. Standout tracks are the celtic-flavored "Why Aye Man" and his duet with James Taylor on "Sailing to Philadelphia." [I also would have enjoyed a track from his 1990 collaboration NECK AND NECK with one of Knopfler's influences Chet Atkins.]

All told, this is a concise, albeit brief, overview of an ongoing career by one of the music world's distinctive voices. [Running Time - Disc One, 77:29, Disc Two, 61:30] VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED