Dire Straits Album: “Alchemy Live [Video]”

I couldn't be happier that "Alchemy" is on DVD at last! Over the years I have worn out two VHS copies, and the CD is among the most played in my library, so I'm thrilled to finally have a shiny new DVD in my hands. Some have criticized the DVD for having imperfect picture quality, and it's true that there are imperfections, the notorious "hair" on one of the cameras' images towards the end of the show is the most objectionable artifact, and I too wish the picture had been cleaned up a bit, but it is certainly not as onerous as some make it sound. Remember that this DVD is from a single show that occurred at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on July 23, 1983, and was shot on 16 mm film: given the vintage of the footage, I think the image is more than acceptable (though I'm not sure it's worth the extra for the Blu-ray disc) and any imperfections are more than made up for in the quality of the audio track, which is superb.

I have always been a huge fan of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler, primarily because of their musicianship. It's pretty amazing that the musical craft was so highly prized that there was a point made to put a note on the cover reading "This is a recording of excerpts of one Dire Straits performance, it contains no re-recordings or overdubs of any kind." It is not uncommon for live albums to be tweaked in the studio, and given the complexity of the material here, it's astonishing that the concert is musically flawless.

This concert was done at the heights of pre-"Brothers in Arms" fame, and contains much of their best material. With the much improved sound quality of the DVD (versus VHS) the crispness of the recording is readily appreciated, and people who have watched it on both will notice differences between the two readily (I noticed the biggest difference in Mel Collins' saxophone part on "Two Young Lovers.") There is nothing to critique on the performances, and I still think of these versions of "Telegraph Road" and "Going Home" as the finest ever recorded.

The DVD also comes with a couple of extras including the captivating BBC documentary on the exhausted band after "Communiqué" was released. At the time the band was still a foursome and interviews of the original four members are extensive, as is footage in the studio revealing the song development process. I found it especially fascinating to watch how "Making Movies" progressed from the embryonic form shown here to the final recorded version. Any fan will love to have this feature, and it justifies the cost of the DVD by itself in my estimation.

I highly recommend this DVD. Despite some visual imperfections, the music is sublime and more than makes up for any shortcomings in the image, but that's what you should expect from Knopfler and company: the bottom line is always about the music, and overdubs are never required.

This film catches Dire Straits at their best...a concert for the ages.

State of the art audio quality when first released on LP, the video and soundtrack for the video release were Digitally Remastered.

The box says "This is a recording from one Dire Straits Performance...It contains no re-recordings or overdubs of any kind". Definately, the band on a great night, with the best possible sonic quality.

Long over-due for an upgrade to DVD.

Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits at their earliest best!All the songs were excellent though I think Portobello Belle should have been included. The new version of 'Once upon a time in the west'was interesting as was the blistering live version of 'Sultans of Swing'! The Mel Collins saxophone intro to Tunnel of Love was very melodious.Watch out for Terry Williams'drumming on Sultans of Swing. All in all very good stuff with amazing guitar and drum licks.A must for all Dire Straits fans.

One of the best live performances ever recorded. All of their material up to 1983

is on this video. Pop it in, sit back and crank it up, you won't be disappointed.

Looking forward to this being converted to dvd format.

Hi Folks,

this just arrived and while Amazon.com claims its run time is 60 minutes its actually 1:30 for the concert another bit for a couple of classic TV appearances and another hour for a very cool documentary which is archival quality not something produced recent...so I feel pretty darned happy for my 12 dollar investment indeed!!

Whether I would upgrade to blu-ray is debatable....the picture is not poor but its of its age and not something perhaps benefited by that format...

Jump on this one folks!!!