Dire Straits Album: “Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits”

I was lucky enough to be living in England just outside London in a little town called West Ruislip just down the cobbled streets from the "T" station near the famous "Orchards" pub when Dire Straits released their "Love Over Gold" album in 1982, and the young English couple living in the flat upstairs played it over and over, introducing me both to their good taste in music and the terrific group called "Dire Straits" in the process. Of course, as I think back upon it, I was familiar with their hit "Sultans Of Swing", but never really paid much attention until hearing this terrific album and Mark Knopfler's unbelievably stirring, crisp and innovative guitar solos. Soon I was down at the music shoppe buying all their other albums. By that time I was familiar with their unique and unforgettable sound and also their very introspective lyrics. I came to love all their albums as much as "Love Over Gold", and I was pleased when they recently released this anthology of many of their hits, even including a theme from Knopfler's "Local Hero" movie score.

I really like all the cuts here, from "Sultans Of Swing' to "Romeo And Juliet" to "Lady Writer". In each, Knopfler's distinctive twanging guitar sound echoes in my house till all hours of the morning, along with "Private Investigations, " Tunnel Of Love", and "So Far Away". My own personal favorites here are the live version of "Love Over Gold" and "Money For Nothing". In the time since the band was actively recording in the mid 1980s, Knopfler has become a kind of institutionalized artistic force everywhere one looked, writing soundtrack music for (among other films) "Local Hero" and "Cal", performing both alone and with Dire Straits, and collaborating with other artists, as well. The music here is very and innovative progressive rock, and the electric guitar work literally sings by itself. When I listen to the album now, it is a source of continuing amazement to me that Knopfler could make the sounds that emanated out of that instrument so uniquely animated as he did. The whole band is terrific, and it is sad that they made so few albums before internal frictions broke them apart. Enjoy this and their other wonderful albums. Dire Straits made an indelible stamp on modern rock that I am sure you will find entertaining and entrancing. Enjoy!

This is the best compilation of Dire Straits ever put together. All those who love Dire Straits and the guitar, will love this CD. Ofcourse a few live songs from LIVE AID 1985 could be added to this album. This CD is truly a tribute to Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits. Its an ever green album.

While this was as good a compilation of Dire Straits as you could find for a time, the recent "

" ups the ante for two reasons. First and foremost, on that 2-disc collection, the Dire Straits songs are included in their full length versions (edited versions are here for "Money For Nothing" in particular), and the live cuts - especially "Love Over Gold" - are replaced with 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.

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 solo track, and again in a live version.

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 - the brand new CD player and its spanking new technology), "Sultans Of Swing - The Very Best Of" under represents the band. On the other hand, "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." ("Private Investiagtions" also completely ignores the "Communique" album).

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 the more expansive collection, if you're a casual listener, "Sultans Of Swing" will do ok. Just be aware that the two songs you probably most want here are trimmed from their LP versions. If you are really interested in them, starting with the debut album or the still incredible "Brothers In Arms" is an even better bet than this particular Dire Straits best of.

Firstly in response to the editorial - 'Communique' is not a dismal record by any means! It may not have fared as well as other DS albums and had no hits so to speak, but it was a good album!

Its a shame that instead of releasing a 2 CD compilation, instead cramming 16 songs onto one CD meant editing so many great songs - 'Money for Nothing', 'Brothers In Arms', et al. More over, this collection has too many annoying live renditions of songs which were superior in their original studio format - 'Love Over Gold' in particular. With the new 'Private Investigations' CD out now (in single and also double CD form), check that one out, or stick to the original studio albums, this is not a showcase of DS at their best. Several tracks including the superb 'Telegraph Road' areis also missing from this collection.

Good coverage of the hits and good sound quality, but two quibbles keep it from a 5-rating:

1. I'd choose slightly different selections (Skateaway and Industrial Disease in particular are missed).

2. Be aware that several songs are edited from the original; especially Money For Nothing which had almost half its length (intro, one verse, trailer) chopped!

I would have preferred the previous compilation (Money For Nothing) with this compilation's sound quality. Oh well,

it's still a good collection, just be aware of the edits, which caught me by surprise.