Happy "Album" Brithday - A 35 For a Big Band
Being a popular, but forgotten band, Dire Straits have released their fifth LP, Brothers in Arms, exactly 35 years ago yesterday. The album is one of their most significant and most celebrated, and features several of their well-known songs.
A masterpiece at their pinnacle.
With Brothers in Arms, Dire Straits reached the peak of their success. The album spawned five singles, but the most incredible of it is its chart longevity. The album was #1 in the UK for fourteen non-consecutive weeks. On this side of the pond, the album was #1 on the Bilboard 200 for ten weeks.
It is also among the first albums to be recorded on a Sony 24-track tape machine. The album was recorded in the British territory Montserrat. After Mark Knopfler's satisfaction with producer Neil Dorfsman on the band's 1982 album Love Over God, and Knopfler's 1983 soundtrack album, Local Heroes, the band brought him back in to produce Brothers in Arms. The recording process altogether took about four months.
The singles:
As previously stated, the album spawned five singles - two of their well known songs. So Far Away was a top 10 hit in several countries including Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the US, and even South Africa! Furthermore, it was a top 20 hit in Finland, Ireland, and the UK, barely missing that spot in Canada and Australia.
The second single, and one of their signatures, Money for Nothing, was actually written in a hardware store (helps explain "We've got to install microwave ovens...") Mark Knopfler said, and I quote, "The lead character in "Money for Nothing" is a guy who works in the hardware department in a television/custom kitchen/refrigerator/microwave appliance store. He's singing the song. I wrote the song when I was actually in the store. I borrowed a bit of paper and started to write the song down in the store. I wanted to use a lot of the language that the real guy actually used when I heard him, because it was more real."
The single features Sting (the "I want my MTV" part is actually an interpolation of the verse melody of the Police' 1980 hit Don't Stand so Close to Me), as well as Zz Top-like guitars, which Mark Knopfler was inspired by Billy Gibbons. It was a top 10 hit in Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, and the UK, and it topped the charts in the US.
The third single, the title track, is less konwn. It only hit #1 in Poland and was in the top 10 in New Zealand (#5), and Ireland (#10). It was in the top 20 (#16) in the UK.
The fourth single, Walk of Life, is another signature song of Dire Straits. Known for its instantly recognizable, synthesizer Cajun hook, the song reached #7 in the US and today is their most successful in the UK. It tells of a man named Johnny who plays in a subway tunnel playing popular 60s standards: Beep ba Ba Luba, and What'd I Say? as well as talking blues.
The fifth and final single, Your Latest Trick was not issued in the US folks. It nevertheless became a top hit in Poland and France (it was issued seven years later in the latter), top 10 in Ireland, and peaked at #26 in the UK.
Dire Straits did not stay together much longer after the success and tour of Brothers in Arms. They issued one more album, 1991's One Every Street, before disbanding in 1995. They have since not reunited (except for their 2018 Hall of Fame induction), but Mark Knopfler has had a modestly successful solo career and even plays Straits songs in his live performances.
A masterpiece at their pinnacle.
With Brothers in Arms, Dire Straits reached the peak of their success. The album spawned five singles, but the most incredible of it is its chart longevity. The album was #1 in the UK for fourteen non-consecutive weeks. On this side of the pond, the album was #1 on the Bilboard 200 for ten weeks.
It is also among the first albums to be recorded on a Sony 24-track tape machine. The album was recorded in the British territory Montserrat. After Mark Knopfler's satisfaction with producer Neil Dorfsman on the band's 1982 album Love Over God, and Knopfler's 1983 soundtrack album, Local Heroes, the band brought him back in to produce Brothers in Arms. The recording process altogether took about four months.
The singles:
As previously stated, the album spawned five singles - two of their well known songs. So Far Away was a top 10 hit in several countries including Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the US, and even South Africa! Furthermore, it was a top 20 hit in Finland, Ireland, and the UK, barely missing that spot in Canada and Australia.
The second single, and one of their signatures, Money for Nothing, was actually written in a hardware store (helps explain "We've got to install microwave ovens...") Mark Knopfler said, and I quote, "The lead character in "Money for Nothing" is a guy who works in the hardware department in a television/custom kitchen/refrigerator/microwave appliance store. He's singing the song. I wrote the song when I was actually in the store. I borrowed a bit of paper and started to write the song down in the store. I wanted to use a lot of the language that the real guy actually used when I heard him, because it was more real."
The single features Sting (the "I want my MTV" part is actually an interpolation of the verse melody of the Police' 1980 hit Don't Stand so Close to Me), as well as Zz Top-like guitars, which Mark Knopfler was inspired by Billy Gibbons. It was a top 10 hit in Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, and the UK, and it topped the charts in the US.
The third single, the title track, is less konwn. It only hit #1 in Poland and was in the top 10 in New Zealand (#5), and Ireland (#10). It was in the top 20 (#16) in the UK.
The fourth single, Walk of Life, is another signature song of Dire Straits. Known for its instantly recognizable, synthesizer Cajun hook, the song reached #7 in the US and today is their most successful in the UK. It tells of a man named Johnny who plays in a subway tunnel playing popular 60s standards: Beep ba Ba Luba, and What'd I Say? as well as talking blues.
The fifth and final single, Your Latest Trick was not issued in the US folks. It nevertheless became a top hit in Poland and France (it was issued seven years later in the latter), top 10 in Ireland, and peaked at #26 in the UK.
Dire Straits did not stay together much longer after the success and tour of Brothers in Arms. They issued one more album, 1991's One Every Street, before disbanding in 1995. They have since not reunited (except for their 2018 Hall of Fame induction), but Mark Knopfler has had a modestly successful solo career and even plays Straits songs in his live performances.
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