Dire Straits - Dire Straits

 

 I guess like many people I bought Dire Straits first album on the basis of the outstanding single "Sultans of Swing" expecting more of the same, and was then disappointed as the only other track with a similar sound was the LP's opening track "Down To The Waterline". Forty plus years later, together with "Wild West End" these are the only songs on the track list that I remember .

It is fair to say that my musical exposure has widened significantly since being a teenager who had moved on from the progressive rock dinosaurs to punk/new wave, so I have a bit more appreciation to the styles on display here rather than dismissing it as mostly boring, or to borrow a phrase "It ain't what they call Rock N'Roll" !

That said, it is still not the type of music I would consciously choose to play again in full.

"Down To The Waterline" has just a sparse plucked guitar intro before launching into an up-tempo song with a "Sultans of Swing style guitar lick, and some of the best lyrics on the album "No money is our jackets and our jeans are torn. Your hands are cold but your lips are warm". It could have been the second single from the album.

"Water of Love" is a bluesy type number which I would now equate to something that could be found on a JJ Cale album,, not that JJ Cale appears anywhere in my record collection ! For me it is harmless background music, nothing to be offended by but not exactly memorable.

"Setting Me Up" has more of a country feel to it and is what you expect to hear on many a bland US radio station, with perhaps the music being something from a TV show set in the Southern region of the USA when some crazy chase is happening. Or it could be a perfect song to be covered by Eric Clapton. Apparently the song was a hit for Dire Straits in the US and Canadian country charts !

 "Six Blade Knife" has a bass line that hints at Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams and is a song I could listen to again.

Side One closes with "Southbound Again" which frankly, I had to double check it wasn't "Setting Me Up" playing again.

 "Sultans of Swing" opens Side Two and remains a masterpiece,. It still gets regularly played on radio stations such as Virgin Anthems and there can't be many people who don't know the lament about a jazz, trumpet playing band that is unappreciated by the modern youth.

"In The Gallery" commences in a vaguely reggae manner before slipping into some more JJ Cale influences, and it goes on way, way too long.

For me "Wild West End" is one of the highlights on the album, with the slowest tempo out of this collection of songs. It is wistful and dreamy, there is a hint of piano, and it is one of only two tracks with backing vocals. It reminded me a little of the Rolling Stones' "Fools To Cry" or even "Angie".

"Lions" closes the albums. It also has some backing vocals but plods on to no specific purpose.

Overall, I found "Dire Straits" to be less dull that I thought it was, and it was good to listen again to "Down To The Waterline" and "Wild West End" "Six Blade Knife" was pleasantly surprising. Whilst I didn't dislike any of the other songsthey didn't particularly do anything for me. Although growing up in Newcastle and living in London, Mark Knopfler's heart at the time was probably in Oklahoma !

 

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Down To The Waterline
2. Water Of Love
3. Setting Me Up
4. Six Blade Knife
5. Southbound Again

Side Two :

1. Sultans of Swing
2. In The Gallery
3. Wild West End
4. Lions

Released : 1978
UK Chart Position : 3

Singles :

Sultans Of Swing ( 8 - 1978 )

 

 

Depeche Mode - The Singles 81-85

 

Having bought "Construction Time Again" I already had an interest in Depeche Mode and despite liking their subsequent singles I hadn't indulged in the follow-up album "Some Great Reward". However, when the Greatest Hits compilation was released it was an ideal opportunity to update my record collection.

I had liked the three subsequent singles to those from "Construction Time Again" so looking at the track listing I was already familiar with all the songs included here except for the first single "Dreaming Of You" plus the two new, unreleased songs. The songs all appear in chronological order.

It was slightly disappointing that two singles had been omitted from this compilation, as the beautiful double A-side piano ballad "Somebody" was perhaps considered to be "unrepresentative" of their sound, but the exclusion from a singles collection of "The Meaning Of Love", which had reached number 12 in the UK charts, didn't seem to make much sense, even if it wasn't a great song.

The one feature that I liked with the album was the sleeve notes, where each song had a positive and negative comment from the UK press, and in particular there was a memorable statement for "Master and Servants" where the Time Out correspondent had commented "What do you expect from this lame bunch of dickheads ?" 

Hearing "Dreaming Of You" for the first time was quite refreshing as it was a catchy pop song, or candi-floss as described by one reviewer, whilst "Shake The Disease" and "It's Called A Heart" were consistent with the band's sound at that point in their career.

The Vince Clarke penned "New Life" and "Just Can't Get Enough" are also lightweight electronic pop songs, and after his departure from the band, the follow-up, "See You" written by Martin Gore, was in a similar vein. However, "Leave In Silence" and "Get The Balance Right" indicated a move to a more darker sound, which was brought to fruition with the string of outstanding hits that followed.

If I had to select a favourite song from the album it would be "Blasphemous Rumours", although as  mentioned in the review of "Construction Time Again" I highly rate "Love, in Itself" and "Everything Counts".

All in all, this is a great collection of songs from a very important band.

 Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Dreaming Of Me ( 1981 - No 55 )
2. New Life ( 1981 - No 11 )
3. Just Can't Get Enough ( 1981- No 8 )
4. See You ( 1982 - No 6 )
5. Leave In Silence ( 1982 - No 18 )
6. Get The Balance Right ( 1983 - No 13 )
7. Everything Counts ( 1983 - No 6 )

Side Two :

1. Love, in Itself ( 1983 - No 21 )
2. People Are People ( 1984 - No 4 )
3. Master And Servant ( 1984 - No 9 )
4. Blasphemous Rumours ( 1984 - No 16 )
5. Shake The Disease ( 1985 - No 18 )
6. It's Called A Heart ( 1985 - No 18 )

Released 1985
UK Chart Position : 6