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DISCID=5e09d109,6c09cb09,7c09b609
DTITLE=Dire Straits / Dire Straits (Original CD Edition)
DYEAR=1978
DGENRE=Rock
TTITLE0=Down To The Waterline
TTITLE1=Water Of Love
TTITLE2=Setting Me Up
TTITLE3=Six Blade Knife
TTITLE4=Southbound Again
TTITLE5=Sultans Of Swing
TTITLE6=In The Gallery
TTITLE7=Wild West End
TTITLE8=Lions
EXTD=Dire Straits (Original CD Edition)\n1987 Warner Bros. Records, In
EXTD=c.\n\nOriginally Released October 1978\nVertigo CD Edition Releas
EXTD=ed 1985???\nCD Edition Released \nRemastered CD Edition Released 
EXTD=September 19, 2000\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Dire Straits' minimalist
EXTD=ic interpretation of pub-rock had already crystallized by the tim
EXTD=e they released their eponymous debut. Driven by Mark Knopfler's 
EXTD=spare, tasteful guitar lines and his husky warbling, the album is
EXTD= a set of bluesy rockers. And while the bar-band mentality of pub
EXTD=-rock is at the core of Dire Straits -- even the group's breakthr
EXTD=ough single, "Sultans of Swing," offered a lament for a neglected
EXTD= pub-rock band -- their music is already beyond the simple boogie
EXTD=s and shuffles of their forefathers, occasionally dipping into ja
EXTD=zz and country. Knopfler also shows an inclination toward Dylanes
EXTD=que imagery, which enhances the smoky, low-key atmosphere of the 
EXTD=album. While a few of the songs fall flat, the album is remarkabl
EXTD=y accomplished for a debut, and Dire Straits had difficulty surpa
EXTD=ssing it throughout their career. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine\n\nA
EXTD=mazon.com Editorial Review\nBy the mid-'80s Dire Straits were a p
EXTD=latinum band dismissed in their native England as safe, yuppie ro
EXTD=ckers, yet the original quartet's lean, guitar-driven music strug
EXTD=gled to find a label home when first recorded in 1978. Mark Knopf
EXTD=ler offers craggy vocals, literate blues-based songs, and sinuous
EXTD=, virtuosic guitar work. He melds keening solo lines and rapidly 
EXTD=picked fills and dodges the synth washes and postpunk power chord
EXTD=s of then-competing new wavers; he relies on atmosphere, characte
EXTD=r, and pure musicianship intead of heavy irony or pop fashion. "S
EXTD=ultans of Swing," codifies this stance, a galloping paean to agin
EXTD=g jazz musicians playing for the sheer love of the music. This be
EXTD=came a major hit and has endured as a radio classic. The album it
EXTD=self has proven equally sturdy thanks to cinematic imagery and th
EXTD=e tightly wound arrangements of "Down to the Waterline," "Six Bla
EXTD=de Knife," and "Water of Love." --Sam Sutherland \n\nAmazon.com C
EXTD=ustomer Review\nTimeless and genre-defying., July 26, 2001 \nRevi
EXTD=ewer: Themis-Athena (from somewhere between California and German
EXTD=y) Electric guitar music touches a membrane deep inside me that s
EXTD=eems to exist for the purpose of resonating this sound alone (the
EXTD= only thing that touches it even more strongly is if the guitar c
EXTD=hords are paired with a truly unusual voice). I'm sure every love
EXTD=r of great guitar music knows what I am talking about. Ever since
EXTD= I discovered that membrane years ago, I have been on the look fo
EXTD=r that special sound; be it straightforward rock, blues or folk m
EXTD=usic. However, growing up in a time when the radio airwaves were 
EXTD=flooded with either disco or punk, depending on what station you 
EXTD=were listening to, it wasn't always easy to find. Then one day I 
EXTD=heard "Sultans of Swing," and my membrane resonated - all the mor
EXTD=e because this was not only a great guitarist playing but also on
EXTD=e of the most unique voices I'd heard in a while, and the musical
EXTD= style seemed to defy classification, too ... it was somewhere be
EXTD=tween rock and blues, but I wasn't sure what exactly to call it.\n
EXTD=\nHowever you define their sound, though, listening to Dire Strai
EXTD=ts' self-titled debut album almost 25 years after its publication
EXTD=, it is still amazing how rounded and accomplished their style wa
EXTD=s even then. The band's composition would change over the course 
EXTD=of the years and Mark Knopfler would take them to the heights of 
EXTD=the ambitiously-conceived "Love Over Gold" and the bestselling di
EXTD=versity of "Brothers in Arms," but the basic elements of the typi
EXTD=cal Dire Straits sound, recognizable throughout all those later d
EXTD=evelopments, were there right from the start: Knopfler's rough, d
EXTD=ark vocals, his signature style as a guitar player, the unique Fe
EXTD=nder sound soon associated with his name, and even little details
EXTD= like his tendency to introduce songs by a couple of solo guitar 
EXTD=slides - seemingly just tossed out casually but immediately catch
EXTD=ing the listener's attention, even before the band joins him for 
EXTD=the "real" start of the song; a feature present from the very fir
EXTD=st track on this first album, "Down to the Waterline." Their debu
EXTD=t release was Dire Straits' most sparsely-produced record; musica
EXTD=lly it did not yet involve the more elaborate elements of Knopfle
EXTD=r's later compositions, and it was the only release featuring onl
EXTD=y the band's original four musicians. This, in addition to the al
EXTD=bum's equally firm anchoring in rock, blues and folk music (with 
EXTD=a little bit of country here and there) and the particularly raw 
EXTD=tinges of Mark Knopfler's voice gave it a "down to earth" feeling
EXTD= not always present in the band's later recordings. Besides, Knop
EXTD=fler had not yet discovered the limelight of a really large conce
EXTD=rt arena (the band's name was no coincidence, after all) - he obv
EXTD=iously always knew he was good, but many of his early songs almos
EXTD=t became different pieces of music over the course of their live 
EXTD=performances throughout the years; most notably, "Sultans of Swin
EXTD=g:" just listen to the version recorded on the "Alchemy" live alb
EXTD=um five years later. Perfection? Absolutely and undeniably ... bu
EXTD=t also incredible showmanship, ignited by the cheers of the audie
EXTD=nce and by his pure joy in playing.\n\n"Dire Straits" is much mor
EXTD=e than just a well-done debut album; it is as essential a compone
EXTD=nt of the band's and Mark Knopfler's body of work as any of its s
EXTD=uccessors. I disagree with those who are saying that this is the 
EXTD="real" Dire Straits; to me, this band (and Knopfler in particular
EXTD=) still defies categorization, and every one of their records fir
EXTD=st and foremost expresses the state of their musical development 
EXTD=at the time it was recorded. But regardless where you place this 
EXTD=particular album in their catalog, one thing is for sure: It is o
EXTD=ne of those few timeless and definite classics that will forever 
EXTD=have a validity of their own and whose importance, if anything, o
EXTD=nly grows with the passage of the years. \n\nAmazon.com Customer 
EXTD=Review\nNice one, February 26, 2004\nReviewer: Ben Darquash (Lond
EXTD=on, England) \nListening to this album, it is hard to believe tha
EXTD=t it was recorded in the climate of gloom and economic stagnation
EXTD= of late 1970s England, or that the band that made it hailed from
EXTD= the slums of Deptford in south east London. The only clue is the
EXTD= scruffy clothes they're wearing in the four passport photos on t
EXTD=he back of the booklet. This album is an great collection of fine
EXTD=ly crafted songs which showcase the incredible lyric writing and 
EXTD=guitar playing talent of Mark Knopfler. Mark Knopfler is rarity i
EXTD=n English rock music in having the ability to write well structur
EXTD=ed songs with imaginative and memorable lyrics. Here, Wild West E
EXTD=nd and Lions are particularly vivid. I can't help but compare him
EXTD= Noel Gallagher, another northern english lead guitarist-songwrit
EXTD=er who's work is so primitive and simple in comparison. One more 
EXTD=thing - the remastered CD sounds much brighter and better than th
EXTD=e original release.\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nA stunning deb
EXTD=ut, July 22, 2002\nReviewer: J. Carroll "Jack" (Island Heights,NJ
EXTD=) \nWhen you hear the poignant intro to "Down to the Waterline" y
EXTD=ou know you're in for something special. This is simply one of th
EXTD=e most imaginative and skillful debuts in rock. Dire Straits was 
EXTD=a band with a truly original sound, a sound dependent upon the Ma
EXTD=rk Knopfler's incredible guitar virtuosity and song writing skill
EXTD=s, ably backed up by a solid rhythm section. Knopfler's guitar en
EXTD=hances the songs; they are not supplied for simple pyrotechnics. 
EXTD=Lyrically, Knopfler shows a poet's sophistication; casually throw
EXTD=ing out lines like, "A girl is high heeling it across the square,
EXTD=" and "Church bell clinging on just to try to get a crowd for Eve
EXTD=nsong." Life, love, loss are all topics that Knopfler handles wit
EXTD=h a sure hand, there is no confusion here. There is maturity here
EXTD= rarely found on debut recordings; Dire Straits makes it sound ea
EXTD=sy.\n\nHalf.com Album Credits\nRhett Davies, Engineer\nMuff Winwo
EXTD=od, Producer\n\nAlbum Notes\nDire Straits: Mark Knopfler (vocals,
EXTD= guitar); David Knopfler (guitar, background vocals); John Illsle
EXTD=y (bass); Pick Withers (drums).\n\nRecorded at Basing St. Studios
EXTD=, London, England in February, 1978.\n\nAll tracks have been digi
EXTD=tally remastered.\n\nLed by former music journalist/college profe
EXTD=ssor Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits emerged with their melancholy se
EXTD=lf-titled debut amidst the clatter of punk and gloss of disco. Wi
EXTD=th a laid-back, raspy style of singing and distinctive finger-pic
EXTD=king style of guitar playing, Knopfler came across as a fusion of
EXTD= J.J. Cale, Bob Dylan, and Chet Atkins. Coming out of the pub-roc
EXTD=k scene, this tight English quartet cracked both sides of the Atl
EXTD=antic with the insanely catchy "Sultans Of Swing." The group furt
EXTD=her enhanced their reputation with the ominously atmospheric open
EXTD=er "Down to the Waterline." Knopfler's finger-picking style gave 
EXTD=his guitar a smooth, distinct tone that was a jazz-country hybrid
EXTD= ("Setting Me Up"), while utilizing fancy country plucking "South
EXTD=bound Again." Dire Straits' minimalistic interpretation of pub-ro
EXTD=ck had already crystallized by the time they released this album.
EXTD= Driven by Knopfler's spare, tasteful guitar lines and husky warb
EXTD=ling, the album is a set of bluesy rockers. And while the bar-ban
EXTD=d mentality of pub-rock is at the core of Dire Straits--even the 
EXTD=aforementioned breakthrough single offers a lament for a neglecte
EXTD=d pub-rock band--their music is already beyond the simple boogies
EXTD= and shuffles of their forefathers. Knopfler also shows an inclin
EXTD=ation toward Dylanesque imagery that enhances the smoky, low-key 
EXTD=atmosphere of the album.\n\nROLLING STONE REVIEW\nDire Straits, a
EXTD=n English quartet led by singer songwriter Mark Knopfler, plays t
EXTD=ight, spare mixtures of rock, folk and country music with a seren
EXTD=e spirit and witty irony. It's almost as if they were aware that 
EXTD=their forte has nothing to do with what's currently happening in 
EXTD=the industry, but couldn't care less.\n\nAs a writer, Knopfler pe
EXTD=ns terse little narratives about the mundane problems of his bret
EXTD=hren: women trouble, money trouble, one's-place-in-the-world trou
EXTD=ble. He's often as clever as he is banal, so a nice line ("I need
EXTD= a little water of love") can be followed by a silly one ("You kn
EXTD=ow it's evil when you're living alone"), or vice versa. If anythi
EXTD=ng, living alone is what Dire Straits is about, and it sounds lik
EXTD=e a good life.\n\nBut Knopfler isn't interested in writing songs 
EXTD=with profound messages. In fact, the only time he tries it ("In t
EXTD=he Gallery"), the message turns out to be a petulant attack on av
EXTD=ant-gardism--i.e., a real yawn. No, Dire Straits get their effect
EXTD=s by precise; well-played contrasts: the way a brisk bit of folk-
EXTD=rock is entitled "Sultans of Swing" and not only boasts an inesca
EXTD=pable hook but also a goony, Bob Dylan-like snarl in its vocal. "
EXTD=Setting Me Up" sports a standard mangled-romance theme, but the v
EXTD=erbiage is masticated by Knopfler's growling, annoyed singing, wi
EXTD=th a giddy country-guitar solo tacked on at the end. It's a heave
EXTD=nly number, funny and bitter.\n\nEven when Mark Knopfler tends to
EXTD=ward Bruce Springsteen-style street bathos in such miniepics as "
EXTD=Wild West End" and "Lions," his band keeps everything admirably s
EXTD=traightforward. Dire Straits is one of those quietly subversive a
EXTD=lbums whose sober lucidity reeks of rapid obscurity. It doesn't d
EXTD=eserve such a sad fate.\n\nKen Tucker is the rock critic for the 
EXTD='Los Angeles Herald Examiner.' (RS 283 - Jan 25, 1979) -- KEN TUC
EXTD=KER
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