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# Processed by: cddbd v1.5.2PL0 Copyright (c) Steve Scherf et al.
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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, Inc.\n\nOriginally Released October 1978\nVertigo CD Edition Released 1985???\nCD Edition Released \nRemastered CD Edition Released September 19, 2000\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Dire Straits'
EXTD= minimalistic interpretation of pub-rock had already crystallized by the time they released their eponymous debut. Driven by Mark Knopfler's spare, tasteful guitar lines and his husky warbling, the album is a set of bluesy rockers. And while the bar
EXTD=-band mentality of pub-rock is at the core of Dire Straits -- even the group's breakthrough single, "Sultans of Swing," offered a lament for a neglected pub-rock band -- their music is already beyond the simple boogies and shuffles of their forefath
EXTD=ers, occasionally dipping into jazz and country. Knopfler also shows an inclination toward Dylanesque imagery, which enhances the smoky, low-key atmosphere of the album. While a few of the songs fall flat, the album is remarkably accomplished for a 
EXTD=debut, and Dire Straits had difficulty surpassing it throughout their career. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine\n\nAmazon.com Editorial Review\nBy the mid-'80s Dire Straits were a platinum band dismissed in their native England as safe, yuppie rockers, yet
EXTD= the original quartet's lean, guitar-driven music struggled to find a label home when first recorded in 1978. Mark Knopfler offers craggy vocals, literate blues-based songs, and sinuous, virtuosic guitar work. He melds keening solo lines and rapidly
EXTD= picked fills and dodges the synth washes and postpunk power chords of then-competing new wavers; he relies on atmosphere, character, and pure musicianship intead of heavy irony or pop fashion. "Sultans of Swing," codifies this stance, a galloping p
EXTD=aean to aging jazz musicians playing for the sheer love of the music. This became a major hit and has endured as a radio classic. The album itself has proven equally sturdy thanks to cinematic imagery and the tightly wound arrangements of "Down to t
EXTD=he Waterline," "Six Blade Knife," and "Water of Love." --Sam Sutherland \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nTimeless and genre-defying., July 26, 2001 \nReviewer: Themis-Athena (from somewhere between California and Germany) Electric guitar music touche
EXTD=s a membrane deep inside me that seems to exist for the purpose of resonating this sound alone (the only thing that touches it even more strongly is if the guitar chords are paired with a truly unusual voice). I'm sure every lover of great guitar mu
EXTD=sic knows what I am talking about. Ever since I discovered that membrane years ago, I have been on the look for that special sound; be it straightforward rock, blues or folk music. However, growing up in a time when the radio airwaves were flooded w
EXTD=ith either disco or punk, depending on what station you were listening to, it wasn't always easy to find. Then one day I heard "Sultans of Swing," and my membrane resonated - all the more because this was not only a great guitarist playing but also 
EXTD=one of the most unique voices I'd heard in a while, and the musical style seemed to defy classification, too ... it was somewhere between rock and blues, but I wasn't sure what exactly to call it.\n\nHowever you define their sound, though, listening
EXTD= to Dire Straits' self-titled debut album almost 25 years after its publication, it is still amazing how rounded and accomplished their style was even then. The band's composition would change over the course of the years and Mark Knopfler would tak
EXTD=e them to the heights of the ambitiously-conceived "Love Over Gold" and the bestselling diversity of "Brothers in Arms," but the basic elements of the typical Dire Straits sound, recognizable throughout all those later developments, were there right
EXTD= from the start: Knopfler's rough, dark vocals, his signature style as a guitar player, the unique Fender sound soon associated with his name, and even little details like his tendency to introduce songs by a couple of solo guitar slides - seemingly
EXTD= just tossed out casually but immediately catching the listener's attention, even before the band joins him for the "real" start of the song; a feature present from the very first track on this first album, "Down to the Waterline." Their debut relea
EXTD=se was Dire Straits' most sparsely-produced record; musically it did not yet involve the more elaborate elements of Knopfler's later compositions, and it was the only release featuring only the band's original four musicians. This, in addition to th
EXTD=e album's equally firm anchoring in rock, blues and folk music (with a little bit of country here and there) and the particularly raw tinges of Mark Knopfler's voice gave it a "down to earth" feeling not always present in the band's later recordings
EXTD=. Besides, Knopfler had not yet discovered the limelight of a really large concert arena (the band's name was no coincidence, after all) - he obviously always knew he was good, but many of his early songs almost became different pieces of music over
EXTD= the course of their live performances throughout the years; most notably, "Sultans of Swing:" just listen to the version recorded on the "Alchemy" live album five years later. Perfection? Absolutely and undeniably ... but also incredible showmanshi
EXTD=p, ignited by the cheers of the audience and by his pure joy in playing.\n\n"Dire Straits" is much more than just a well-done debut album; it is as essential a component of the band's and Mark Knopfler's body of work as any of its successors. I disa
EXTD=gree with those who are saying that this is the "real" Dire Straits; to me, this band (and Knopfler in particular) still defies categorization, and every one of their records first and foremost expresses the state of their musical development at the
EXTD= time it was recorded. But regardless where you place this particular album in their catalog, one thing is for sure: It is one of those few timeless and definite classics that will forever have a validity of their own and whose importance, if anythi
EXTD=ng, only grows with the passage of the years. \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nNice one, February 26, 2004\nReviewer: Ben Darquash (London, England) \nListening to this album, it is hard to believe that it was recorded in the climate of gloom and eco
EXTD=nomic stagnation of late 1970s England, or that the band that made it hailed from the slums of Deptford in south east London. The only clue is the scruffy clothes they're wearing in the four passport photos on the back of the booklet. This album is 
EXTD=an great collection of finely crafted songs which showcase the incredible lyric writing and guitar playing talent of Mark Knopfler. Mark Knopfler is rarity in English rock music in having the ability to write well structured songs with imaginative a
EXTD=nd memorable lyrics. Here, Wild West End and Lions are particularly vivid. I can't help but compare him Noel Gallagher, another northern english lead guitarist-songwriter who's work is so primitive and simple in comparison. One more thing - the rema
EXTD=stered CD sounds much brighter and better than the original release.\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nA stunning debut, July 22, 2002\nReviewer: J. Carroll "Jack" (Island Heights,NJ) \nWhen you hear the poignant intro to "Down to the Waterline" you kn
EXTD=ow you're in for something special. This is simply one of the most imaginative and skillful debuts in rock. Dire Straits was a band with a truly original sound, a sound dependent upon the Mark Knopfler's incredible guitar virtuosity and song writing
EXTD= skills, ably backed up by a solid rhythm section. Knopfler's guitar enhances the songs; they are not supplied for simple pyrotechnics. Lyrically, Knopfler shows a poet's sophistication; casually throwing out lines like, "A girl is high heeling it a
EXTD=cross the square," and "Church bell clinging on just to try to get a crowd for Evensong." Life, love, loss are all topics that Knopfler handles with a sure hand, there is no confusion here. There is maturity here rarely found on debut recordings; Di
EXTD=re Straits makes it sound easy.\n\nHalf.com Album Credits\nRhett Davies, Engineer\nMuff Winwood, Producer\n\nAlbum Notes\nDire Straits: Mark Knopfler (vocals, guitar); David Knopfler (guitar, background vocals); John Illsley (bass); Pick Withers (dr
EXTD=ums).\n\nRecorded at Basing St. Studios, London, England in February, 1978.\n\nAll tracks have been digitally remastered.\n\nLed by former music journalist/college professor Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits emerged with their melancholy self-titled debut
EXTD= amidst the clatter of punk and gloss of disco. With a laid-back, raspy style of singing and distinctive finger-picking style of guitar playing, Knopfler came across as a fusion of J.J. Cale, Bob Dylan, and Chet Atkins. Coming out of the pub-rock sc
EXTD=ene, this tight English quartet cracked both sides of the Atlantic with the insanely catchy "Sultans Of Swing." The group further enhanced their reputation with the ominously atmospheric opener "Down to the Waterline." Knopfler's finger-picking styl
EXTD=e gave his guitar a smooth, distinct tone that was a jazz-country hybrid ("Setting Me Up"), while utilizing fancy country plucking "Southbound Again." Dire Straits' minimalistic interpretation of pub-rock had already crystallized by the time they re
EXTD=leased this album. Driven by Knopfler's spare, tasteful guitar lines and husky warbling, the album is a set of bluesy rockers. And while the bar-band mentality of pub-rock is at the core of Dire Straits--even the aforementioned breakthrough single o
EXTD=ffers a lament for a neglected pub-rock band--their music is already beyond the simple boogies and shuffles of their forefathers. Knopfler also shows an inclination toward Dylanesque imagery that enhances the smoky, low-key atmosphere of the album.\
EXTD=n\nROLLING STONE REVIEW\nDire Straits, an English quartet led by singer songwriter Mark Knopfler, plays tight, spare mixtures of rock, folk and country music with a serene spirit and witty irony. It's almost as if they were aware that their forte ha
EXTD=s nothing to do with what's currently happening in the industry, but couldn't care less.\n\nAs a writer, Knopfler pens terse little narratives about the mundane problems of his brethren: women trouble, money trouble, one's-place-in-the-world trouble
EXTD=. He's often as clever as he is banal, so a nice line ("I need a little water of love") can be followed by a silly one ("You know it's evil when you're living alone"), or vice versa. If anything, living alone is what Dire Straits is about, and it so
EXTD=unds like a good life.\n\nBut Knopfler isn't interested in writing songs with profound messages. In fact, the only time he tries it ("In the Gallery"), the message turns out to be a petulant attack on avant-gardism--i.e., a real yawn. No, Dire Strai
EXTD=ts get their effects by precise; well-played contrasts: the way a brisk bit of folk-rock is entitled "Sultans of Swing" and not only boasts an inescapable hook but also a goony, Bob Dylan-like snarl in its vocal. "Setting Me Up" sports a standard ma
EXTD=ngled-romance theme, but the verbiage is masticated by Knopfler's growling, annoyed singing, with a giddy country-guitar solo tacked on at the end. It's a heavenly number, funny and bitter.\n\nEven when Mark Knopfler tends toward Bruce Springsteen-s
EXTD=tyle street bathos in such miniepics as "Wild West End" and "Lions," his band keeps everything admirably straightforward. Dire Straits is one of those quietly subversive albums whose sober lucidity reeks of rapid obscurity. It doesn't deserve such a
EXTD= sad fate.\n\nKen Tucker is the rock critic for the 'Los Angeles Herald Examiner.' (RS 283 - Jan 25, 1979) -- KEN TUCKER YEAR: 1978
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