Dire Straits - Dire Straits (1978): Rated

DIRE STRAITS (1978): 9.6/10

I was taken aback profoundly by how much I actually enjoyed this whole album. When it was recommended to me, I sort of mentally prepared to hear a one-hit album with a lot of filler, but it couldn't have been further! It really had me wishing there was more to it. There are no skips on this record, it starts well, it has Sultans Of Swing on it, what more could you want? Well…

I didn’t think the singing knocked my socks off if I’m honest! I reckon if we heard a little bit more vox or maybe if we had something more engaging, I would have considered this a ten out of ten. But alas. Maybe it’s just classic singer criticism from me. 

I think Down To The Waterline is such an amazing intro: you hear echoes of their later hits and the rest of this album already cooking: specifically the strumming pattern in the rhythm guitar and the bass work. I thought the album carried on beautifully with Water Of Love: truly an exceptional and highly inventive use of percussion, but since the rest of the album is giving Western/Cowboy film, it sort of had to mellow out a little. That’s not necessarily a letdown! But I would have liked the ending to be a little bit more dynamic. As mentioned previously, this album really leaves you wanting more, not because it underperforms, but because there’s already so much here, and it’s too damn bad it’s only 42 minutes long.

Mark Knopfler is insane!!! Guitar work is absolutely spotless as you can imagine - it was really never gonna be anything less from the Sultans Of Swing themselves. If i heard this with naked ears I probably would have been more impressed but hey ho! That’d have come at the expense of never having heard Sultans Of Swing before and I don’t think I’d be thrilled to give away my memories made better by this track. This album is best enjoyed with a bev. Crack open a can with me and wack this album on. It won’t disappoint.