GREATEST HITS WEEK (JUNE 29 - JULY 5, 2015)
I owned several of their recordings back in the '80s, but I never considered myself a huge fan of Dire Straits. Mainly because leader Mark Knopfler is a can't-miss guitarist but is a hit-or-miss songwriter. I will admit his good stuff is really good: I liked Sultans Of Swing from the get-go, danced in my bedroom to my Twisting By The Pool EP, and played the crap out of my Brothers In Arms cassette back in the summer of 1985. It's when they become more of a jam band (non-melodic one or two chord noodling) or try to knock off Springsteen's Thunder Road that doesn't do much for me. As it stands, this compilation is just okay and would have been helped with the addition of following three tracks:
But, once again, the record label did not seek out my opinion.
No liner notes, just lyrics. Below, I've marked my favorites with a ✔ and tracks I skip with a ✘.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #62
Peak on the Billboard Pop CD chart: #13
Tracks: 12 tracks, 67 minutes.
| Title | Year | Pop | |
| Sultans of Swing | 1978 | 4 | ✔ |
| Down To The Waterline | 1978 | ||
| Portobello Belle (Live) | 1984 | ✘ | |
| Twisting By The Pool | 1983 | ✔ | |
| Tunnel Of Love | 1980 | ✘ | |
| Romeo And Juliet | 1980 | ||
| Where Do You Think You're Going | 1979 | ✘ | |
| Walk Of Life | 1985 | 7 | ✔ |
| Private Investigations | 1982 | ✘ | |
| Telegraph Road (Live) | 1984 | ✘ | |
| Money For Nothing | 1985 | 1 | ✔ |
| Brothers In Arms | 1985 |
Missing Top 40 hit: So Far Away (#19, 1986)
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None
We are in agreement on this one though I actually like the tracks from the Making Movies album ("Tunnel Of Love" + "Romeo and Juliet") and would also include "Skateaway" from it.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoy the title track from Brothers In Arms but never need hear "Walk Of Life" ever again.