Brothers In Arms

Unless you accept it's tongue in cheek parody, Money for Nothing can be described as an apolitical, MTV-fueled, sell out but the rest of the album is so, so, good. Mark Knopfler's vocals and guitar stylings are exquisite and I dare anyone to listen to the title track without getting a tear in their eye.

Experiencing Mark Knopfler playing ‘Brothers In Arms' live stands out as one of my favourite concert experiences. And the keys on this record!

Brothers In Arms was obviously an attempt at writing bigger and more radio friendly songs suited for stadiums - but if writing “So Far Away”, “Money For Nothing” and “Walk Of Life” is you selling out, I don’t care. Knopfler’s songwriting is on point all the way through and especially “Your Latest Trick” and the closing title track are chillingly beautiful.

Apart from the hits it was middling.

One of the very best albums ever

kinda lost me in the middle , knopfler's guitar just whispers to you throughout the album and is sublime.so far away, mfn, brother in arms fav

Man.....I was blown away by that 180 the album took after the first track. So Far Away isn't terrible by any means, but it doesn't sound all that much like the rest of the album. Sorta a boomer-bait song. Money For Nothing is the real start of the album. An instantly catchy almost a little new wavey hard rock track that was so good, I had to listen to it a second time before moving on. The rest of the album dips its toes in to all sorts of genres that make it for a really enjoyable listen. Lots of very atmospheric soft rock and some Americana adjacent stuff too. The title tack, which is also the final, is just as good as Money for Nothing, but for entirely different reasons. Its a seven minute long swansong for the album that is by far the proggiest track here. It ends with a beautiful ambient section that gave me chills. A seriously great listen.

This is a fantastic album. So many great songs, the popular and the unknown to me.

3.5/5 stars

Very nice

Product of its time

Great album... but about third best dire straits album

So far away, money for nothing and walk of life are amazing. Three brilliant tracks to open the album with. Kind of makes it hard and sets a very high bar for the rest of the album though. The album takes a turn in pace at this point and slows down considerably. I love the sax in your latest trick. Great slow mover this song. Why worry is another good slow mover. The album definitely lulls slightly in the middle section. However a great finish with brother in arms.

Way back on album #5 on this list I got Dire Straits' self-titled debut and really enjoyed it a lot. This is Dire Straits' fifth album released seven years later, and the sound is pretty notably different. If the last album represented a late '70s slower bluesy-folky rock, this one has definitely jumped firm into the '80s pop-rock sound. It's much more fast paced, much more "pop", much more synth-heavy. There's some jazzy instrumentation at times ("Your Latest Trick"). It's a lot more dynamic overall. Unfortunately, I think I like it less. I actually went back and listened to "Dire Straits" since it's been over a year now, and something about the understated-ness of that album works more for me. I can't fault artists for having a changing sound and trying to have commercial appeal, but this feels almost like a sell-out to me. To be clear, I didn't totally dislike this. There are some really catchy hooks, particularly on the front side of the album. I really like "Walk Of Life" a lot, it's my favorite song on here by quite a bit. Both "Your Latest Trick" and "Why Worry?" are nice little slow ballads that do call back to the debut album a bit more. It's not bad, I just rarely felt that invested in this. The critical reception of this seems to be all over the board. It seems to be their biggest commercial success, and 1a and 1b with the self-titled album for critical interest. This is one of the best-selling albums ever in both the UK and Australia, but it does seem like the initial reception wasn't great though, and I'm wondering if it just felt a bit forced until the commercial success kicked in. I don't know, I can't quite put my finger on what I don't like, but I was really excited to listen to this when it popped up, and left pretty disappointed. Perfectly fine, but a little undeserving of the massive hype to me. Two other side notes. One, the repeated use of a homophobic slur on "Money For Nothing" is really jarring to hear today. It seems like the general consensus is that its use in the song is by an intentionally-shitty narrator so not meant to glorify that position, but it still caused a lot of controversy over the years, and just sounds so harsh to hear today. It definitely took me out of the moment a bit on one of their more well-known songs. Second (and much less important), I really liked their debut's album cover, but this one is really bad to me. Super cheesy and ugly, it's giving "graphic design is my passion" vibes. Very weak. Favorite: Walk Of Life Other: So Far Away, Money For Nothing, Your Latest Trick, Why Worry?, The Man's Too Strong, Brothers in Arms 7/27/24

Really good album. Short and sweet with more than a few singles. Pther songs might not be radio friendly but feel great as part of the album and its flow.

I honestly thought I was going to love this. I really like a few Dire Straits songs. One of them is on this record. But as a full album I mostly found this tedious and uninteresting. 2.5/5

Actually listened to this one twice to see if I had missed something the first time. It's clearly objectively good and well written, but for some reason it left me cold, even Money for Nothing. I definitely think the vocal performance is a weak point, I struggled to connect with the lyrics.

It's quite hard to rate something you know very well by osmosis. This album is everywhere. The anticipation of the start of Money for Nothing is rivalled nowhere else. I like the rest, but not something I'll return to for more than kitchen songs

#293. This album starts off strong, but the B side is significantly less interesting. Good enough overall though. Money For Nothing has probably the greatest opening guitar riff of any song ever made. 3/5: acceptable Song added to playlist: Money For Nothing I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link

Best off just playing the first 3 songs on a loop, falls off a cliff after that. Money for nothing is a great song though and I can’t think of too many better band names than “Dire Straits”

3.5 I think this was the first CD my dad ever got when he bought the CD player. I thought I was more familiar with the album than I was, I must have been skipping the slower songs back in the day. My tastes haven't changed much apparently.

I think this a good album and there are a few truly great songs on here, but I actually prefer the first Dire Straights album to this one..

Even my goth friend has a copy of this one. Can't deny the songwriting & guitar playing. Also I feel like "Money For Nothing" should be appreciated for the scathing diss track towards the blue collar bullies they clearly wanted to be embraced by, sarcastically taking their power back as artists and musicians. I think what's interesting in revisiting this album is how, while their work is strong overall, their deeper cuts are completely overshadowed by their singles. The sheer catchiness and boldness of absolutely SICK riffs like Money For Nothing leave the other noteworthy tracks fighting for impact. They're literally howling like wolves over the top of that track, it's like they threw everything they had at that, Walk of Life, & So Far Away. A bit unbalanced, but great work overall. Next time I listen I'll just skip the first 3 tracks for a different dimension on the Dire ones.

I wish we could give half stars. I've had a string of 3 star albums that I feel have all been "fine". Parts of this album were better than fine, but the lows were quite boring. 4 stars almost seems too high, but my dad loves Mark Knopfler, so this star's for you, dad.

Great sound, familiar tunes, Dire Straits always nails it on the head

If this album was Money for Nothing for a straight hour, it would be a 5/5. It still is a really good album, even though none of the other songs really measure up to Money for Nothing (what can, if we're being honest?). It's a lot more vibey than I thought it would be.

20224-07-19...

Love Money For Nothing, good to hear the rest of the album. There were so many songs I liked on it!

Favourite tracks: brother in arms; walk of life; money for nothing; so far away; why worry; your latest trick

4 out of 5. It's not their first album but Money For Nothing and Walk of Life are there. So Far Away From Me is too.

Great album, listen to it a bunch.

Amazing singles, knofler was going a bit mental withe the filler, very much 80s filler, singles were great though

Probablemente el mejor álbum de Dire Straits. Con una primera mitad meteórica en la que destacan "Money for Nothing" y "Walk of Life", Knopfler se luce con composiciones impresionantes que decaen en un "Lado B" mucho más reflexivo y tranquilo. Es cierto que la cara A del trabajo es mejor que la cara B, sin embargo, no deja de ser un LP sumamente sólido.

Fun album. couple of all-timers on there

I’ve always thought ‘oh cool, dire straits is playing’ in a well alright, kinda unremarkable way but this album raised my awareness beyond good easy listenen’ to here’s a band I fucking respect with some good ol artistry, guts and ambition. Album starts off banger after banger and you know knopfler could keep throwing those catchy guitar licks at ya all day but then, what’s this, he throws some curve balls at ya and settles into something more subdued, weird and yearning. Even his catchy single like MTV make you earn the party with an extended unconventional ambient opening. Some may say incohesive album but those people are boring - I say ambitious, cool, surprisingly slightly left-of-center album. The dudes go for it. Good on ya Knopfler and co.

Walk of life is a banger. White man grumbling about something kind of music. Well recorded but forgettable songs. 6/10

Excellent Album

Mark Knopfler goes hard!! I never heard the album version of Money for Nothing before. I think there's a good reason for that though. The censored Guitar Hero version used to rock so hard. The album version's weird verse kind of threw me off. Good solid album though.

Super enjoyable background music (?) like I can’t remember any song but I was enjoying it

Though I recognize Mark Knopfler's majestic guitar skills, I've never understood the whole Dire Straits thing.

The worst of boomer rock.

3.4

Great Album

booooring

see the little fella with the earring and the makeup

2.5☆/5 07.10.2024

The first half is great. The lyrics are dated including the use of “f$g”. The second half is kind of “mid”. The riffs are solid. 4

Ein tolles Album. Richtig gute Musik.

Gay af

Brings me back to the 80’s. Very classic sound from Dire Straights. The album starts off strong with three big hits and then fades a bit. Another strong finish but a little slow through the middle. As an album, all songs go well together stylistically.

✅✅ I wouldn't have told you before today that I knew who Dire Straits was, but I knew a ton of songs from this album before I listened to it today. It's good stuff, the album is paced well and while I only listened to the remaster, the production works well for the sound. Might revisit pieces

I’ve rarely heard an album where the 3 biggest tracks start off 1,2,3 but this does it. My old motto when CD’s were a thing was the rule of 3. If I liked 3 songs off of an album I would buy it. This makes the cut. Well produced, everything comes off as the perfect pitch and tone and compliment each other perfectly. But it drops off after the big 3. There are splashes of Bob Dylan, Chris DeBerg, Toto and 80’s soft core porn music. To be fair, I could barely make it through the full songs. I am not calling this album terrible though, it’s just not for me Choice Cut: So Far Away

It has some classics

I quite liked it. Money for Nothing riff has always kicked ass and will never stop kicking ass.

already listened to it a thousand times!

This album fell off a cliff after an insanely strong start. Hard to find a better first three songs on any record, but then suddenly turns into super boring soft rock. Absolute shame.

2/3

Pretty solid.

Ahh okay, I thought I detested Dire Straits but that might've been absorbed from somebody else. If I expect mellow then I have a fine time.

Loved it, could listen to it all day

Money For Nothing // Walk Of Life // The Man’s Too Strong // Brothers In Arms //

Classic album of the 80s and still sounds so clean. First half is perfect and second half is still enjoyable. Rating: 4.6

This is the first time I have listened to the full Brothers In Arms album, a bit of legendary record amongst rock fans. I've seen plenty of lists of best songs ever with Brothers In Arms and Money For Nothing taking two top places. And those songs are undeniably great. Amazing guitars, great flow, top shelf riffs. The thing is that the rest of the album is just a bit above average and I don't really think Mark Knopfler is the greatest singer ever. If this record would be just few songs, adding Walk of Life and maybe So Far Away, it's easily somewhere at the top. Instead, it's very solid, but largely forgettable.

Beautiful album with many soul-touching songs

I really like Dire Straits, and I think this album is great. I'm a big fan of the guitar work, the vocals and the other unusual instruments they use. It's kind of unique in that respect. Classic rock but elevated. 4/5 for me.

favorites - Why Worry, Your Latest Trick, The Man’s Too Strong WOW! That is really all I have to say about this album. Listening to this for the first time felt like a spiritual journey… just, and I must say again, WOW!

Oh, I've still got the vinyl LP I bought when I was 12. This one was on high rotation being one of about a dozen records and tapes I owned and still holds a place in my heart. Like a lot of albums, it's HEAVILY front-loaded. I could listen to Side One and not be too disappointed if I didn't turn the album over. Standouts for me include 'Walk of Life' - a rocking little number, and 'Your Latest Trick' -with sooooo much moody 80s saxophone. The album fades into the background a little on Side Two. Lot's of war imagery that's really incongruous with Side One's more straight forward hits. Finishes solidly with the title track. Hard to tell if I'm just listening through the fog of nostalgia, but overall I still really like this album.

Very good album and being an early digital recorded album it sounds fantastic, love that guitar tone. That being said while there indeed some great songs, the 2nd half of the album is not nearly as strong. I'll listen to the first 3 releases before this one when I'm in a Dire Straits mood.

Pristine recording, Knopfler’s brilliant guitar and singular vocals make this a great record. This was HUGE when it came out. Thanks MTV. Not my favorite Dire Straits but worthy of the list.

Mixed for me. I liked the first 3 songs then I lost interest. The last song was ok. I don't think i'd listen to the whole album again, but maybe a song or two.

This album starts off so strong, the first 3-4 songs make you think you're going to get a 5 star easy, no thought about it album. But it drags quite a bit in the second half. So it's a good album, but not perfect by any means.

Obviously great music. Amazing instrumentation that got better the second time I went through it. It was a bit slow for my taste but definitely one that I think will only sound better the more I listen.

Incredible – absolutely love this album

Solid fucking album

Beyond the hits this one had some songs I really enjoyed, like The Man's Too Strong and some I didn't like Ride Across the River and Your Latest Trick. After a while the autotune of the voice kind of bothered me. I just wanted to hear his voice along with the more raw guitar in songs like One World. It wasn't a great voice (learned from Brother in Arms) but sometimes natural is just better because otherwise it is just the same thing over and over. I could go back and forth on this album between a 2 and a 3 depending on my mood that day.

The album starts off strong. Kinda lost me with Why Worry and Ride Across the River. Rest of the album was okayish.

This starts off with some serious hits! A bangin’ beginning. It’s practically a 5 with just those three songs. It gets deeper and more reflective after the first few tracks, but I really enjoyed the lesser known songs too. Each one takes you on a magical little musical journey. Love!

not my thing

it’s fine , but ultimately quite dull . ‘Money for nothing’ still good though .

First listen Saved 4/9

Classic album. 5/5

Money for Nothing on heavy rotation on MTV in 1985-88. Still on heavy rotation in my head nearly 40 years later.

I understand he's playing a character and he's actually talking about himself, but it feels gross hearing a straight man say that. That being said I have this on vinyl for some reason and every 10 years or so I try to listen to this album thinking it will be better than it ever actually is. just sort of dull.

Gutes Album mit beruhigenden Songs

Poppiger Einstieg, anschließend wird man auf bekannten Dire Straits Schwingen mitgenommen. Super rundes Album

was gooodddd. great album to listen in the car as well

Couple of good tunes

The first three tracks were a steamroller! It mellowed out after that but never really let up. I haven’t given Dire Straits much attention before, but I’m realizing that I really should

Cool to listen to

Great guitarplay, lovely album. Not more to be said.

5 just for the sound and the guitar playing. Songwriting tempted me to downgrade.

Starts strong and fades a bit. Guitar work is clean and interesting throughout My sister had this on vinyl back in the day. Bit of a different listening experience.

Great album. Every song.

Some 80s things just sound too 80s and I can’t get past that. It’s not bad, it’s just got too many terrible 80s synthesized sounds for me. I would give it another try if someone could erase those sounds though.

Thoughts before listening: I really like Dire Straits in theory, but in reality I also can get pretty bored with them. Their hits are great, but their songs can all kind of run together and feel pretty similar across a full album. Its a good sound, but only in small doses. Anyway, I haven't listened to this in a while so I look forward to digging in today. Review: This album starts out so strong and then falls off so quickly. "So Far Away", "Money for Nothing", and "Walk of Life" start out the album with banger after banger after banger followed by "Your Latest Trick" which is the ultimate "hey...I know this one too" song. Then the second half hits and its just so dull. Mark Knopffler's guitarwork is strong throughout, but even his solos can't save these slow bore fests. 3-stars

I knew at least the intro to Money for Nothing (did not realize it contained the bad F word) and Walk of Life, which I swear was in a movie or TV show. I like Walk of Life and really liked the title track, but otherwise thought many of the songs dragged on wayyy too long.

One of the first CDs I ever purchased in 1985, along with Dark Side of the Moon and either Joe Jackson’s Night and Day or The Police’s Synchronicity #hazyguessesonthoselasttwo. A very fine album from start to finish, side 1 stronger than side 2 with three legit hits to start the album, but wonderful throughout. Great production and guitar playing. Thought it would be in surround sound on Apple Music, but alas it is not. But I still own the 5.1 surround SACD, so listening to that again was great.

Tight ass tone, never to be recreated from the half down wah at george martins Caribbean studio. Brought in a ringer for the drums. Walk of life, title track, and of course money for nothing all bonafide classics, even if the organ is annoying on walk. Solid guitar work as always from big M. K. That's the way you do it

Het is een beetje ouwelullenmuziek en specifiek voor dit soort ouwelullenmuziek ben ik eigenlijk nog net te jong. Ondanks dat heb ik in ongeveer 2009 de LP gekocht voor 3,5 euro. Als we dan toch 1001 albums moeten luisteren voor naar de eeuwige jachtvelden vertrekken dan mag dit album daar wel bij. Side A is met 2 grote hits dik in orde. Eervolle vermelding voor de 8:30 versie van Money For Nothing. Lekker. M'n 5 is eigenlijk grotendeels gebaseerd op de titeltrack waarmee het album afsluit. In een groot deel van die laatste track, maar vooral vanaf ongeveer 5 minuut 30 zit een ongelofelijk prachtig huilend orgeltje waar ik bij wijze van spreken een halfje van krijg. Heel het nummer bouwt vanaf de bliksem en het fluit-achtige geluidje in de intro op naar dat moment. Misschien bouwt heel die verder vergeetbare side B er wel naar op zelfs. Heerlijk. De B side van dit album is dus eigenlijk meh, maar die laatste track wil ik keer op keer luisteren en daarom klik ik enigszins onterecht op de 5. Ik ben gevoelig voor sterke afsluiters *schouderophaalemoji*.

Love Side 1, especially So Far Away 💙

Put me in a straight jacket. The 2nd half of this album was dire.

Slow

Man, this is a well-known record to test audio equipment for the production value on this guy. I am familiar and have listened to it a few times. But I'd rather test to a Steely Dan or something else.

Meh.

Classic and amazing

Not into the f*ggot word being thrown around even if it was the 80s. Kinda lost interest.

Great

Great 👍👍

Classic!

Sounds like Bruce Springsteen to my uneducated ear. That's a good thing.

Already heard this one before this challenge. Dire Straits are (well...were) an awesome band. Mark Knopfler is an fantastic guitarist and also a great songwriter (sure, he can get cheesy at times, but still-), and this album is Dire Straits's biggest achievement. Not sure if I can say this is my favourite album from them, I kinda enjoy Making Movies a bit more, but its safe to say this is a close 2nd favourite. It balances pop rock/new wave energy and atmospheric, ballad-y, introspective vibes really well. "So Far Away" is a great opener. "Money For Nothing" is a classic, of course. I can say this song has my favorite intro in a song (Sting's vocal intro, those synths, those drums and THAT riff, which sure, is overplayed, but its iconic, and also can be hard to master when learning it, especially for a guitarist). "Walk Of Life" is one of my favorites because of its positive vibe. Gives me stadium vibes, but in a good way. "Why Worry?" can be seen as a love song, but I also see it as a comfort song. Whenever I think about the horrors that are happening in this world, I put this song and I feel much better. Most of Side A is awesome, but Side B reduces the quality a bit, still good, but I spin tracks from side B quite rare. The title track is the CLUTCH of this side, which is why I say its another favorite song of the album. This was supposed to be Dire Straits's 'goodbye' album, but they came back in 1991 with On Every Street. Overall, great album, great messages throughout the songs, a classic 80s album that I go back to quite often actually. Definitely a must-hear, and also a great starting point for someone who has never listened to Dire Straits before or someone who only knows the band's hit songs. -favourite songs: So Far Away, Money For Nothing (<3), Walk Of Life (<3), Why Worry?, the title track (<3) -least favourite song: One World

Like Springsteen working on a 70’s porno. I really don’t like albums where the artists feel that the songs need to be crazy long. Especially if nothing happens. Album did have its bright spots, but didn’t do it for me.

I want my mtv 🤩

Segundo disco de Dire Straits de éste reto. Disco muy chill, con temazos muy conocidos de ellos, muchos de alta difusión en radio. Hoy cerramos reseña acá.

Einige alte Ohrwürmer (Money for Nothing, Brothers in Arms). Aber immer noch gut.

So Far Away is my fave on this album - it is quite unpolished and heartfelt. I can't deny their talent, and Romeo and Juliet is one of my favourite tracks of all time (but not on this album). But I think I heard Money for Nothing too many times to enjoy it! It was played everywhere! All the time! Having said that, when I hear it now it is like a time machine back to my younger days. That's quite fun :) Mark Knopfler is cool actually. Very laid- back in interviews. Guitar ❤️

Good guitarist but I never liked them much as a band. This was huge, almost unavoidable as half the tracks were singles. 'Private Investigations' and 'Romeo and Juliet' are good, shame they aren't on this album!

Really strong start with some songs that I recognised. Guitar riffs and solos are solid throughout but the overall quality of songs does seem to slow down as you listen further. I did enjoy this though, and didn’t realise how popular these guys are?! Favourite song: Walk of life

Tracks 1-3 - 10000/10 Tracks 4-7 - 6/10 Tracks 8-9 - 8/10 Starts unbelievably strong. Money For Nothing has possibly the best guitar riff of all time. Walk Of Life is also brilliant, always thought it sounded very Bruce Springsteen. A few of the later tracks are more forgettable. Great album but it does lose steam a tad which prevents it from being 5 stars.

Only recently found out knopfler was from Glasgow! Always thought he was from somewhere Salt Lake City or something like that. Maybe Philadelphia? Anyway, got to be the best opening 3 tracks to any album! It’s almost like they knew exactly what I wanted at every point of this album. Totally effortless! There I am thinking this guitar is cool but I really fancy some pan pipes. BAM - hits us with ride across the river! Amazing! 4.4

Classic album. Not bad.

What a fun treat! Sweet guitar, great songs and memories! Anyone else remember that sweet music video ?!

There's some classic tunes on here. Overall enjoyed this album! 4 ⭐️

A really cool, sometimes mysterious, joyous, vibrant, and reserved album. This was what I had wanted out of hearing their first album back near the beginning of when I had started this. Sometimes the guitar just sounds like crying, it’s so beautiful. I had heard Money For Nothing before and I had always made fun of it. Like, “Why are they bragging about microwaves?” But giving the song some context and some breathing room to show a wider picture with the rest of the album makes it such a fun time. This album made me a fan of these guys. Standouts: Money For Nothing, Walk Of Life, Your Latest Trick, Why Worry?, The Man’s Too Strong, and Brothers In Arms.

The hits on the album are great. The other few songs are incredibly slow and boring

Had. No. Idea. What a masterpiece with glimpses of so many styles and genres of music throughout. Incredible rapping prowess AND multifaceted singing voices with range and soul. So glad to learn of The Score. Brothers in Arms: Listened to songs I hadn’t heard before because some were overplayed in the 80s. Of these, enjoyed Why Worry and The Man’s Too Strong. Title track is also solid and wasn’t overplayed for me in the day. Songs are great instrumentally and Mark drops an awesome lyric here and there, to be sure. Still can’t beat Romeo and Juliette in my book, though.

not my usual cup of tea but a couple good songs

Heard of Dire Straits, hadn't listened to them. Had definitely heard radio edits of Money for Nothing and Walk of Life. It's a lot of steel guitar for something not considered country. Minus one star for the slur. I'll pass.

Ganske kult, aldri hørt no dire straits før egt. En del som ikke fenga, men my classics og. Tippe æ kjæm te å hør det her på nytt igjen en gang seiner!

The hits are the definite highlight: Money for Nothing is a bizarre yet endearing track, and Walk of Life, a song I once hated for overuse in medicine commercials, is probably my favorite on here at this point. This time, however, there are "deep cuts" that I actively enjoy, which is more than can be said for the self titled. So Far Away, Why Worry, and The Man's Too Strong are some great listens.

Thought I would really enjoy it cause of Money for nothing and Walk of life, but honestly the album wasn’t interesting. It’s too slow, the lyrics are wacky. I struggled to finish the album

Classic still beautiful

Surprisingly fun and an easy listen. The upbeat tracks are especially nice. They're quite unique among other '80s rock acts for not having terrible names, not having annoying vocals, and not having shitty synths ruining the entire thing. Kudos for that!

It’s like two albums: one being greatest hits, the other being these long intro deep cuts. It’s lovely.

I really like this album, but I'm absolutely befuddled by the sequencing. Who doesn't start an album with Money For Nothing? Also, lyrically there are some things that don't hold up today.

i like it 4/5

I was alright with it when I saw these guys pop up again. It still baffles me how it was decided which songs make the radio...

So weird to listen to this album now. It was so huge then, but sounds so dated in 2024 with that MOR saxophone and MTV references. He really does sound like some middle-aged guy trying to sound cool. I don't mind Sultans of Swing, but I am not sure there is anything here that I really need to go back to.

Enjoyable!! I liked it, banger songs🔥🔥

I've been sleeping on Dire Straits. 4/5

Just an amazing album, perfection

This was my first Dire Straits album, although I obviously knew Money For Nothing, and Walk of Life (which I've always hated for its faux-rockabilly sound and chintzy organ) I understand it moved a lot of CD players in the mid 80s. But despite some interesting guitar work, I disliked most of it and are completely baffled to its **17x Platinum** status here in Australia. Why are the songs so goddamn long? Are the shorter vinyl album versions abridged, or were these unnaturally stretched out to demonstrate the amazing runtime of the CD? Why is the middle section so unbelievably boring? How can anyone feel *anything* from the overly sterile 80s production and insipid lyrics?

It’s okay. Clearly well played, good musicians, standard composition. Definitely has its roots in the British pub rock scene. But it’s pretty dated by today’s standard. 80s saxophone, liteFM, lullaby blues guitar. It’s good for what it is.

just kinda boring, a couple of nice bangers NNN

Very chill album. I found the songs way too long for my liking and one of them had the f slur which this albums from 80’s so makes sense. Favourite song: Why Worry? Would I listen again: Maybe, its a good album to listen to while doing chores on a chill Sunday evening

A nostalgic 5

Solid album. Side A is perfect, Side B is less perfect than side A, but still excellent.

very nice

I remember liking this album back in the day. What was I thinking? So middling throughout.

Feels like a listening to a movie soundtrack.

Very 1985

Can definitely tell this was made when it was with the choice of language... I like the jazzy aspect of some of the songs mixed with the soft rock. Very 80s. Idk feels kind of too patriotic for me

No one will ever write a better song about kitchen appliances.

Three great jams to kick off an album. Hard to beat that intro. It does however lose it's groove and seems to wonder and get lost a little. The music isn't bad, but it becomes more of a "jam" album that the songs run together a bit. It wakes up again at One World, and then floats off into the distance with the title track.

Love it!

Great album

Straight fire. So chill and so hype at the same time somehow. Highlights would be money for nothing, why worry, so far away and the title track

Pretty chill and enjoyable

Sehr bekannte Stücke. Mag ich so mittel. Wobei das letzte Stück wirklich ausgesprochen toll ist.

Dad rock, songs are too long

This was the first CD I ever bought. Really made digital media shine.

Fine, songs were a bit long

For me, 2 songs carried this album - obviously. Overall, I did enjoy the album though

Outstanding record quality, amazing sound and lots of good tracks. Cant say that this album was exceptional, but it was great pleasure to listen it from hifi headphones

3 - This is an interesting album. There's a lot going on. Bro, the average song length on this record might be about even with the prog album I listened to before this, which is crazy. I didn't listen to the trimmed down original vinyl release, obviously, but I kinda wish I did. A lot of the tracks don't need to be almost 8 minutes long. Some of the tracks kinda have a guitar focus, the obvious example being Money for Nothing, but a lot of them don't, which is odd? It kind of adds to the 80's feel of the album, which isn't exactly a positive. I like Knopfler's vocals, which is strange considering his voice isn't typically the type I latch on to, but there's something satisfying about hearing him sing. When listening to Money for Nothing and Walk of Life back to back, I didn't really expect the whole rest of the album to slow down so much. I was kinda hoping for a little more energy, but, again, maybe I would've been fine with it if these deep cuts weren't so freaking long. As a side note that I couldn't really fit anywhere else, I didn't like So Far Away. Overall, it's a mixed bag of an album, and there's still some good songwriting present, especially in the hits I like, but I'd say the 80's sound here isn't exactly my thing and the deep cuts generally aren't too special.

Interesting. For better for worse, it sounds like an instructional guitar video from the 1980s! A stand out track for music was Why Worry.

Money for nothing is a banger

vibes: listening to the radio in nanna’s car

A great album of its time. A bit dated now, but Mark Knopfler was an inspiration to a generation of skilled guitarists with limited songwriting abilities

Pretty slay, would listen again

sleezy but lots of hits

Folky songwriting, cool textures and unsurprisingly great guitar playing make this a safe listen.

Een van de beste albums

Dit album kan ik letterlijk elke dag luisteren, wat een bangers

Every song drags a little too long. They find a cool sound, but do nothing but repeat it. It felt like they didn't know how to close off their songs. Decent sounds, but lose their effect by running too long.

Unbelievable that the absolute tearjerker Brothers in Arms is packaged with the goofy CGI fridge movers of Money for Nothing. And where the fuck did the horns on Your Latest Trick come from? Good stuff all around.

Masterpiece is a subjective term. Brothers in Arms walks that line. Mark Knopfler is a master guitarist and master producer. This record is his most accessible, successful project. There are no bad songs. It opens with three hit singles and never lets up. It's a masterpiece. Just not a transcendent, must hear masterpiece. If you like yacht rock, solo Eric Clapton, or The Moody Blues you should definitely listen to this album. 4/5.

1. zo far auuay - 1 2. money for nothing - 1.5 3. life - 1.5 4. trick - 1.5 5. uuorry - 1 6. river - 1.5 7. ztrong - 1.5 8. uuorld - 0 9. brotherz - 2

Couldn’t get into it.

Love dire straits and this album is amazing

Good instruments, gets boring at times

probably overly dramatic but this almost killed me

This is more my speed. I didn’t think that I’d heard of Dire Straits, but I definitely knew “Money for Nothing.” A lot of these songs are so close to what I’d listen to normally, but just a touch too 80s / sad girl energy. I still downloaded a few songs for the vibes. Also their album covers are absolutely sick from a graphic design perspective.

85/100 Favourite songs: Money for Nothing, Ride Across The River, Brothers In Arms Least favourite song: n/a

Dire Straits has always had awesome guitar playing.

James invited me to this group last weekend, but I didn’t start until today. But what a start it was. This album is a true masterpiece and I don’t hesitate to give it a full five out of five. Knopfler is a genius - a hugely underrated musician. His skills and style on the guitar are unique and his vocals fit the sound perfectly. I’ll admit that tracks six, seven, and eight are not all that, but the first five - wow - what a start. And then to finish with the poignancy of ‘Brothers in Arms’. One of my favourite ever albums. It can only go downhill from here…

So this is clearly a big hitter. Expected to really like it, but struggled. Tilly also pointed out the use of the F-word in money for nothing. I tried to explain the irony, but the f-word is the f-word these days it seems. I was definitely too young for it to have been cool at school, rather it was something that geeky six-formers liked which made it impossibly wanky for my Ned’s atomic dustbin liking grunge-o-phile gang. They’re probably millionaires by now, although form IT and programming rather than appearing on MTV. Suspect they weren’t faggots either, or maybe they were. Oops.

Ha ha, so funny this has come up so quickly since I mentioned it in my review to Paul Simon Graceland. Please apply the same context here, I was force fed this as a kid. Funny hearing an album over 30yrs since whenever that great day the last time was. My reflections now are that it’s still godawful 80s blues rock, I didn’t realise how bad a singer Knoepfler is/was, I like a long song but bloody hell THESE songs drag, and the cultural appropriation voice on Ride across the river is rather embarrassing/amusing. But but but but but, can you bump an album up to a 3 solely for the opening riff to Money to Nothing (as much as I don’t want to like it given everything surrounding it, it brings a massive smile to my face). …… …… Nope, turns out I can’t.

Loved the opening few tracks and nice bit of sax but all goes a bit Jeremy Clarkson.

Phenomenal album.

A truly great album. Great songs, great musicianship.

The non hits are more awesome than expected

It's nice relaxing

This is one of those albums, like Rumours or Hotel California that is almost beyond criticism. Easy to dismiss as dull, its ubiquity is a major factor in that conclusion. In fact, like the other two, it’s an exceedingly well crafted album. Important in being the album that the sound quality of cds was demonstrated using this album it is a mix of brilliance and banality. Dire Straits to me at least is a rough equivalent to Creedence Clearwater Revival, insofar as they were made up of brothers and friends and the songs that Mark wrote were much bigger than the band. They are a fine band but not a virtuosic band like, I don’t know, The Police or The Blockheads. Except for the exceptional guitar playing of Mark the band is a bit journeyman. Mark’s limited vocalising works, especially on things like ‘your latest trick’. Of course he wrote the songs and was aware of his limitations. I think it’s telling that the best songs have wiki links. And were singles. I do like this album. I suppose it’s musical RNA to me. There’s a sense that readers in this group may find it dull. It’s not dull but it’s not an album that for me I need to listen to much even though as a guitarist I deeply admire Mark Knopfler’s style. 3.5

I smiled and almost laughed out loud at the 1:30 mark of ”Money for Nothing” . its juts so fun and silly... This is no virtuoso First Clarinetist playing the improvised Glissando from Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin. It is 100% mass produced over polished mainstream stereo candy for the masses. And it's as fun to listen to as ever, especially turned up slightly too loud, and I am back there.. Ranking 80s albums is very risky business. I mean is it here because it is “so quintessentially 80s” or “so loved”. What defines it as “essential” or musical education? Who wins and loses here, the masses, the critics, and what is Art, when so many like it like this. huh!? It isn't great blues guitar, or anything. Its mainstreamed for a simple palate. Which is why it is an almost perfect “SOUNDTRACK” to the (male, mainstream) TASTES of the 80s, (and how to shape and please them - and maybe exploit or pander to them - for better or worse). And how funny watching my now middle-aged myself - I delayed listening due to trepidation (slight cringe - will I still like it?) and anticipation (I want to listen with my good headphones to get the best of it). Like resuming a neglected old friendship, I wanted to give it the best chance ... and not be too critical lest they judge me too. So yes, Its 100% pure mainstream pop rock music. Highly commercial, polished / produced from a well resourced supergroup. Love or hate it, it's pretty far from musical “purity” - hardly raw and live. These are suburban cosy anthems which is why it just “goes in so easily” . I refuse to claim the immunity by way of sophistication and discernment in the face of its moody synth and air guitar charms and - yes, the nostalgia. And how else to demonstrate a totally indulgent excessive stereo separation of drum kits (its almost binaural) to today's generation? I mean , there are only so many warm catchy spine tingling pop supergroup from the 80s to call on. [Alternatives are “Tango in the night” by Fleetwood Mac, “in the air tonight” by Phil Collins,or “I wear my sunglasses at night” preferably played in a 1986 Porsche 928 s4 with a Clarion or a 1989 Nissan Skyline with on Alpine hifi 8 speaker stereo. ] Like a burger, its on occasional guilty pleasure. But its very hard to get a burger to 5 stars.

The song Money For Nothing was a huge part of the mid-1980’s pop music soundtrack. You couldn’t escape it. And even the lyrics of the song ushered in the colossus that was the relatively newborn MTV. I think it’s a great track, from Terry Williams’s drum intro (I’d seen him at the Regent in 1979 drumming with Dave Edmunds & Nick Lowe’s Rockpile) to Sting’s repeated cry “I want my MTV”, which works so well & was probably the last time his vocals were ever on high rotation on radio. I like the rest of the album, but I don’t rate it with the band’s debut album. I hadn’t played it for years, but found it to be well worth a listen.

I lived through the 'Brothers in Arms' era in Australia, where it was even more inexplicably popular than the rest of the world. It went 17 times platinum here, was number one on the ARIA charts for 34 weeks, and they played a run of 20 nights at the Sydney Entertainment Centre to finish off their year-long world tour. I estimate that about 5% of the total Australian population bought a copy of this album, and nearly as many (900,000) tickets were sold to see this tour. 'Brothers in Arms' was played so much that I know the album by heart, even though I have never owned a copy. And I never need to hear that album again in my life, thank you very much. But, for the purposes of this project, I did play it though today. I didn't like it then, and still I don't like it now, possibly even more so. Let's discuss why. While Mark Knopfler's mumbly vocals and tasteful guitar playing provide a modicum of character to this album, it is otherwise airbrushed, buffed and polished with everything that a high budget 1980s production entailed; click tracks, digital recording, synthesizers, and session musicians (including scrubbing the rhythm section tracks and replacing them with 'more professional' players). Steve Albini passed away yesterday, and I am reminded of a thing he said to the effect of 'anyone with enough time and money can make a record that sounds OK to a commercial standard. But it won't sound like a proper rock band," and that is so true here. This is a Frankenstein monster of parts bolted together to sound great on a CD player. And man, didn't everyone who bought a CD player in the mid 80s immediately buy a copy of Brother in Arms, and then evangelize to everyone within earshot about "how great it sounds". But it is an album with no fucking soul. And it has not aged well. In a scathing review for NME, Mat Snow criticised Knopfler's "mawkish self-pity, his lugubriously mannered appropriation of rockin' Americana, his thumpingly crass attempts at wit". He also accused the album of the "tritest would-be melodies in history, the last word in tranquilising chord changes, the most cloying lonesome playing and ultimate in transparently fake troubador sentiment ever to ooze out of a million-dollar recording studio". Well, I heartily concur, Mr Snow. The song that particularly gets my goat is the supposed 'satire' of rock musicians, Money for Nothing, that is the worst kind of hypocritical self-aggrandizing humble-brag commercial cash-in, sell-out, ubiquitous, stodgy faux-rock ever, which actually reveals Knopfler's contempt for his own audience. With fucking Sting on it. There's a reason that MTV loved it (beyond the pandering name drop); it is fake rebellion, designed to sell advertising. The more I listen to this album and read about it and stew on it, the more I realise how much I hate this album and all the MOR, commercialized, anodyne, 80s pseudo-rock it stands for. Now, I'm going to loudly play something engineered by Steve Albini to clear my ears out...

Solid album, great sounds overall

Love the sound, soft and calming. Already knew ‘Walk of Life’ XD Ironically, this came on as I was studying and ‘Why Worry?’ was a perfect track

Yeah, alright

Really strong 4, it lost me a bit in the middle. Despite the foul language, walk of life is my favorite

Unlike the Donald Fagen album, this one definitely has that gawdy 80s rock sound, though it doesn't really harm the listening experience. "Money for Nothing" is a classic, though I didn't realize how many "f*ggots" it had, that's a yikes. I didn't realize that Sting co-wrote and sang on it either. It is so dang catchy, was stuck in my head the rest of the day. I also recognize the iconic synth line in "Walk of Life". "So Far Away" is a nice listen too. However, I don't think the deep cuts compare to the big hits. I felt kinda meh on the album overall.

Ok so Dire Straits is the band I never knew that I already knew. Found myself recognizing a few tunes such as Money for Nothing and Walk of Life. I also see they perform Sultans of Swing which is an all time banger. This was a pretty solid rock album. All the songs felt spacious and sonically interesting. It lost a little steam for me in the middle where it was slower, but I enjoyed the majority of the tracks on here. Fav Tracks So Far Away Money for Nothing Walk of Life One World

🎧Look at them yo-yos, that’s the way you do it. First three songs are absolute heaters. After that album falls into a bit of a lull. Good laidback 80s rock, love Knopfler’s Dylan-esque delivery. Enjoyed the closing title track.

First three tracks are excellent, Money For Nothing makes no sense but the guitar is instantly recognizable and awesome. The album takes a bit of a dive after Walk of Life, there are some snoozers and I lost interest until The Man’s Too Strong. Great band with some great tunes but this isn’t as strong as they’re self titled. 3.5 stars

Not quite as bad as I expected. The light-hearted songs are best. The serious ones sound pretentious.

Notable tracks: Walk of Life, Money for Nothing, Brothers in Arms

Great and intense

yes

What a great album! Classic 80s

Hard to avoid this album in 1985! It's good, but I don't love it. 3/5

Pas de souvenir après le weekend c'est mauvais signe

Have always like Dire Straits music. They had a different sound than other bands of the era with Knopfler's voice leading the way. The band offered a pleasant alternative to the screamers of punk and metal where you could just relax to comfortable beats and enjoyable lyrics. 5/5

So far, it has an uplifting start, similar vibes to the start of 80s movies. 2nd song had a a mysterious opening that gradually builds up to that one song. I was expecting something new and cool not that song💀. Shit sounds like the Home Depot theme💀🛠️. 3rd song sounds very uplifting, but very generic, like a normal 80s radio song. This shit ain’t cold chisel it’s frozen hammer. 4th song had a jazzy start featuring a trumpet as its main focus. They then introduce a drum kit but still keeps it funky, so far this is the best song on the album. Lyrics kick in but the vibe still stays the same. 5 mins in the song and it’s starting to get a bit repetitive. I feel like the songs on the album are drawn out. I feel like I’ve heard the same part 100 times. The song was good at the start but did not progress or the progression was too small for me to notice. The 5th song has a mellow start. The start is not repetitive and slowly progresses. Four mins in and I find the progression is way to slow and unnoticeable that instead of it feeling like yay a new part it just feels like it’s the same and therefore makes it feel repetitive. Please just hurry up and end now, it had no reason to be 8 minutes long, Jesus . 6th song in, this album is kinda meh, nothing has really stood out or grabbed my attention except the 2nd song but thst was only because of its popularity elsewhere and me noticing that. Bro this song just sounds like you’ve left the tv on afk in a jungle part of a game for the past 20 mins and it’s just slowly driving you insane in the background while you do something else. 7th song has a cowboyish start. Who do they think they are, please just stick to what you do good. Okay this actually grabs my attention for once but I think like every other song it will be repetitive. Instead of reviewing this album, I could’ve reviewed any of the others I missed. Okay the riff is already getting a bit old, at least this song is average length, so far this might be the best. 8th song has a funky bass line at the start, I would be happy but this album is too long and is gettin kinda old, I’m not really excited anymore. The album itself is not long but the songs repeating like 5 times and then next song makes it feel a lot longer. As predicted, the song got kinda old and I didn’t focus on it for the later half of it. 9th song has a moody intro, but it doesn’t really get me excited after the mid-ness of every other song after their intros. Been so sick of this album I didn’t pay attention to this song 💀. Once again, like all the other songs, it is too long. Final thoughts, was too long and drawn out. Nothing really interested me. 5/10

So Far Away - I do not need to hear this again. Too long. Gets really boring after listening to like 1/3 of it. 2/5 Money For Nothing - I really could use a custom kitchen delivery rn. Iconic ass song, kind of gets old veeeery fast tho. 8 minutes of the same tune being repeated over and over is not so fun anymore. 2.5/5 Walk Of Life - Super iconic once again, idk about this tho, sounds pretty much exactly the same as Money For Nothing. Does not have action or motion. At least its a reasonable length. 3/5 Your Latest Trick - Brother got rolled tbh. I like the blues jazzy sort of aspect hear, very different from the last 3 tracks. 6 minutes is too long, but also kind of lets the brass pop off which i can appreciate. 3/5 Why Worry - Very comforting and chill, perchance. 8 minutes again, enjoyment turns into boredom I feel like the start could be shorter. Too many points where nothing is happening at all, if you skipped those parts it would probably be waaay more enjoyable. 3/5 Ride Across The River - The guitar in the middle I like. The jungle-y tone of this song feels really out of place, it feels way too mixed between two genres that shouldn't be mixed. Too slow and long (why 7 minutes), I don't think they properly achieved what they aimed for with this. 2/5 The Man's Too Strong - Reminds me of Simon and Garfunkel. I really like when they up the intensity it sounds awesome, maybe a bit jarring but I think it fits reasonably well. The rest of the song is pretty forgettable unfortunately. 3.5/5 One World - Is this guy poor? Depressed? Stupid? I enjoyed this regardless. Way too generic as an 80s rock song tho. 3.5/5 Borthers In Arms - The start pulls you in. Guitar around 50s gets it started up nicely. I think they should have just released an instrumental album at this point. The guitar goes so hard. Very peaceful. Wowza's, this is a real finisher. Very melancholic one might say. 5/5 OVR: 3/5

first song I've definitely heard before on Officeworks radio, the album is giving me heavy 80s pop rock vibes I'm not sure what the official genre name is but its probably just brit rock. first song is wayy too long tbh. track two: im surprised this isnt called i want my own tv. lyrically havent been impressed yet. that opening riff is iconic af and probably an improvement over track one. makes me think of the home depot theme for some reason. this is definitely better than track 1 but i think its been overplayed for me personally. i think the cowbell is what really gives it the tradie vibe. classic 8os rock slow fade out 3: the electric organ at the start is really cool. but again this song has been overplayed for me, specifically either on the officeworks radio or in bunnings advertisements because i cant shake the tradie associations. thats not a rip on it btw its still nice but. have to admit this one is pretty catchy. 4: the jazzy undertones at the start are really nice with that melodic piano, the trumpet and slow hi hat. so far my favourite song. when the sax kicks in the song becomes really nice. to be honest i am not paying the most attention to the lyrics because im doing homework but they seem better on this song. I wasnt expecting this from the album 5: this one also starts off sorta ballad-y and more relaxed with the shakers and the guitar arpreggios are cool. this track is a whopping 8 minutes hope its worthwhile. so far its an ok track but it isnt getting me excited about anything. just sorta a mellow 6 minutes which is fine but not going in my playlist. this album feels very pub-rock very cold chisel 6:wtf is with the kabuki ahh flute at the start. i love it. the weird percussion that sounds electric but bordeline acoustic is cool. this song gets to the meat and potatoes straight away. the trumpets once the verse picks up are cool. song closes the way it starts and the crickets are cool. solid but i lost interest in the middle a little 7: western ahh guitar at the start. got me walking in saloons and starting fights and shit. the beat drops are cool but overall this album isnt my usual taste, its a perfectly good album just not for me. honestly forgot this song 8: this ones aight too, i dont have much new to add. 9: the opening with the storms and such is really cinematic before the melody kick in sounding very western again. i like this one though. the choir stuff going on in the back is cool. the electric organs around the 6 minute mark are really cool. and we go for the classic 80s rock fade out Favourite tracks: Your latest trick, Brother in arms, so far away Least favourite: Money for nothing (controversial take but personally ive heard it too much) overall 5/10

Wonderful

Still pretty ok, especially the title track

Meh

Some popular hits and some cool pieces I'd never heard.

Man ... viele coole Partys mit der Scheibe gefeiert: Das Album ist gealtert, so dass man es zurecht nicht mehr so häufig hört. Aber auch immer mal wieder schön.

A staple in everyone's music collection.

The opening tracks are classics, but it really trails off after that.

Sound of my youth and relaxing after Carneval. The latest trick

Hard one to assess as there are highs and lows. Parts that drag but parts that move.

Solid 3 songs to start the album. Walk of Life is great and reminds me of baseball probably because it was used in highlight reels or something. Goes a small distance to redeeming 1985 as the worst year in music. Gets slow in the middle so loses 5th star

Not my kind of music. A little too 80s maybe for me?

Got a powerful nostalgia hit from this one. I'm sure my parents had this album in our campervan when I was a child. Dire straits have plenty of tunes I enjoy but I've never been a huge fan of Knopfler's voice. This album starts really strong but becomes repetitive towards the end, doesn't leave me wanting more. Had lots of fun dancing in my kitchen to Walk of Life. Favourite tracks: Walk of Life, Your Latest Trick

There's a little nostalgia going on with the first few tracks, but this is just so bland.

Is it better than Hotel California? Yes. Is it as good as Green Onions? No. Will I ever listen to it again? Not deliberately.

Some really good songs, but also some very bland ones. A bit overhyped in my opinion as well, never really got the hype with Dire Straits. 3/5

I gave it two listens. So far, I do enjoy it with one major caveat. The lyrics in Money for Nothing did not age well. The homophobic language takes away from the music. Might give it a 3rd listen at some point, as so far it's hard to tell if it was intentional derogatory language or an element of the less accepting times. 3/5.

I haven’t listened to this in a long time. There’s a big part of me that wanted this to stand up better than it did. I do find walk of life a bit annoying now.

Great music

I WANT MY MTTVVVVVVV

Each song is unique. Some of them are way too long. Tracks one and two are especially tedious at the end. The extended repetition at the end of each song is uncomfortably long. That said there are a handful of songs (track 4) that are very different than I expected and interesting as a result.

banger ofc

wish i was more familiar with earlier dire straits stuff to make a comparison to their earlier work, especially since it probably isnt fair to keep making springsteen comparisons but thats the rock artist from this era im the most familiar with. anyways this has a great mix of rock with some 80s new wavey atmosphere and synth. no idea how typical that is for them. each tracks has an unreal and unique intro. i love how sparingly distortion is used, you can appreciate the instruments precision when its laid out as clean as it is. knopfler plays guitar with so much grace and had an ear for layering instruments to build a song. track 1 - nice riff, the vocals reminded me a bit of bruce springsteen. easy song to listen to track 2 - very atmospheric intro with the arpeggiated synth and pink floyd style keys. the ramp up with the drums rocks. love a good slur track 3 - joy in a song, lovely organ intro and the rest of the instruments layer in beautifully. a modern take on a 50s song. he got the action, he got the motion track 4 - an intro of a trumpet solo into sax solo is so crazy. the guitar(s?) give great texture with the synths. strong springsteen vibe but more adventurous production for sure track 5 - yet another beautiful intro, this time delivered on a guitar. if track 3 was joy, this is hope and peace. "there should be laughter after pain/there should be sunshine after rain". the jam when the drums get snare-heavy rules, love how the bass sounds here. track 6 - once again the intro tone setting gives so much jungle atmosphere to the song, this time one with very militaristic lyrics. field recordings, the N64 synth sound, the trumpets bursting in and out of the mix, the tribal tone of the drums, the sustained chords of electric guitar and humid guitar solos hanging in the air like you heard them from a distance in a rainforest. i almost expected a lion to roar track 7 - another militaristic track, this time moving from a dense jungle sound to some more like CCR. cool when they play the big loud chord during the chorus you can still hear the rest of the big, nice bit of mastering. track 8 - hits you in the face with its intro, love how funky this one is. dont get how mark can play guitar like this and sing at the time time, mans a wizard. the gothy keys/synth half way are crazy. track 9 - entrancing use of synth and sparing guitar (plus that reverse reverb tone?)). this song has gravity like few ive ever heard. instead of outright anger at injustice, mark's tender vocals give meaning to a wars loss of life and depth to the longing for home that those sent to die must have felt.

Side A is way, way better than side B. There definitely is some filler here, and the back half is a bit tedious at times. But damn if it doesn't start off so strong. And Knopfler's guitar does so much heavy lifting here -- even if the song was a bit meh, it's so fun to hear him work his magic. Good listen overall.

Great album!!

I enjoyed this waaaaayyyyy more than I thought I would. Great sounding record. Still don’t know why So Far Away is the opening track.

Interesting to learn how many of these songs were familiar to me without knowing they were Dire Straits (only could have named Sultans of Swing). Definitely never heard the second verse of Money for Nothing though. Not surprising. No absolute clunkers and lots of great guitar. Your Latest Trick intro is lovely. Minus points for being 55 minutes long on only 9 songs. Could have been better at half the length (lose a few tracks and half the runtime of a few others).

Money for nothing is obviously a world eating riff Brothers In Arms is an epic Walk of Life is fun But the rest wasn’t as memorable as I expected

Love this album.

Lots of big hits, seems like a pivotal album but not my thing

Iconic guitar work. 🎸

I've listened to this album so many times. I'm not even a huge Dire Straits fan but this album is such a pleasure to listen to all round.

Second Straits album to pop up on this list. No complaints here. Still a great album.

Such a cool voice. Great guitar tones. The jams are chill and spacey. 1985 language usage aside…it’s a pretty solid album. As a guitarist you have to appreciate the playing

MP: "Pub band get up and dance / 70s softcore porn music." "I can't imagine anyone like it, even Dire Straits fans." "Miami Vice." "Soulless." DP: Walk of Life guilty pleasure, Money for Nothing somewhat hate. Either too simple and happy-clappy or too indulgent and lacking structure (see Your Latest Trick). Questionable lyrics (see ibid). Tracks way longer than they deserve to be. Did Knopfler forget how to play a guitar solo? Indulgence of 80s production without the excess and bombast and melody to pull it off. Poorly advised/conceived sax. The Man's Too Strong starts off alright -- nice acoustic and a bit of vocal melody. Chorus has some questionable distorted electric moments, but its forgivable. Whole song feels like a country pastiche with an occasional amp. Brothers in Arms -- starts off moody and 80s with some nice synth and thunder, then Knopfler gets a bit onanistic with his guitar and harmonica. At least the synths are decent, although its just soft pads... In conclusion -- misadventure.

10/10 one of my favorite albums no doubt

Walk of Life Your Latest Trick Why Worry Ride Across the River The Man’s Too Strong Brothers In Arms Very chill album. Nice to relax too. Could definitely listen to it again down the road. Feels like it’s missing something tho. I do like more upbeat music so maybe it’s just a tad too slow.

Has that 1 song

mid

Memberberries. But its only OK, very middle of the road.

The best 👌

Really enjoyable album. Some big classic hits and then a bunch of other great songs. Probably just on the 4 side of 4.5 for me.

Great album. Would rate as 4.5

Cool guitars, sleep-inducing vocals, averages out as 2.5 which I'll round up

I just have never liked Dire Straits. Don’t like the vocals, don’t like the jangly ass guitar, don’t like the lyrics. I actually didn’t hate Money for Nothing as much as I did when they showed the video ad nauseum on MTV.

Mid af

Awesome!

A classic. Beginning to end.

i love it!!!!

something like a "best of", brothers in arms is great

Unapologetically 80s. Some of the latter half of the album felt like filler, but otherwise it's pretty solid. 8/10 Would I listen again? Yes

Abendunterhaltung TV Affeltrangen 1987

-fühl i gar nöd!

Gran álbum. Cada vez que lo escucho me llena la cabeza de recuerdos y sensaciones de la infancia. Tengo un gran vínculo emocional con esta música. Este disco está lleno de temas poderosos y está bien balanceado en dinámicas, con canciones vigorosas y otras sutiles y hasta delicadas. Sin duda viene bien a esta lista.

Soort best of van de Dire Straits lijkt het wel. Ben absoluut niet de grootste fan, maar deze versie van Money for Nothing is zo dik, echt complete stilte, tot die gitaar er volle bak inklapt. Dit bewijst maar weer eens, net als bij Sky and Sand, de langere versie is altijd de betere versie. Walk of life is natuurlijk een knaller Maar ho eens even, wat hoor ik daar?? Een saxofoon? Verdomme Dire Straits, dat is mijn zwakke plek! Dan lijkt het namelijk op Jazz en dan heb je me zoals te zien aan de gemiddelde rating van alle Jazz albums die ik tot nu toe heb gehad.. De muziek is sowieso lekker lang, alle nummers duren lang maar niet op een vervelende manier, soort progrock achtige shit dit. Ik ben er eigenlijk best wel enthousiast over! Het album heeft ook maar 9 nummers, perfecte lengte als je het mij vraagt, kan iemand dit aan Drake/Beyonce uitleggen? Ride across the river is wel echt belachelijk saai trouwens.. Eigenlijk alle 3 de nummers tussen Ride across the river en One world. Zijn alle 3 gewoon super trage rock achtige nummers die niet echt de aandacht vasthouden. Waar ik eerst de zanger best wel prettig vond, vind ik m nu dan ook meteen een beetje irritant. Brothers in Arms is dan wel weer heel mooi. FAVO: Money for nothing, Walk of Life, Your latest trick, Why worry?, Brothers in arms

This shit slaaaaps. That guitar tone on Money For Nothing is so satisfying to listen to.

meh 2.5/5

Man, this one got me. I thought it was gonna be another dated, 80s-produced blah. But the depth in sound and production by Knopfer knocked me off my feet. This is a headphone album for sure. Surface hits and aural songs to dive deeply into.

Great, great album. I love the guitar riffs from Mark knopfler (sp). Such good memories we had when we moved to So. California...I remember the songs they played in 1985.

Shew. I'm having a hard time believing how many reviewers miss the entire point of Money for Nothing. The lyrics are written from the viewpoint of an idiot who thinks rock stars don't work for a living. And it's this stupid character who is calling rock stars, i.e. Knopfler, a fa**ot. Then to exacerbate the stupidity, says the rock star he just called gay, gets his 'chicks for free'. I've known a lot of gay dudes and none of them wanted any chicks in that way. But, go on if you're going to be daft, I can't stop you. Enough of that though, this album is a 5 star classic all day. Knopfler's guitar playing is masterful.

On first listen, I thought this was a front loaded bore of an album. However by the third listen, I was beginning to respect the ksucianship and craft on display. The production is top notch. It’s a grower.

Why worry to one world drags a little, but the rest of the album is very good. Money for nothing has a killer riff.

4.3/5 Best Track: Walk of Life

What an absolute masterpiece 10/10

Solid blues rock album that utilizes a bunch of instruments that are typically associated with specific genres yet makes them work together perfectly. 8/10

Couple of good well known songs and the rest is shite, just like every other fucker on the list.

I ebbed and flowed on liking this one throughout the album. I was very into the first few tracks, then kinda checked out for the middle, then got back into it for the end. In general I liked the songs with more energy, not so much the slower more ambient ones. Walk of Life was a delight. I was stuck in traffic when it came on and was bouncing all around my seat. Also this is such an incredibly 80s sounding album. What a time capsule. 7/10 and I will probably revisit a few more times. C- album cover

I love this band. I was in such a shit mood when I started the album, by the time Money for Nothing was playing I was on top of the world. It’s literally impossible to listen to that song and feel down.

I liked the diverse sound and quality of the production a lot

I enjoyed it from start to finish. I was familiar with 'Money for Nothing' and 'Sultans of Swing'. I'd heard 'Walk of Life' before but didn't fully recall it. This is my favorite rock record we've heard so far. I enjoyed every song. The guitar often took center stage and it was shredding, although it was often an understated slower shred, rather than the ripper guitar solos I am more used to. It reminds me a lot of certain parts of Dark Side of the Moon. The songs changed mood a lot, going from groovy big tracks like Walk of Life to slower captivating jams like 'Why Worry'. The band has a ton of range and the production captured the diversity of their sound well throughout. 10/10, really dope stuff.

Some bangers on this album and Mark Knopfler’s classic style is here but the album feels largely self indulgent with most of the songs running far longer than necessary.

Great sense of nostalgia when this came on - many songs that I’ve heard on repeat during long car rides in my childhood. I’d be interested to know how younger listeners and those unfamiliar find it from a blind listen. Definitely enjoy the album on many levels but worth noted some lyrics are problematic.

Bangers. Mark Knofler is the GOAT.

Love this album. Although not their best album, it was my entry point to dire straits. It was the second cd I ever purchased! I love mark Knopfler’s unique style of playing and I have tried to master the ‘brothers in arms’ solo many times! A couple of average filler songs, must mostly awesome! 5 stars from me and most of those are for brothers in arms (the track)

This reminds me of hanging out with my dad on long drives - the ultimate nostalgia album. Nearly every track is excellent and I love Mark Knopfler's voice. I wonder how I'd rate it if I didn't have such strong positive memories - it makes me wonder what music tastes I've passed on to my children if any? This album probably has the most misheard lyrics of any music I've listen to - maybe come from hearing it as a kid? 'Now here I am again in this amino town' "you might get a piston on your lil finger' "we've got some movies, refrigerators, we got some movies, colour tveeees' 'he do the song about the single of the moon, he do a song about the night, he to the walk, do the walk on by, yeah he do the walk on by' Fave Track: Brothers in arms (probably the only one I didn't really listen to as a child, but came to love on my own as an adult! Great song)

i didn’t realise i know like every song on this lmfao

The first few songs were banging but then they really slowed down. They sounded alright but it was kind of boring

Was the first album of the day. I am road tripping to Pittsburgh w my mommy(I drove all 9 hours) so I didn’t get to write an immediate review because #bothhandsonthewheel but I liked this. Have had Romeo and Juliet on repeat since it was in the music league and none of the songs on this album were that good but I still thought the album overall is good. For all the albums I listened to today, I think being on the road made them better bc any gaps in interesting music I just paid attention to the scenery instead. Ca->pa review #1

This is great. I don’t even like rippin guitar stuff that much but this album makes me like it. The first time I heard Brothers in Arms was a cover of it by Home Free (a cappella group) that imo was quite good but doesn’t have the grit of the original. 8/10

6/10 - Pretty chill and quite enjoyable. I liked most of the songs including walk of life and why worry?. I had heard most of the first half of the album and some of the lyrics in Money For Nothing are less than ideal. The songs are also kind of long.

Was listening while doing something else so I really enjoyed it. If I was only listening I think I would have gotten kinda bored

Good album, enjoyable the whole way through, but maybe a little boring 7/10

Nostalgia

Why worry y otros grandes éxitos.

3.9 Even tho I prefer the self titled as an album, brothers in arms definitely has the better singles. Fave songs: Walk of Life, Money for Nothing, So Far Away