This is a Random Album Generator.
One album a day.
From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Get Started

Dire Straits

Dire Straits

1978
Dire Straits
Album Summary

Dire Straits is the debut studio album by the British rock band Dire Straits released on 9 June 1978 by Vertigo Records internationally, Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Mercury Records in Canada. The album has the hit single "Sultans of Swing", which reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached the top of the album charts in Germany, Australia and France, number 2 in the United States and number 5 in the United Kingdom. Dire Straits was later certified double platinum in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.72

Votes

8463
Genres
Rock

Reviews

Like a review? Give it a thumb up to help us display relevant reviews!
Sort by: Top Date
View Author
Mon Jun 28 2021
2

Martyrs of Swing. This album feels so circular, slowly meandering through the songs and never getting to the point. It's as if Bob Dylan's 70's backing band got a free weekend in the studio and they just "jammed it out". Talented group, but they need some direction (which is hilarious, considering they're one of the best selling bands of their time). The music of Dire Straits just does not translate well, and has all of the hallmarks of guitar-driven dad rock that has become the butt of so many jokes. Fav Track: Wild West End

👍
View Author
Mon Feb 22 2021
5

I have always loved Sultans of Swing but this was the first time I'd really thought about why. Dire Straits has a way of making the guitar interact with the vocals that is really unique.

👍
View Author
Sat Mar 27 2021
5

Driven by Mark Knopfler's spare, tasteful guitar lines and his husky warbling, the album is a set of bluesy rockers. 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 debut, and Dire Straits had difficulty surpassing it throughout their career.

👍
View Author
Tue Jan 26 2021
5

The album that our Amsterdam Air BnB host left in his record player

👍
View Author
Tue Jan 26 2021
5

Sultans of Swing is fantastic and the rest are good.

👍
View Author
Wed Feb 17 2021
5

Nothing gets me in the mood for a corporate day at Twickenham like the Sultans of Swing (Low Sweet Chariot). Essential listening while getting ready for the game. Boot cut jeans, loafers, TM Lewin checked shirt (button cuff, it is the weekend), corporate branded fleece (its XL but doesn't fit too badly and I didn't declare it to Compliance and their gift register!). Then off to the game with the "lads" from work. They leave after the game but I stick around with some new mates I met in the Orange Tree. 20 pints (I'm paying)of the black stuff later. Wake up on my sofa in the middle of the night covered in take away to the crushing realisation the wife has left, taken the kids and I live in a flat about a pub. Will have to watch Top Gear reruns on Dave to lift the spirits!

👍
View Author
Wed Jan 27 2021
3

Knopf let is a smashing guitar player, but this slick mid-tempo rock just didn’t touch my soul.

👍
View Author
Tue Nov 16 2021
3

Sultans of Swing was the best song, they should have written some more like that! Three stars, which means it’s better than American Idiot and Dark Side of the Moon.

👍
View Author
Wed May 05 2021
2

Melodically muted, rhythmically stunted. They’re a guitar band, I get it. But then why aren’t the guitars more interesting?

👍
View Author
Sat Jan 23 2021
5

Wow. Silky smooth riffs and bitchin' solos abound. Can't believe this is a debut album. I think In The Gallery may be the weakest effort here, but every other track is gold. Sexy, groovy mix of sparse rock and roll mixed with country, folk, and blues. My knowledge of Dire Straits was Money for Nothing. This is at least 500x better than that.

👍
View Author
Fri Oct 01 2021
5

Clean, like the genre Would listen to it outside of this

👍
View Author
Tue Aug 22 2023
4

melow tunes. nice vocals. didn't really listen closely to lyrics some upbeat twangy beats. clean sound. i liked this album; mostly the melow low pace tracks.

👍
View Author
Fri Aug 25 2023
4

Honestly I dig this a lot more than I anticipated. Some really fantastic guitar playing and the vocals are catchy and bluesy. I'd definitely listen again.

👍
View Author
Tue Sep 19 2023
4

This feels awfully modern and well-produced, I was surprised to find it's their debut album.

👍
View Author
Mon Feb 15 2021
3

Just regular standard period music...

👍
View Author
Tue Jul 20 2021
5

One of the best albums ever.

👍
View Author
Tue Jan 19 2021
5

great album. nice vibe through and through.

👍
View Author
Wed Jan 13 2021
5

Great first album to start 1001.

👍
View Author
Mon Jun 14 2021
5

Loved it. I don’t understand why they weren’t so widely regarded in the US from this album. Excellent.

👍
View Author
Mon Feb 15 2021
5

Very nice tunes, with a lot of roles that sound like jazz (to me)

👍
View Author
Wed Apr 28 2021
5

Beautiful, clean, classic Knopfler playing. Songs grove. Some great, classic DS tunes including Sultans.

👍
View Author
Mon Jan 25 2021
5

THIS ALBUM HAS GROOVE FOR DAYS

👍
View Author
Mon Mar 08 2021
5

nivélazo. a real rythem guitar!

👍
View Author
Tue Feb 02 2021
5

Stellar debut album. I am an old.

👍
View Author
Sat Jan 23 2021
5

Classic. Incredible, unique guitar.

👍
View Author
Tue Jan 26 2021
5

Incredible. Knopfler is Legend. This album is an awesome, understated journey with some absolutely beautiful songs sprinkled through. Can hear Dylan infl. Favourite gat (it's all 10/10) - In The Gallery. Wild West End is super beautiful

👍
View Author
Thu Jul 01 2021
5

Het blijft een sterke groep.

👍
View Author
Fri Jun 11 2021
5

One of the best debut albums, the best guitar solo ever (though I prefer the live Alchemy version), and a great album that's always been there for me

👍
View Author
Tue Apr 20 2021
5

Every track is a good one. Even better than I remembered.

👍
View Author
Wed Mar 31 2021
5

It one of the best albums with an acoustic guitar that I listened to with a very captivating voice.

👍
View Author
Sat May 01 2021
5

Upbeat album for a down day.

👍
View Author
Fri May 21 2021
5

One of my favorite debut albums. Great tracks all the way through. And, of course, Sultans. Amazing. Knopfler is an animal.

👍
View Author
Mon Jun 07 2021
5

Sometimes it's hard to believe how good a debut album can be. Absolute classic, a great listen almost any time.

👍
View Author
Thu Jul 29 2021
5

This is a certified classic. Album is gewoon een ✨vibe✨

👍
View Author
Thu Jul 29 2021
5

één minuut bezig en ge gaat goed. Zoveel leuk gitaargebruik en zo een aangename stem. ik ben nog maar net bezig maar al wie haat heeft op dire straits mag met bezos naar de ruimte en niet meer terug komen. oogjes toe, denken aan de jaren 70-80 en dan in de auto, opendak, zonnetje op uw snoet en dan met de wind in de haren deze muziek! Sultans of swing is een klassieker onder de klassiekers

👍
View Author
Wed Aug 04 2021
5

wtf this surprised me, really hit the spot

👍
View Author
Tue Sep 14 2021
5

Pretty drunk while listening but I think this is a favorite. Sultans of swing but 1hr long

👍
View Author
Thu Sep 16 2021
5

Nunca pensé que me volvería fan de Dire Straits. De joven era una de las bandas que odiaba con toda mi alma. Así cambia la gente. Este disco es brutal, me encanta el tono de guitarra que tiene.

👍
View Author
Mon Oct 11 2021
5

Classic......waterline gallery sultans ...etc

👍
View Author
Tue Oct 12 2021
5

I've had a few other Dire Straights and Knopfler albums, but somehow never studied this one. This is a great piece of work!

👍
View Author
Tue Oct 12 2021
5

Loved this album. Probably more then brothers in arms.

👍
View Author
Tue Oct 12 2021
5

Listening to the album after many years again brought back so many memories. It truly is one of the greatest. So many remarkable hits. And those you don't know are just super chill to listen too. The lyrics are timeless. And Mark Knopfler's skills are just out of this world. 5 Stars

👍
View Author
Mon Nov 01 2021
5

Absolutely sublime, up my street and an all time classic

👍
View Author
Tue Nov 02 2021
5

This is my favourite album. I have all the collection of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler and his collaborations with anothers artists. The best.

👍
View Author
Tue Nov 09 2021
5

as first albums go, this is fucking ace. As first singles go (is this right? to lazy to check) Sultans of Swing is neither the best, not the most radio-friendly cut. Embarrassment of riches. When I first heard this (retro-tracking the back catalogue in the wake of Brothers in Arms) I used to imagine the ideal listener of the time. Its late. Co-habitants have buggered off to sleep. Outside, the silence lays thick. Indoors, single lamp by most comfortable armchair. Brushing off the vinyl, pouring out a subtle malt (generous serving), and settling down for 40 minutes of me, myself and I. Subtle malt and vinyl aside (I lack the resources for one, the temperamental inclinations for the other), I did this last night. God, it felt good.

👍
View Author
Thu Nov 11 2021
5

Didn’t realize these guys sang Sultans of Swing which I’ve definitely heard before.

👍
View Author
Tue Nov 30 2021
5

Love everything about this one. 5 stars all the way for me, along with the classics, Sultans of Swing and Down to the Waterline. Mark Knopfler's clean and sweet guitar licks are just masterful.

👍
View Author
Tue Jan 18 2022
5

Just a trumpet playing band. Love this album. Good guitar and vocal blending. Not a bad song on it, plus Sultans of Swing. 5

👍
View Author
Fri Jan 21 2022
5

What if "Country", but actually good. Update: Ok, I've had this album on repeat for about 10 times...

👍
View Author
Mon Jan 24 2022
5

Ridiculously easy one for me to review as it's one of my favorites. Still listen to it quite frequently. In the midst of an era of music history, they recorded and released this beauty which should've been a total flop based upon what was popular at the time -- and even based on what was considered unconventional or rebellious at the time -- yet it endures as one of the finest works in the broad rock genre. All that aside, I just love listening to it. Mark Knopfler's melodic and intricate guitar playing never fails to fill me up, and it's important to acknowledge just how darn excellent the rest of the band is, too. Genius stuff. Love it.

👍
View Author
Sat Feb 05 2022
5

Ótimo, perfeito, maravilhoso

👍
View Author
Sat Feb 26 2022
5

I always read people banging on about Dire Straits and how amazing they actually are but I'm only really familiar with them through the later stuff that has been played to death. (Except for The Sultans of Swing off this album, which I did rate but assumed was just an anomaly.) I ignorantly thought I was familiar enough with them and just didn't get it the same way as all those people who banged on about them... but this album has proven me utterly completely wrong. This is astonishingly good. Might pop off and buy this now.

👍
View Author
Thu Feb 24 2022
5

I have never tired of Sultans of Swing, it’s a perfect song with one of the best guitar solos of all time and Knopfler’s vocals maybe don’t get enough credit on that song. But this whole album is pretty damn fine, too. The buzzing dobro on the moody Water of Love and pretty much all of the guitar picking on every other song is great.

👍
View Author
Wed Mar 23 2022
5

solid af for a debut album definitely gave off heavy Bob Dylan vibes but with a lot of fast guitar picking which sounded really cool I think i’ll give this album a 9/10 but my favorite album of theirs is still Brothers In Arms

👍
View Author
Thu Feb 24 2022
5

Knopfler's finger pickin is one of the sweetest tones I've ever heard. While not my favorite Dire Straits album it does have Setting me up and Sultans of Swing the latter having perhaps the greatest the solo of all time. Though I prefer the solo on the live version on Alchemy, just insane.

👍
View Author
Sun Apr 10 2022
5

This debut album is awesome!

👍
View Author
Tue Apr 12 2022
5

The Dire Straits are the right amount of smooth and cool. Not too smooth, not too cool. They are situated in the 80's, for sure, but their music has a timeless quality to it that makes it feel fresh. I also love how they don't play on any southern rock or 80's pop "troupes," but rather have a sound in and of themselves.

👍
View Author
Tue Apr 26 2022
5

Excellent…one of there best

👍
View Author
Fri May 13 2022
5

Hi- Down to the Waterline, Water of Love, Sultans of Swing What I like most about Dire Straits is that it's like Bob Dylan, but good. All kidding aside, the smooth, effortless vocals and masterful guitar plucking of Mark Knopfler, is precise and old-school, which lends to the classic timelessness of Dire Straits.

👍
View Author
Mon May 16 2022
5

Very pleasant classic, soft rock. Wikipedia calls it blues rock or pub rock. Enjoyable album.

👍
View Author
Thu May 26 2022
5

Fantastic album, one of their best.

👍
View Author
Sat May 28 2022
5

Amazing debut album with rock heavily influenced by blues.

👍
View Author
Mon May 30 2022
5

Un clásico con temas muy británicos

👍
View Author
Fri Jun 03 2022
5

Already knew and enjoyed "Sultans of Swing." Loved listening to the whole album. My kind of classic rock Summer jam.

👍
Load more reviews