Dire Straits

My go to evening rock record. Love it. 5

3.5 Great guitar work that feels masterfully executed without being overly flashy, something I think Mark Knopfler excels at. I actually much prefer the band’s sound here over that of their later career, when they were playing the guitar on the MTV. This album has such a distinct sound of its own, whereas the stuff on Brothers in Arms feels like it has a pop-focused shift, and for me results in blending in with similar stuff of the era. The subtle classic vinyl style is one I feel suits the band and Knopfler’s guitar style much better. Everything on this album is enjoyable, but I have to highlight Sultans of Swing for being an all-time great song. I think it’s the perfect embodiment of what makes the sound on this album so unique and praised - it makes several advanced and technical guitar licks (or what one might call “shreds”) sound casual and foundationally based in the song instead of extra layering, like Knopfler isn’t even trying that hard to pull them off. It also has a great call and response dynamic with the vocals and guitar work, and most importantly, brings good memories of a time in high school when Will and I were both really into the track. Anyway, not the best classic rock album out there, but definitely a more distinct and replayable one. Favorite songs: Sultans of Swing, Down to the Waterline, Six Blade Knife

Great guitar, less great singing. Old before his time.

ok

Whenever you hear Dire Straits - Mark Knopfler's unmistakable voice, along with the classic lyrics and backing musical arrangements make for some fantastic tunes. This album was such a treat to listen to - hit after hit. Loved it.

Very hard listen without dancing

A solid classic rock album that has one fantastic song and many other good ones. Sultans if swing is obviously the big hitter but water of love and down to the waterline are both pretty good. The album itself flows pretty seamlessly and is enjoyable. It’s repeatable through the first part but kinda of drifts in the ladder half. Overall it’s a good solid album. 7.6/10

3.75

This just passed me by. Nothing stood out, nothing made me think ‘wow this is good’, or ‘this is terrible’. Just a total ‘meh’ album, I really can’t understand how it made the list. It’s obviously not a bad album and there’s some decent little guitar bits but I cant tell you which songs contained them as it was just one big bland song to me

Sultans of swing is brilliant, but their general sound is bland so when they aren't stuffing their songs full of ideas it's quite dull. Mark knopfler can't really sing either so they have to keep everything in a very narrow vocal range. Inoffensive.

It is okay. Sultans of Swing is fantastic, but the rest of the album never really got going. Pleasant enough. +1 for Sultans of Swing.

Was lot more mellow than I was expecting. The album almost passed me by in the background. When I tried to properly listen I got a bit bored. It's not bad but not much stands out. Highlights were "Sultans of Swing" and "Southbound Again".

Looking forward to finding out whether Jamie considers this good dad rock or not! I really like dire straits but admittedly I've only heard their greatest hits before. I didn't dislike any of this album and sultans of swing is fantastic. However, a lot of songs kinda meander about and I'm waiting for them to really get going, and they never quite do. They sound good though!

Nothing else quite as good as Sultans of Swing on here but a decent album with a mellow mood.

Good debut

yes.

Great just for Sultans

Not bad.

‘Saltans of Swing’ reminds me of my Dad. Big fan he was and taught me this solo 🤘

I like it, very dad

Very surprised by how much play this album has. Started off pretty strong but kinda petered out in my opinion. Still, great guitar work all the way through. Solid record. Standouts: Down to the Waterline, Sultans of Swing, Wild West End, Lions

Wonderful. Hard to believe it was their debut album - it sounds so fully realised and polished.

Three words: Sultans of Swing. That's all you need to know.

One real standout track and the rest is pretty mellow-cool. I always have like Mark Knopfler’s guitars. 3.5 and rounding up.

Cool vibes all the way down.

4/5 That was very enjoyable. I don't know if it's because I have kinda half hated a bunch of the last albums (shhhh don't tell them), or because I actually enjoyed it. It was groovy, rocking, fun, in tune(!) melodic etc. I would listen to this again.

I do love me some Dire Straits.

4/5 That was very enjoyable. I don't know if it's because I have kinda half hated a bunch of the last albums (shhhh don't tell them), or because I actually enjoyed it. It was groovy, rocking, fun, in tune(!) melodic etc. I would listen to this again.

It’s “Dad Rock” and that’s okay with me. Plodding and melodic and perfect for background music. This is something I’ll come back to.

This is not a country album, but it feels like a country album, but this is somehow a yield from the punk era? In light of such revelations, the listening experience is affected by equal parts what Dire Straits is, and also what it is not. Musically, it's easy listening, the lyrics are inconsequential living rent-free in one's head without annoying controversy. This is a fine album.

It must be over 30 years since I last heard the album. It was purchased shortly after seeing the band live. Played often just to marvel as the guitar playing. While that is still plainly evident the album as a whole now feels somewhat underpowered.

Some bops. Least favorite Dire Straits album overall

great album

Liedjes die ik al kende: Down To The Waterline, Sultans of Swing Down To The Waterline: 4,5/5 Water Of Love: 2,5/5 Setting Me Up: 3,5/5 Six Blade Knife: 3/5 Southbound Again: 3,5/5 Sultans Of Swing: 4/5 In The Gallery: 3/5 Wild West End: 3,5/5 Lions: 3/5 TOTAL: 3,5/5

Peak dad rock. It goes nowhere, tries and fails to be cool, and in the end leaves me feeling disappointed.

6/10

This album was largely pretty boring. It’s standard, uninspiring dad rock. Could picture this playing in the background of a greasy spoon or a crappy dive bar. Twangy guitars are cool throughout but nothing really sticks out as great except for Sultans of Swing; in which I think they caught lightning in a bottle. Favorite track - Sultans of Swing Least favorite track - Six Blade Knife

I'm sure it could grow on me if I spent some more time with it, but the album is mostly inoffensive dad rock with a few sprinkles of greatness mixed in here and there. Obviously, Sultans of Swing is a classic, but none of the other songs on this album really stick out in a similar way. It's good fishing music.

Classic. Nothing more to say.

Country club rock. Groovy, classy, enjoyable, and suited for all ages. I recommend sipping a Michelob Ultra while you listen.

LOVE this album. so much

A pretty inviting and easygoing album. I really liked the guitar and thought the playing was the clear highlight of the record. Although I wanted slightly more out of the listening experience, these were fun songs. There’s a good standard level of enjoyment set here. Faves: Down to the Waterline, Water of Love, Lions, Setting Me Up, Sultans of Swing

I can't say it was a bad album but won't say it was good either. The guitars did most of the work here but nothing that was exceptional or that stood out. My experience was enjoyable but it not a must listen album for me.

Like

Not bad!

Excellent

The best album i heard…

So lame. Other than sultans of swing

Pas mon style mais sympa Mastering propre Guitares excellentes

I fuckan love Dire Straits. Perfect day for some good ol' Americana rock n roll.

Another fun listen from an album I hadn't heard

Only really familiar with Brothers in Arms from my Dad's record collection. Sultans of Swing the obvious highlight but it hangs togehter really well and passed the time much quicker than an album of 4-6 minute fairly self indulgent guitar noodling tracks has any right to. Recommended background listening for a chilled evening.

Impressive debut.

Zzz

oooh good one

Down To The Water- 7 Water of Love- 8 Setting Me Up-7 Six Blade Knife-7 Southbound Again-7 Sultans Of Swing-9 In The Gallery- 8 Wild West End- 8 Lions-8

Today's album is the self titled debut album from the UK rock group Dire Straits. The band was started by brothers Mark and David Knopfler. Mark's guitar playing is very recognizable, as is his singing style. He is largely slept upon when it comes to his guitar talent. He is absolutely one of the greats! His lyrical style is similar to Bob Dylan. Dire Straits music draws influence from country, blues, funk, folk, and jazz, and blends it all together into a beautiful mix. I've listened to quite a bit of Dire Straits stuff, as well as Mark's solo stuff as well, and love it all. My favourite Dire Straits album is Brothers in Arms, and I'm sure it's on this list, so I can't wait to give that one a spin again. They were still discovering their style on this album, what with it being their first album, but for a debut album, it is insanely tight and polished. Thoroughly enjoyed today's listen, and will definately listen again! Favourite songs: Sultans of Swing, Southbound Again, Down to the Waterline, In the Gallery, Setting Me Up Least favourite song: Six Blade Knife 4/5

Every album has that groovy rock and roll twang that Dire Straits perfected

Very average album with outstanding "Sultans of Swing". Other songs weren't remarkable or interesting at all. 10 songs on the record feel like trying ten times to roll 12 on 2k6, hitting it once and getting low results every other time. Pretty dissapointed, although once again, Sultans is one of the best song ever, the album not so much.

I had always made fun of Dire Straits as music for dorks but this was actually a fun one to listen to.

I had only heard the song Sultans of Swing from this album. I like that song and liked the others on the album. Bluesy with a bit of country/western mixed in. This album is different from the more mainstream and pop-ish album that I remember well, Brothers in Arms, in the early 1980s. . Would I listen to this album again? Probably not, but I did not mind listening to it today.

These guys are underrated by a lot of people (including me). I always forget how good of a guitar player Knopfler is. They have a unique and recognizable sound, and this is a better than average debut album.

British Rock? Here we go again. But wait? Actually unique? Actually Enjoyable? Some songs gave off a fleetwood mac type vibe of rock with a dose of easy listening. Not bad at all. Though, anytime I've seen this band the first thing in my head is Pistachio's grandfather saying "when you're in dire straits, and you don't know what to do" using the crystal ball to communicate. Which makes me think we have had a DS album before because I know I've mentioned that here before. Side note, I ended up listening to this one twice because I enjoyed it so much.

Number two from Dire Straits. Once again, a couple heaters that I recognize. Aside from those two, there weren't many that stuck out to me, but the sound these guys create is very consistent and makes for an excellent listening experience. Guitar work is fantastic too. I didn't realize until today that these guys are British, the music seems American for whatever reason. In that case, I think I'd call them the British Steely Dan, don't care to take arguments. I liked this one though; not as memorable as the other we got, but still solid. Favorite tracks: Sultans of Swing, Down to the Waterline, Lions. Album art: A bit mysterious, innit? Is this a ghostly person in a hospital or something? Is that a waterline? No idea, but I do like it. 3.5/5

Bluesy country twang with a relaxed, laidback vibe. I dig it and I could see myself really digging it with time. “Sultans of Swing” is a classic too. Highlights: “Setting Me Up,” “Sultans of Swing,” “In the Gallery”

Really tight, impressive album. Mark Knopfler's guitar playing is legendary and yet still underrated. His guitar tone and phrasing are some of the best ever in rock music and this album showcases that in what I (and probably many others think) is their best song - Sultans of Swing. The album outside of that track is more vibey than I thought and while it's not as immensely impactful as Sultans of Swing, it's still very good. 4/5 but it's like a 4.3/5 on my "actual" score.

Solid album, very chill. Listened to it while running errands. Love the guitar and calming vocals.

Will listen to more

notes - debut album by blues rock dire straits - features hit single sultans of swing - guitarist mark knopfler’s signature style is all over this - gotta say, none of the songs on here other than sultans of swing really stood out to me in any way - the whole album sounds kinda unfinished - get really tired of the gravelly voice mark puts on for some songs fav - sultans of swing - theres a reason this was their big hit least fav - six blade knife or wild west end - gravelly voice on these 2/5 - only really enjoyed one song the rest were meh

Very good. Haven't listened to that one for a long time.

Pleasant - Sultans of Swing is OK - but overall bland

I thought I'd give it 5 stars when I saw the album cover, but it's a lot more boring than I remembered. I really only love Sultans of Swing.

Favorites: Down to the Waterline, Southbound Again, Sultans of Swing,

Released at a time when everyone was avoiding guitar bands. Definitely uncool to like them but that didn’t stop many old rockers claiming they were the next best thing. Boring

Dire Straits, enough said

Solid album for easy listening. The guitar parts are technically impressive, but the album never really pulled me in and made me stop and listen.

Mumble clapton

awesome!

Guitar go boing Enjoyable

In the Gallery was the surprise high point. The music lacks Steely Dan brilliance but has some of the same wit, and enough weight. More than anything, Dire Straits is a deceptively mature opening statement.

Dipped in and out a bit as it didn't hold my attention despite never having heard any Dire Straits before, but I did notice Sultans of Swing was a groove.

A great album from a great band. I love the sound achieved by this group, whose musical prowess is clearly demonstrated. Listening to the collection sends me on a tough yet laidback adventure with hardened but lovable outcasts.

8/10

8/10. I wasn't expecting a ton from this, but I was pleasantly surprised. It isn't the most exciting album, but it's certainly very pretty to listen to throughout.

Sultans of Swing is a masterpiece and there’s some great guitar elsewhere on the album but definitely some slow parts. 8/10

Boss. Me dad got me on these early doors. That Sultans of Swing is the very definition of a toe tapper and the guitar solo outro is perfection

Another boss debut album. Communique got criticised for being too similar which is ridiculous. 'What a great album, better not make another one with a similar sound'.

This album was my first Dire Straits album. On any other day this is a strong 4 but after going back to back with Led Zeppelin, it’s is just about a 4 in comparison. I can’t give it a 3. Maybe I should? I’m not typing out a new comment, I’ve written too much. I think I will give it a 3? Shall I? Surely if I like Led Zepplins more than this should be a 3? What are we saying? Dunno what to have for tea later me. So many questions going through my head. I think I will say 3.5 but select 3. Yeah that’s fine.

Minne meg om onkel Morten

Great record. The vocals can be a bit cheesy at times and it has a yacht rock feel but I honestly enjoyed it. The real highlight here is the guitar playing. Mark Knopfler is criminally underrated.

Top album. Water of Love, Sixblade Knife, and Wild West End are some of the least mainstream yet most slammin' Knopfler tunes. Sultans of Swing is worn out from the radio burning it down, but a great tune. I remember way back in the day having one hell of a love affair with a gorgeous woman whose favorite tune was Wild West End. Ha! That one conjures some memories! I'm a pretty unabashed Dire Straits song. The guitar alchemy of it all.

Evidently Men at Work and Dire Straits are two different bands. Somehow I put this album on and ended up listening to Colin Hay thinking "this is a really good album." Then, I realized that I had to listen to a different one. One that was less enjoyable called Dire Straits. Dire Straits is like a ham sandwich. Yes, this is music. This has vocals, this has a beat. But, nobody ever says to themselves at 9:00 a.m. "mmmm, I cant' wait to eat that ham sandwich I brought for lunch today." However, if it's 7:00 p.m and you haven't eaten since Thanksgiving, that ham sandwich sounds really good. I just finished scrambled eggs, oatmeal and a sky-high stack of pancakes for breakfast. I'm good.

"Dire Straits" sure takes its time getting going. Were they trying to get listeners to check to see if their 8-track was messed up? Once "Down By the Waterline" finally kicks in, though, the brisk pace established by the crisp guitars carries you away. "Water of Love" doesn't maintain the pace, however, and while the song isn't bad, it was too soon to shift gears. In fact, they only found that higher gear one more time, with “Sultans of Swing.” As with “Brothers in Arms,” their hits show their potential, but most of their work falls far short of it.

This album was 4-4.5 stars good through Sultans Of Swing. Those last three tracks were a big let down for me. Setting Me Up, Southbound Again, and Sultans are my favorite tracks. The lead guitar is noteworthy throughout the album. Even I won’t be adding this album to my library, I should be adding a couple of these songs to a playlist that doesn’t exist yet.

Love the guitar. One familiar song on the album. Over all the album is great.

Loved the first 80% of it. After the famous Sultans of Swing the rest felt like it lacked that special something so I was hesitating to give it full rating. But looking back at the album makes me smile. What a lovely record with unique feeling.

an album from my childhood i completely forgot about, so glad i rediscovered it through here! extra points for nostalgia obvi

Love it. Mark Knopfler's guitar playing is just sublime. The whole comes together as a smooth, easy listen. 5 stars without a doubt.

Kuulemattomia biisejä! Kitara böngähtää aina kivasti!

Not that good, just not my taste.

Riktiga bangers men inte för intressant sound. De spelar rätt säkert.

-"Down to the Waterline" is a catchy, spooky tune -"Six Blade Knife" also has a bit of spookiness to it -"In The Gallery" almost has a funky vibe to it -"Sultans of Swing" is obviously the big hit from this album. It's good, but certainly not my favorite Dire Straits song, of which I only like a few anyway -The album is some very plain rock. Not my favorite rock genre, but perfectly fine. I think it is just barely holding onto 4 stars

Það er eitthvað svo þægilegt við þessa plötu. Hún líður bara í gegn og það er enginn æsingur. Smá köntrífílingur við og við.

Dude Mark Knopfler somehow makes guitar songs into elevator music. Why is this so damned boring. A lack of personality hurts this one tremendously.

A good first effort by Dire Straits, and one that already contained the mega hit Sultans of Swing. The rest of the tracks is played well, but imitates other Blues and R&B bands too much. Apart from the title track, Knopfler's song wrighting abilites were clearly in their infancy here. The guitar work, on the other hand, was already top notch. The following albums would refine things on the songwrighting front. 3/5

What can you say about Dire Straits? I've always liked the idea that Mark Knopfler is "your favorite guitarists' favorite guitarist". He has such a smooth and effortless style that seems so easy and melodic until you start really paying attention to what he's doing. Love the album, not my favorite Dire Straits album, but a good one nonetheless.

Kind of a snooze.

Musically you can’t complain but like a lot of dad rock records this is just missing something. Sultanas of swing the stand out song.

Complete 180 from Brother in Arms. I hated that album, so I went into this one also expecting to hate it, but I am glad to be wrong. It has a lot of Lou Reed vibes and has a good flow throughout the album. Favorite song is probably wild west end.

i love dire straits. i love this album. 10/10 mark knopfler is p dang cool.

Substantial chops plus an understated vibe as the antidote to the chaos of disco and punk. There’s a modesty that underscores the quality, the restrained and refined licks a new brand of non-show-offy guitar heroics. The record has a vaguely cry-from-the-wilderness feel. One gets the feeling that this band kept its head down, avoiding all the noise around it, just doing its thing, and doing it at an extremely high level. "Wild West End" is a personal all-time favorite, and "Lions" and "In the Gallery" are seriously underrated, bookending "Down to the Waterline" and "Water of Love" in terms of intrigue and listenability. "Sultans" is fine, but barely a top five on this excellent sert. And much better was still to come – namely, Making Movies and Love Over Gold, egregious and utterly inexplicable exclusions to this list. Bonus points for the cool and arty cover photo, which the headbands-cum-wristbands-cum-wife-beater look (speaking of egregious) would rather unfortunately cancel out.

I've heard Sultans of Swing before, but nothing else, so I was kind of interested when everything else on the record sounded like. This album was very solid. The guitar on here is enjoyable. Sometimes the things he does with his voice reminds me of Bob Dylan. I didn't like it enough to give it a 5, but it's still really good. My favourite songs were Sultans of Swings, Down to the Waterline, and Wild West End.

Onko nää kaikki näin saakelin hyviä? Mahtava tunnelma. Sopivan lyhyessä ajassa (9 biisiä n. 40 min.) ei ehdi tulla huteja. Miten voi kitara kuulostaakkin näin hyvältä? Uskoisin että yksittäiset biisit kuulostaa paremmilta juurikin levynä putkeen kuunneltuna. Paras biisi: Sultans of swing tietty, erityismaininta down to the waterline Huonoin biisi: Six blade knife? En kyl oikeesti tiiä minkä valita koska tää levy vaan toimii saakeli.

The DS sound is so familiar now, and I was a big fan of Brothers in Arms at the time, but I enjoyed listening to this first album in full. Good stuff throughout - not just a (huge) hit single - reflecting a range of influences. I thought "Wild West End" fell a bit flat, but I enjoyed all the other tracks. Would I come back though? More likely I'd listen to individual tracks, a best-of, or playlists-based-on. 3.5 stars, but not quite 4.

I remember hearing Bob Hudson play Sultans Of Swing on 2JJ one afternoon in 1978 & thinking that it would be big. The album was even better. Not sure how much the production of Muff Winwood (Stevie’s bro) had to do with it but the flow from track to track is terrific. There are the moody songs (In The Gallery),the rocky tunes (Setting Me Up is pure rockabilly) and, let’s face it, the ones that sound so much like J.J.Cale, it ain’t funny (Southbound Again). It’s all about Mark Knopfler’s laid-back vocals & distinctive guitar sound. From then on you could always identify his sound. Within a year Dylan employed him to play lead on the Slow Train Coming album. I hadn’t played this for quite a while, but thoroughly enjoyed it. A great album.

'Brothers in Arms' was played so much that I know the album by heart, even though I never owned a copy. I never need to hear that album again in my life, thank you very much. I was expecting to feel similarly about this record. It is clearly a Dire Straits album (the mumbled vocals and distinctive clear guitar playing is all there from the outset). But I found this much more approachable and enjoyable than I was expecting. The band is tight and focused, with a clear, warm sound. The songs are likable, but lean really heavily on the Dire Straits sound to carry the weight. The last couple of tracks on side 2 are pretty weak, and I was a bit over it by then. "Sultans of Swing" is still, to my mind, one of the best songs ever about playing in an unsuccessful band (neck-and-neck for first place with "Joe's Garage")

7,5/10

Really enjoyable, liked vey much!

One of those perfect and classic albums from an iconic group and even more iconic guitar player. The whole JJ Cale roots rock style paired with Knopfler’s amazing guitar work make this such an enjoyable listen. Underrated is also the lyricism.

There's just something very cool and chill about the Dire Straits sound. Absolutely love Mark's relaxed, almost deinterested singing style and how the guitar howls just perfectly every time, not too much, never too little, just perfect!

Good album! Really enjoyed the music.

When that guitar kicks in, the first song. Chefskiss

Great album. One of the underrated bands of the era. I believe this album would fit in today's scene with its masterful guitar work and hints of modern alternative rock.

Yes. 4.6

Great guitar parts, definitely a standout of the late 70's.

This was sickly smooth. As though you could rightly credit cigarette tar, quaaludes, and the band's local escorts as co-producers of the album. The guy's gravely voice and that sliding, twanging guitar complement one another perfectly, the same way that mixing together just the right amounts of different kinds of garbage can end up with beautiful compost. I do think the singing is not extraordinary, and that he's trying to do a couple more things than he's really able to with those melodies. But I also recognize that isn't really the point. If it's good enough to suit the needs of all 3-7 occupants of a dimly lit, smoke filled mobile home bedroom, it's doing exactly what it's there to do. Highlights: In the Gallery, Down the Waterline, Sultans of Swing Lowlights: Wild West End, Water of Love

I don't know where dire straits sits in their cultural relevancy, but I liked this. Sultans of Swing is a classic.

Very nice guitar work.

Great time listing to this one

Always loved this one. Sultans of Swing is one of my all time favorites.

Vidste godt at Dire Straits er gode, meeen skal til at høre mere. Deres bedste album.

Liked it. Best album for a while

Great guitar work on this bad boy!!

Great album

Classicly good.

Nobody plays guitar like MK

I know nothing about this band. I'm interested to know what the vibe is. I think my impression based on the name only was that they're a country artist but they're not and they're British lol. it's fine so far, nothing is jumping out at me as special. it's been pretty average idk. southbound again is groovy. it's not bad just a little bland.

Transcendental guitar rock, excellent album 9/10

Some classic rock, easily listenable

It was really good very jazzy feel I liked it

Decent album if you're into that sort of thing. Inventive guitar work.

Mid

I ended up buying this on tape a long time ago as it didn't seem to exist on second hand vinyl anywhere (eventually I pickled it up for peanuts). It was bought purely for the 'Sultans of Swing' and that bit of the tape must have been well worn out. Every now and then I'd try the whole album but rarely made it through, especially the second side, which starts with SoS. Listening to it now in full, it's not a bad album. There's a lot of tasty and tasteful guitar playing, even if it's almost the start of all the 80s MOR that came afterwards.

The album that launched a thousand dadrock bands.

Pleasant enough debut, Walking in the Wild West End is a tune, and Sultans of course. But not enough memorable stuff elsewhere for more than 3.

Pretty accomplished for a first album. I'd forgotten how Dire Straits has that mix of rock and almost country, something to do with the whining guitar I suppose. Found myself singing along to some of the tracks and as I haven't listened to them in over a decade or more, that must count for something

first listen great sound

Happy memories of my dad playing this in the car as a kid. I assumed a lot of these songs were by the Police!

Not yet enough of a stereotypical dad to really get into this

Thought dire straits was something else this is good

Wild West End was a pleasant surprise. I’ve heard Sultans of Swing many times before. The rest was ok.

easy listening, not offensive but pretty boring

kinda boring, not much to note but pretty listenable. not too bad.

A great album from such an under appreciated band.

Knopfler's (the Mark one) signature finger-picking guitar is evident from the first track 'Down To The Waterline'. But what really shines here is the drumming of Pick Withers. Never a dull moment! A really strong debut with highs - the funky 'In The Gallery' and 'Sultans of Swing' - and lows - the lyrically weak 'Wild West End'.

Quite the debut album! Knopfler (the not David one of them) is a laid back frontman when it comes to vocals, but on the guitar he’s a living legend. His picking style out of this world! There’s a few almost misses, but overall there’s nothing truly bad to find here. I completely forgot how fun it is listening to Pick Withers. Especially his work on the hi-hat and ride is intriguing while he still manages to stay well in the background just sitting tight in the pocket.

Not a fan

A true classic!

Sultans of Swing carries this album, but a couple of nice tracks too.

groovy

Sultans of the swing ❤️

Pleasant enough

This is a fine debut album from some very fine musicians. The sound is sooo smooth and natural, the guitar tone sweet and clean clean clean. But its the mature songwriting that really makes it a classic album one that sounds as fresh today as it did when it was released. One nit I could pick is the strange production choice of mixing Knopflers voice almost hard left channel and the guitar in the right channel, almost like a Rudy Van Gelder jazz mix. It softens the approach a bit on Sultans of Swing but it does strike me as a weird production choice. Favorite songs; Down to the Waterline, Water of Love, Sultans of Swing and Wild West End. 4.5 stars

1st track and sultans was good. Production was much nicer than 2112 and physical graffiti. Good background music. 6/10

Nice guitar

Level set: Sultans of Swing is in my top 5 songs of all time. The guitar work is unbelievable! Album as a whole is nicely impressive

Great Debut from Mark Knopfler and Co. Loved "Sultans Of Swing" when it came out and still do. "Down the Waterline" "Setting Me Up" and "Wild West End" all favourites. A good call for this list.

It's nice. Better than many other albums on this list. 3/5

pretty meh overall, expected more, but maybe it's just a product of it's time. Sultans of Swing was good, but the rest really didn't make me want to listen to more. It was not bad though, just ok.

Sultans of swing gör ju plattan. I övrigt så är jag inte så imponerad.

Waterline Six Blade Knife Sultans of Swing

solid rock sound.

Nice guitar

Excellent album pour le mood que j'ai depuis quelques semaines. De la guit, des boys qui racontent des anecdotes. Particulièrement aimer la chanson Sultan of Swing (qui est un classique) J'aime la guitar, le picking, la vibe aussi un peu pluvieuse (parfaite avec la température de ce beau 18 août 2022)

The album is largely forgettable. Sultans of Swing is the best song on the album and the most recognizable. It is the only reason this album is not getting a 2.

Album was a bit of fun but not amazing. Sultans of swing is the saving grace of a somewhat forgettable experience

норм

Really didn’t want to enjoy this, but apparently I’m just old and it was unavoidable

Such a good album. Knopfler is so underrated.

4.1 - really enjoyed this album. Great bluesy, guitar-led coolness. The Six Blade Knife>Southbound Again>Sultans of Swing run in the middle of the album is absolutely fantastic.

I always forget how much I enjoy Dire Straits. Ironically, Sultans of Swing was one of my least favorite songs on this album.

Easy 5 ;) Liking the laidback feel. Played a lot in my early days, still like it, nice to hear again. Same for communique probably or maybe i should say all albums up to alchemy ...

This is not "Making Movies" which is one of the best albums ever made (and presumably included on the list as well) but still easily 5 star of course (just like Love Over Gold and Brothers in Arms).

Loved the overall vibe of this. Sultans of Swing is one of my most played songs of all time. And yet, there were not enough stand out songs for me to give this five stars. I think I'll be able to rate some of the later albums higher, if they are on the list.

Man, if I met the Devil and could sell my soul to play like anyone, it would be Mark Knopfler. Just amazing. The guitar playing on this gets five stars on it's own. It's not my favorite DS album. Not a huge fan of the songs (with exception of SoS). So overall it gets 4.

3.5/5 chill classic rock

Sultans of Swing is a classic, enjoyed most of the other songs

hmm. i'm not as into dad music as i thought

I think it’s too “easy-listening” for me. It ends up coming across as pretty bland but with a few exceptions. 4/10

Totally unique, changed music forever.

The popularity of the song, Sultans Of Swing from Dire Straits debut album, helped launch the very successful career of Dire Straits. The song remains a mainstay on radio (and my streaming algorithms) and sometimes the album gets overshadowed by the massive success of the single. The album charted high and sold crazily well, but how many people (at the time) listened to the whole record? I admit, I didn't it much love when it first came out, but over the years I've come to appreciate the whole album. Sure it has some filler, (what Dire Straits album doesn't have filler?) but over all it might be their most consistent record. The hugely popular, Brothers In Arms album may be the most accessible and commercially lauded album, but the debut highlighted the guitar wizardry and unique sound of Mark Knolfler and the band.

Well, this falls into the category of yeah I can see what they're doing, but I'm not going to suddenly like Dire Straits after all these years. Aside from sultans of swing I'm not really feeling anything. I got really really bored towards the end.

For some reason, I thought that this was a New Wave band. I was wrong. Much more like country. Maybe it was just this album?

Really enjoyed expanding my knowledge of Dire Straits. The guitar work was great and my favorite song from the album was Down to the Waterline.

Great guitar, good listen

discon con willy de reves

Come for Sultans of Swing stay for...a bunch of songs that are not as good as Sultans of Swing

Dire Straits has such a cool, funky style! Great guitars, great vocals

TIL Dire Straits is from the 70s. Always thought they were 90s for some reason. Either way I really enjoyed this album. Sultans of Swing has always been a song I liked but the rest of the album had the same feel which I enjoyed.

I don’t feel cool enough to listen to this album. Sultans of Swing is incredible but I also enjoyed Down to the Waterline and Six Blade Knife. Very funky rock vibe that I think was ahead of it’s time.

With "Sultans" being one of my favorite songs, my hopes were very high. Unfortunately it didn't quite live up, but it was still good.

Dire Straits' first and best album. An album with an atmosphere where you could see Tarantino creating some of his best scenes. It's bit more playful and less boring and perfectionistic than their later work.

Sultans of Swing do slap. The rest of the album sounds like the noodling you’d do to eventually reach writing that song.

I think we all agree that Dire Straits' music is basically magic, so I won't try to come up with a new way to describe it.

Awesome!

It's fine. Sultans of Swing is one of those ubiquitous classic rock songs that I know all the words to. It's really the only thing I care about on this album. A chill 40 minutes of listening but it didn't rock my world or make me want to dig deeper into this band.

Eh. I mean, it's okay. I get the appeal, and there's a nice mellowness here you don't get from their arguably biggest hit ("Money for Nothing"). Music for boomers to fall asleep to, but in a wholesome way. Really enjoyed the consistency between tracks throughout this album. I can't say I particularly loved or hated it, but it was certainly cohesive. Fave track: Lions

Such a great sound. Never heard the entire album before, it stands out far ahead of other first listens for me. Standout: Sultans of Swing.

Reminds me of Eric clapton’s ocean boulevard album a bit. This album obviously has great guitar, and a couple definite 5/5 moments. I listen to Sultans regularly. But I wasn’t really entranced by a lot of the songs.

Good album, some songs sound a little too similar but Knopfler's guitar talent really shines. The obvious highlight is Sultans of Swing.

4/5 love the southern twang jazz fusion Standouts: Down the Waterline🔥 Setting me up 🔥 Six blade knife Southbound again Sultans of swing 🔥🔥

This is Dire Straits' debut album which was released in the fall of 1978 but took five months before "Sultans of Swing" and the album became big. The first thing I notice is the well-placed guitar lines and solos. There really isn't any excess, very economical. Also, each song has sort of a unique guitar approach; I really like the diversity of guitar sounds. You could put the music itself in the blues and/or country category. I hear elements of both. I also hear a lot of the guitar sounding like early to mid-70's Eric Clapton which is a good thing to me. Lyrically, the first half of the album is about some aspect of a relationship, in three cases, a woman doing him wrong. The second half songs are more stories or observations which was a good change. "Down to the Waterline" starts out "Dire Straits" with just great and well-placed rhythm and lead guitar parts. Nothing wasted. There are at least three songs with a heavy Eric Clapton influence, my favorite being "Southbound Again." And then you have "Sultans of Swing", another song with just a great guitar riff and solo; I also have always liked the drumming and who doesn't love a song about a rock band. Unbelievably, besides their very last album, this is only other album I haven't heard completely. And this is a very good album at that, really no missteps, and one I would put near the top of their catalogue.

Great to hear the whole album Some tunes sound very Bob dylan esc.

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

Catchy and cool, but the songs started to blur together as the album went on. Really enjoyable as background music though. 'Wild West End' and 'Sultans of Swing' were standout songs, however.

Dire Staits makes music for people who enjoy some seriously good vibes, seems like a lot of people don't enjoy that kind of thing. 3.5/5

Enjoyable, excellent guitar playing, Dylanesque singing, some laid-back music. I'd have never guessed this was a debut album.

Not bad, just not what I go for most of the time

Solid, great musicianship

Un clásico con temas muy británicos

Amazing debut album with rock heavily influenced by blues.

Musically impeccable. For me, this album almost deserves 5 stars. The only problem is the lack of variability among the songs. They are amazing, but it looks like a 40 min long song instead of an album. This is the second "Dire Straits" that I got on this list and it's much better than the other one. The guitar here is incredible.

Fantastic album, one of their best.

Not really my thing but I enjoyed. I like how Dire Straits took the often turgid Eric Clapton take on the blues and made something interesting out of it

Dire Straits is sort of like Queen for me, in that I would much rather just listen to their singles thrown in a random rock playlist than an entire album. "Sultans of Swing", "Money for Nothing", "Romeo and Juliet".. some of my favorite songs of all time. "Setting Me Up", "Wild West End", "Lovely Ride", "Lions"? I listened to this album three hours ago and I have no idea what any of these are. Tell me to name any word sung or any note played and I'd tell you to shoot me in the head, man. You probably didn't even notice that I made the third song up. So basically what I'm saying is that I have crippling ADHD and "Sultans of Swing" is the only memorable song on this album. Cool album cover though.

Pretty low key and mellow. Nothing too interesting except "Sultans of Swing" though. Guitar work is incredible. 3.5 stars.

While initially compelling, the samey nature of the songs made it incredibly hard to pay attention to this album, even on multiple listens. The only bright point after the begging were foe me Sultans of Jazz, waking me up a little - but there's nothing here that is bad, per se.

When I saw the cover I immediately grinned. It was a pleasure coming back to this debut album of Dire Straits. Incredibly relaxing 9 tunes, not to mention (cliche) Sultans of Swing - one of the best songs of all time. An old friend, worth every minute. Highlights: Water of Love, Wild West End

Knoppers fajnie na gitarce plumka, wolę jednak Brothers in Arms. Still jednak bardzo przyjemny album. Najlepsze Down To The Waterline i oczywiście Sultans Of Swing.

Nic do dodania, klasyczek. Jak wchodzi Sultans of Swing to każdy robi cat jam

This has got some of the best Dire Straits songs on it. They don't all kick ass, but the ones that do have some of my favorite guitar playing of all time.

I liked this one more than Brothers in Arms, although I couldn't tell you exactly why. It's a decent album but not amazing.

I preferred Brothers In Arms but this is still great and has Sultans of Swing. Guitar playing is immaculate as always from Knopfler.

I forget how I found “Sultans of Swing”, but when I heard it, that turned Dire Straits into a band that I knew of to one I had to check out. There’s no topping their first album though, which is perfectly sexy and loaded with tight musicianship. I do have to knock some points off for the weaker tracks, but this is what AOR should sound like. A-

Sultans of Swing is the best. I like Knopfler a lot as a guitarist, I think his style is very unique within the realms of rock, but I don't really like his voice. Lots of fun energy on this album, but the actual melodies don't really stand out to me.

Not bad! I feel like this doesn’t quite have the same energy as Brothers in Arms, but it’s more consistent to me. Sultans is all-time great, and the rest vibes so well. Knopfler has a keen ear for those swaggy, smooth melodies, dude sounds like he’s on permanent vacation. 3.5

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

I'll be honest here. I didn't even bother listening to this. They're an awful band. I mean, who would listen to this crap in '78 when there was far, far better music and bands. I disliked them then and I dislike them even more now.

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.

This is the debut album by the British rock band Dire Straits. It's a blues rock album, with hints of folk and country music, from the 70's that has been certified double platinum in the US and UK. This album is well put together for a debut album and the hit single "Sultans of Swing" helped propel the album into the limelight. The music on this album was nice to listen to while working, and I will have to check out other Dire Straits' albums.

Muito bom.

A bit bland, but okay.

o mark knopfler é um gênio. mas, dito isso, a sensação é que, nesse álbum, ele tentava se equilibrar em uma época em que o prog e o punk ditavam as regras. sem querer apelar e se refugiar no soft rock da época, mas, sim, de trabalhar o rock clássico, com um pé no pop e outro no country, o resultou final acabou sendo um álbum morno, que não conseguiu se firmar em nenhum dos caminhos que pensou em trilhar. Sultans of Swing é um destaque, o conjunto da obra é facilmente esquecível, mas, surpreendentemente, continua sendo um álbum gostoso de ouvir.

So good - really fun album

Good, but not amazing. Mark Knopfler is a great guitarist, and he makes that evident throughout the album. "Sultans of Swing" is obviously incredible, and I really liked the first song too, but for the most part? Nothing mind blowing. Side note, I highly recommend the Alchemy Live version of "Sultans of Swing". One of my favorite live performances of any song

Wonderful guitar!

One of the best debut album ever

Going to be upfront - I’m no white man blues fan - especially the VH1 special breed - and was not looking forward to this. However objectively Dire straits are one of the more stylish classy of the bunch - with delicate and restrained sound and clear production while still retaining an element of soul and unique voice. The album itself had a few good tracks which are new to me but make a solid strong side A and Side B starts waning a little until Sultans of Swing inflates it back and rescues the pace of the album. If I likes the genre I would have given it a higher rating - but that would be an injustice to other albums I liked more - so this is a subjective score of 3/5.

Chill but shallow dad rock.

Best Boomer music out there. Love it. And I don't know how "Sultans of Swing" still is so good after listening to it about a million times. 4

That is some sexy guitar

I may be a little bias being for their neck of the woods but this album is full of great guitars and Sultans of Swing is an all time classic! Doesn’t do enough to be a 5 however.

Loved the guitar

Dire Straits is one of those bands that just does it for me, so I anticipate good things here. And...we're off to go a good start. Second song a bit weaker--in fact, a bit a run of blander songs; not bad, necessarily, but not with the usual appeal of Dire Straits at their best. Southbound Again starts to rock again. And obviously Sultans of Swing is just great. In the Gallery is okay. On the whole, this was a a bit weaker than my expectations, but with a few bangers, and nothing really bad.

I listened to this. I don't remember anything about it at all. It was very unmemorable and I basically tuned the whole thing out.

I’ve herd of the name but nothing else… For an album labelled as pub rock down to the waterline seems too good if you know what I mean , the guitars are super cool,the vocals are nice and it’s not really got that annoying drunken repetitiveness that I would brand pub rock with. Water love is a nice contrast immediately showing the abilities of this band, it’s much slower but not slow enough to lose any energy. Apparently it was a single in the Netherlands and no where else so that’s cool. Then is setting me up a shorter song ( but not very short) it’s entertaining and a nice pop song but just not as good as the first two. It should’ve really been a single though. I wish six blade knife would have a bit where it explodes into a ball of energy and while it’s an okay song the instrumental bit is so repetitive. Now for the shortest track the end of side A, southbound again the guitar groove is so nice here the lyrics aren’t great and I’am not a huge fan of it’s place on the tracklist but it’s still nice. Side B starts with sultans of swing it’s a nice pop song, I recognise the guitar break but everything else completely new but like the rest of it I wouldn’t have called it pub rock. In the gallery takes on a nice funky sound, it’s the album’s longest song and is just really nice does drag a tad bit (not that I hate songs over 5 mins) but it’s just much harder to make those ones work really well. Then the penultimate song Wild West end, I must say I like that name it’s a nice acoustic song but not my favourite. Lions is a very fitting closer, fairly slow but not the slowest on the album there’s also some nice poppy backing vocals nice songs to end a nice album. Yeah it’s nice, I can’t give it top marks because with albums that have 10 or under songs, every song has to be good and while about 7/9 were there’s still some improvement to be made. I did like it though!

Chill, man... Groovy. Sultans... Chill.

Didn’t get to listen to the whole album but it was classic rock and therefore very enjoyable. 4*

Enjoyable but underwhelming. Sultans is probably enough to make this a 4 though.

Excellent…one of there best

This was something different when it came out. Lots of blues and country influences with Knofler's guitar giving it so much colour. It still sounds good. Interestingly, their biggest album, Brothers in Arms, sounds way more dated.

Such as awesome sound. Always enjoy their music

Mark Knopfler, great guitarist. Dire Straits, great band.

Listened Before? N Wonderful record. Mellow but rocking at the same time. Lead guitar is an album-long face melter. Added to Library? Y Songs added to playlist: Down to the Waterline, Sultans of Swing

What a glorious start to the first track! Lovely beats. Relaxing and nice flow.

I mean, it’s pretty cool. Very good music for napping on a boat

Didn't even need to listen

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.

This debut album is awesome!

Favorite song: Wild West End.

Pure groove and soul. Sultans of swing will go down in the history as one of the greatest song ever written.

ok

Best Song: Sultans of Swing. It really lives up to its name. Has spawned several really good covers while still holding up as the original. Obviously the guitar is the star here. Worst Song: Setting Me Up. Gettin' a little too honky tonk over here.... Overall: Outside of Sultans of Swing, the rest of the album is only okay. Sweet smooth guitar licks, sure, but at times the vibe seems so relaxed it starts to feel sleepy. Nevertheless, the instrumentation is fantastic throughout.

this album is ALMOST everything. Almost great, almost incredible but also almost bad and mainstream. (6/10) FT: Sultans Of Swing, Six Blade Knife

I liked this album more than I thought I would. I associate Dire Straits more with the "Money for Nothing" overplayed radio era, but this was a much more listenable and groovy album that, in addition to the big hits, was really well rounded-out in terms of sound and concept.

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.

Knopfler's Dylanesque singing won't be for everyone, but his guitar chops are enough to win people over. Though you may drive a Ford Mondeo, this is a much better album to be listening to than anything by Chris Rea. Turn it up loud as you drive into your parking space outside the office. Impress the temps. Best Tracks: Down To The Waterline; Water of Love; Sultans of Swing

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

It seemed pretty boring(

It borders on white man blues. Its all very pleasant but nothing spectacular

YOU FELL FOR IT FOOL! THUNDER CROSS SPLIT ATTACK!!

3.5 if I could

The guitar instrumentals are super interesting and there’s some pretty cool picking/syncopation going on. Rest of the instrumentals are pretty basic and it’s all lead by the guitar. I don’t love the Dylan-esque vocals but that’s a personal preference.

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.

Magic one!

4.25

A pretty solid debut, a lot more bluesier than the polished pop sound they'll grow to possess in later albums. Half the album is ok, like in "Setting Me Up" I only really like that swampy guitar solo. "Six Blade Knife" sounds pretty badass, like a James Dean act, but it doesn't really go anywhere. That's fine I guess: it sounds cool... the major problem is that it doesn't stand out and happens to play between two mediocre blues tracks, so nobody even pays attention to it. "Sultans of Swing" is a fantastic piece, likely his most famous piece contesting with "Walk of Life" or "Money for Nothing," but certainly a candidate for one of the best songs of the year (which says a lot with all the emerging post-punk and New Wave of that year). It does, however stand out from the rest of the album, highly polished, filled with a wall sound, memorable melody and chorus, very fast, but still retaining the cool factor of tracks like "Water of Love" and those that follow. Last few songs were more focused. Favotites: Water of Love, Sultans of Swing, Wild West End

Also pretty good. come back to it

ehhh alright. just because sultans of swing is a banger doesn't make it a good album. liked a couple of the songs though

Solid, but not super exciting. Can appreciate the skillfulness of the guitar licks.

I could appreciate this if I was drunk and someone who was really passionate about the album put it on and talked it up to me as we continued to pound em down. Being sober I don't really have any sort of emotional reaction to it whatsoever. It sounds like Dylan and The Dead getting loose with a producer who fetishizes a really clean sound. It's that clean sound that I find subtly off putting.

A name I know of but assumed was somewhat different. I know of the term "Sultans of Swing" but embarrassingly did not know it was a song. I assumed these guys were southern rock but they are British, so apparently more pub-rock. Clearly talented musicians. Beyond that, it's more of a time-and-a-place album for me, certain situations I could get really into it, but casual listening alone it doesn't do much for me.

I liked this album. The second half is better than the first. Plus it has the standout track, Sultans Of Swing. I have come to love that song in recent days.

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.

2.5

An easy listen. No real stand outs besides Sultans of Swing.

Good classic rock/blues. Some really nice guitar work. Sultans of Swing is a great song, too!

То да не то

pretty cool

Sultans of Swing est tellement meilleur que tout le reste que c'en est presque gênant. Le reste est plus ou moins chiant. La pochette est cool. Prefs: Down to the Waterline, SULTANS OF SWING Moins pref: Six Blade Knife