Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Mark Knopfler & Dire Straits. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
25 Years Since Ds Broke Up
Topic Started: Monday, 16. September 2013, 02:28 (186 Views)
knopfling
Member Avatar
Dire Straits
[ * ]
I apologize if this has already been posted, or if it is somehow wrong. I have been away and out of touch. Anyway, this article says MK broke up DS today, Sept. 15.
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/dire-straits-break-up/
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
suprlinda
No Avatar
Making Movies
[ *  *  * ]
Welcome back, knopfling! I so far hadn't spotted this particular article, but it is a continuation of the thread I posted on August 19th, Mark's rankings on Ultimate Classic Rock. I don't remember for sure, but they may have mentioned the 25th anniversary bit, but if they did, I don't think they included the date. It mentioned at the end of that article that they would do the top 10 DS songs in another column, so this has to be the one. I found this listing interesting, but can't exactly agree with the reviewer's judgments! <_< Oh, well, everyone has an opinion, right? :P
A pack of dog jackals and a rabble of ravens
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
3Pints
Member Avatar
Old Pigweed
[ *  *  * ]
knopfling,Sep 15 2013
07:28 PM
I apologize if this has already been posted, or if it is somehow wrong. I have been away and out of touch. Anyway, this article says MK broke up DS today, Sept. 15.
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/dire-straits-break-up/

Today? Really? That's weird. I thought they broke up years ago...... :P
Cheers,
3Pints

"It’s a quiet life from here on in,
You’ve dropped your poisoned cup
The telephone is ringing, but you’re not picking up
"
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ElinaFinn
Member Avatar
Dire Straits
[ * ]
suprlinda,Sep 15 2013
10:51 PM
I found this listing interesting, but can't exactly agree with the reviewer's judgments!  <_<  Oh, well, everyone has an opinion, right?  :P

I definitely don't agree with everything the reviewer says. I don't understand how anyone can call Communique boring and dismal, a sophomore slump! :angry: The album with brilliant pieces like News and Single-Handed Sailor and Once Upon a Time in the West!
And although I know it would be almost impossible for me to make a Top 10 list of DS songs, I'm sure Twisting by the Pool and Industrial Disease would not make it to my list. <_<
Neither would SFA and WOL or MFN, I'm afraid, which doesn't mean I don't like them. There are just so many other DS songs that I think are even better! I couldn't squeeze my favourites into any Top 10 list, no way! It'd have to be a Top 20, at least. :lol:
But of course, as Linda pointed out, everyone's entitled to an opinion.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
qjamesfloyd
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  * ]
I agree Elina, lot's of people seem to have an issue with Communique, but I don't, maybe it's because we are all big fans that we can find more to the album than the average journo, but the title track, Lady Writer, Once Upon A Time In The West, Where Do You Think Your Going, Angel of Mercy!! all classic DS in my view.
"Yeah, me and my mate like ac-dc
Hot & sweaty, loud & greasy"
Mark Knopfler.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
3Pints
Member Avatar
Old Pigweed
[ *  *  * ]
I'll qualify this first by saying that I haven't read the review (it won't load for me tonight for some reason).

However, I want add a few comments from the point of view of someone who was a huge fan of the first album (Dire Straits) immediately on its' release and who was actively following the band and saw them live just a few months later - well before Communiqué came out.

Communiqué appeared quite quickly after the debut - I think there was only about 8 months between the 2 releases. That's pretty amazing really, and I think very few people had expected a 2nd album that soon. Meanwhile the excitement and media buzz surrounding the first album was naturally still fresh.

Of course I bought Communiqué immediately and my first reaction was that one of the following things had happened:

1. The record company had pushed them to get something new out fast and this album was put together mainly from left-over songs from the Dire Straits sessions, OR....

2. Due to the busy-ness of constant touring to promote that debut, the 2nd album had been rushed and that Mark hadn't had time yet to either write, or fully realise the album, OR.....

3. it was a combination of both of the above.....

That's not to say that I didn't like some of the songs, and of course the production itself was good, too. But a few great songs don't necessarily make a great album and over-all it just sounded like it had been rushed and had ended up being a cheap copy of the original. For years I rated the album rather low on the list - not because the subsequent releases were necessarily better, but because at least they were different. You could tell that Mark was trying to go somewhere with the band and their sound.

Now that DS has disbanded (as of September 15, apparently) :huh: it's easier to reassess things; we are better able to judge the DS releases and balance their relative merits on a broader scale.

Mainly on the strength of a few great songs then, I now feel that Communiqué is a much stronger album than I had first given it credit for. I would still maintain that it is highly derivative of the debut, and that the selection of songs and the production are not as strong or exciting. But in the bigger view of the DS oeuvre and with the benefit of many years of hindsight I find the album's strengths much easier to appreciate and enjoy, and its weaknesses much easier to overlook.

(Wow, I can't believe I just wrote that without referencing a single song!) :what:
Cheers,
3Pints

"It’s a quiet life from here on in,
You’ve dropped your poisoned cup
The telephone is ringing, but you’re not picking up
"
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
knopfling
Member Avatar
Dire Straits
[ * ]
I also fell in love with DS from the second I heard Sultans on the radio 35 years ago.
But I absolutely also loved Communique when it came out. I remember MK saying that the album was rushed, and he wished it hadn't been, but I loved it then and still consider it one of my favorite albums.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
3Strats
Member Avatar
Communique
[ *  * ]
Although I'd heard (& loved) Sultans it wasn't until Making Movies that I got fully into DS, but strangely, as an album, I preferred Communique to Dire Straits for quite a while (maybe I was more comfortable with the more "produced" sound). As 3 Pints says, with the luxury of hindsight we can appreciate each album on it's own merits.
When you point your finger 'cause your plan fell through, You've got 3 more fingers pointing back at you.
I reserve the right to change my opinion at a moment's notice - Why should it just be a woman's prerogative?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · News & Information · Next Topic »
Add Reply