Dire Straits followed up their successful debut album with another release just a year later. That album, Communiqué, didn’t make as big a splash as its predecessor but it did go Platinum in the UK and Gold in the U.S.
Recorded in Nassau, Communiqué offers an interesting blend of blues rock and what can only be described as reggae. That island flair doesn’t show up on every track but when it does it gives a new and unexpected dimension to the record.
It’s a bit early to roll out New Year’s resolutions, but I know one of mine will be to do more Deep (and Shallow) Dives on the blog. So far this year I’ve given that treatment to just one musical artist: Jason Isbell (I also explored the filmographies of David Lynch and Vincente Minnelli).
Last year, I dove into the five-album catalog of Jim Croce and did my first Shallow Dive, covering selected works by Barbra Streisand. Those were all rewarding (for me, at least) and I’m determined to add several other names to the list over the next year.
Topping the charts the week of September 28, 1985, was the Dire Straits classic ‘Money For Nothing,’ the second single from their album Brothers in Arms.
The song spent three weeks at #1 and gave the band their only chart-topping hit in either the U.S. or their native UK (where it peaked at #4).
Mark Knopfler got the idea for the song while shopping at a New York City appliance store. He overheard one of the workers commenting on televisions tuned to MTV. Several of the song’s lyrics are the man’s direct quotes.
Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1985…
#2 – Brothers in Arms – Dire Straits
More than a decade ago, I counted down my favorite albums of the 1980s. On that list, Tom Petty’s Southern Accents appeared at #17 with Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms just below it at #18.
Now they’ve swapped places, which is as good an indication as any of the arbitrary nature of these rankings.
Dire Straits is the next inductee from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2018. The English blues rock band first became eligible for inclusion in 2003 but was nominated for the first time last year.
The band was remarkably consistent during their 13-year life span. They released six studio albums between 1978 and 1991, every one of them going platinum in their native UK and all but two going platinum in the U.S. (those two went gold).
Meet Me In Montauk 