Album Club: 13.09.2011: Dire Straits - Dire Straits (1978)

[Alex_UK]

I'm really surprised you would feel (and express) that, John - given that you like and play a lot of stuff (as I do) that most people on here would class as "garbage." Surely music is highly subjective, and whilst you may not like Dire Straits, (clearly! ) why aren't others entitled to, without being ridiculed?

[Thing Fish]

Have you ever thought of running for parliament John...

[Thing Fish]

I had this album on cassette when I was a kid, played it to death on my Phillips cassette player and loved it so much I learned all the words.

Now I have a so called hifi system and hate it. What the hell has happened...?

sometimes I wish I could turn back time.

Since joining this forum I have become more and more disillusioned with hifi in general.

It seems unless you have a 1980's DJ deck with a plutonium tipped Unicorn penis as a stylus floating on a bed of blessed Buddha sperm, powered by pure silver spun bulls pubis and driven by a bank of genuine 1920s candles then you are deemed a disillusioned arse.!

Based on previous and current listening I give this offering a 4.

One of these days I swear I will sell all my hifi and buy a 1970s radiogram and return to the good old days...

[Rare Bird]

One of these days I swear I will sell all my hifi and buy a 1970s radiogram and return to the good old days...

[MartinT]

driven by a bank of genuine 1920s candles

Thanks, Dave, that's where I was going wrong. I've been using 1930s Edison bulbs

[prestonchipfryer]

Dire Straits - Dire Straits. What a truly iconic album. Played by every* hi-fi dealer/show demo over the years. I love it and always find it a good listen. Why it is considered garbage by some is uncalled for, everyone has different tastes in what music they listen to.

John

*almost all

[synsei]

It seems unless you have a 1980's DJ deck with a plutonium tipped Unicorn penis as a stylus floating on a bed of blessed Buddha sperm, powered by pure silver spun bulls pubis and driven by a bank of genuine 1920s candles then you are deemed a disillusioned arse.!

Probably one of the funniest posts I have ever read on AoS

I own one of the "DJ" decks you mention Dave however mine is not a member of the Carlton Club set. It sports some modest but comfy slippers (VA feet), a Chav bearing and platter (standard and slightly battle scarred) and according to some, an arm that would make Noel Coward appear uncouth (an SME Series III). Despite these apparent handicaps it still makes beautiful music

As for Dire Straights/Dire Straights, it is superb as is the rest of their catalogue. I enjoy listening to DS and MK and I don't care who knows it, so there... 5 stars

[John]

I have never really listened to this album before
Mark guitar playing is a quite country inspired and he demostrates some tasty phrasing
On the whole I find the album very hit and miss I have trouble enoying all the songs on this album and because of this I can only really give it a 3 for myself

[WAD62]

I think the only way for me to review Dire Straits/Dire Straits objectively is to cast my mind back to '78...I'm not a great lover of the band and what they became, but then again this is 'Album Club' and not 'Band Club'

This is the best thing Dire Straits did by some way, and although their countryfied AOR was not my particular cup of tea I still had a copy of this album on cassette.

At the time I found Mr Knopflers finger picking style to still be something of a novelty, and I'd not yet generated a hatred of the endless replays of the 'sultans of swing' on the 6th form record player.

I think this album reflects the band at their best and as they were at the time, a good tight pub/club band, with a particular country guitar feel (a bit contrived for a bunch of geordies but never mind). It also contains their most worthwhile tracks IMHO, 'Down to the Waterline' probably being my favourite (or least disliked ) Dire Straits track.

I'll not be listening to it again, as I know it too well, had it been any of their other stuff I'd have been straight in there with a 1, but for this album I'll go for a 3...there have been plenty worse debut albums than this, if only they'd stopped there

[griffo104]

I know when we came up with the idea of the Album Club was to listen and be critical of the album in question but if there's a band I hate more than these then I've yet to find one.

I'm not going to be voting as I just can't sit through anything by the band - and it would just muddy the results. Probably due to Brothers in Arms being so big when I was just getting in to music, I seemed to be about the only person who DIDN'T have the album.

The amount of bake offs I've been to and Telegraph Road gets played and I just get in to a rag, I can't help it.

also I think my cdp and turntable both refuse to play anything by this band (I can't even say their name with out adding an 'F' word in to the middle).

Actually thinking about it, I hate U2 much more than this lot.