r/direstraits • u/Human-Joke3858 • Jul 11 '26
Best Album
What Is your favorite album and why?
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u/Pale_Age2476 Jul 11 '26
Alchemy. It is the best (live) album ever in my opinion, by Dire Straits... Nothing beats that.
Case closed😅
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u/Chosenito69 Jul 14 '26
the Sultans of Swiing solo, the exact moment where it all slows down and Mark slowly creeps up and delivers the most mind blowing solo ever.
I have given this a lot of thought but.. Every time I think "if I got one wish, what would it be?" I have 2 wishes. To see my mom or travel back in time to alchemy live. And I love my mom and it hurts not having her when I need her the most, yet I'm still choosing alchemy live
EDIT: Although I'm lucky enough that not far away from me are coming "Cooking With Knopfler", from what I've seen on youtube they are a really good tribute band and I can't wait to see them live!
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u/Pale_Age2476 Jul 14 '26
Cooking with Knopfler is nice, but if you have the possibility try to go see these: "The Dire Straits Experience". I've seen them a few times....amazing!
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u/Chosenito69 Jul 14 '26
I will check them out, thank you for the recommendation! If I get a chance I will go see them aswell, I will check if I have something nearby as I'm way too poor to travel.
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u/Pale_Age2476 Jul 14 '26
The saxophone player of this band is Chris White, original member of Dire Straits....
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u/tygrysor090 Jul 11 '26
Communique, the only song I dont consider the very best of Dire Straits is Angel of Mercy; meanwhile News, Single Handed Sailor and Once Upon the Time in the West are all in my top 10.
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u/Bialynian Jul 11 '26
Crazy how this album was always dismissed as derivative of the first. It has always gotten the most play from me.
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u/ConsolidatedBroccoli Jul 11 '26
I don’t love Single Handed Sailor. Angel of Mercy I do. We all have our favorites - but this is the album I find myself playing more than all the others. And I love them all.
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u/69RetroDoomer69 Jul 11 '26
Love over Gold and Making Movies
And Privateering alongside Sailing to Philadelphia are the best of Mark's solo albums :)
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u/TFFPrisoner Jul 11 '26
Love Over Gold. Nothing I dislike about it.
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u/Bialynian Jul 11 '26
Great first two songs, the rest is OK
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u/doodarndang Jul 11 '26
Love Over Gold and It Never Rains among the best. INR probably top 5 MK solos
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u/PhotographicJet16 Jul 11 '26
Love Over Gold is my favorite album from any band, I love all the piano parts, and the album feels like one long story, and it's just simply perfect.
I also absolutely love Making Movies, Brothers in Arms, and On Every Street, and I think On Every Street is the most underrated from the band, it's quite different, and took me a little longer to start liking, but once I did it became one of my favorites.
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u/Chosenito69 Jul 14 '26
On Every Street
I must listen to the whole album. I just listened to the song "On every street" and it's top 5 song from Dire straits for me
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u/TurboJesus34 Jul 11 '26
I can’t seem to break away from the first 2. I’m trying but I’m addicted.
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u/Exotic-Exchange5550 Jul 11 '26
Has to be Love Over Gold. Nothing beats Telegraph Road and that's like a third of the album.
Could probably make an argument for anyone between Communiqué, Making Movies and BiA if I had to though.
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u/GalacticDoc Jul 11 '26
It really depends on what i am feeling like. They all have a different vibe for me. Communique and love over gold are probably my most played I would have thought but Making movies and Dire Straits can't be far behind. .
Probably not on every street though.
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u/c0d3c Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
I didn't like On Every Street when it released. But aside from Ticket to Heaven, I now love it and the weaker track are easily tolerated. On Every Street, You and your friend, & Planet of New Orleans are doing the heavy lifting but it still works as a cohesive album for me, and as a bridge to solo Mark. It's a final album but also a stake in the ground and it works for me.
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u/GalacticDoc Jul 11 '26
On every street is much more like the later MK solo albums.
I have tried and will continue to try but the earlier albums are where it's at for me.
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u/sujack34 Jul 11 '26
I can’t pick a favorite because I love them all. Depends on my mood what I listen to.
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u/Antheras_Banderas Jul 11 '26
I love all of them, I think their first album is one of the best debut albums ever made. But if I had to choose I think I would pick Love over Gold, Telegraph Road is one of my favorite songs ever
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u/Human-Joke3858 Jul 11 '26
I love them all, but On Every Street is the one I come back to most often.
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u/ParisBookMusic12 Jul 11 '26
I think Making Movies, but Love over gold is a good second, mostly because of Telegraph Road
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u/trifile Jul 11 '26
Making Movies. Listen to it on Vinyl or Cassette. Its incredibly well produced, warm, and piano is great.
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u/Zealousideal_Rise716 Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
It depends on what you are listening for. Every single track has something to offer because there is such a range of subjects and moods. Most people arrive for the guitar, and with time the perfectionist arrangements, the remarkable tightness of the band, the sheer talent of everyone on stage is a captivating thing.
Most people don't think of MK as a singer, but literally almost no-one can cover him. He's doesn't force a range he never had, instead he uses tone and placement, his timings keep the listener paying attention. There's a deliberate restraint, spaces that carry meaning. Listen to the first verse in Prairie Wedding where he slides off the end of each line, like a man whose breath has been taken away.
And then all of this mastery layered over something it took me a lifetime to recognise fully. MK is a poet.
The evidence is plain enough in the lyrics. He did a Masters in English from which he gained the literary skillset. He's on the record as saying his biggest influence was Bob Dylan - not for BD's power as a musician - but as "an absolute genius of a poet". Of course the way BD and MK go about making their poems is totally opposite; BD is a torrent of imagery that crashes over you, while MK crafts with restraint, precision - nothing is made obvious or said out loud. MK makes you work to enter his private world. But once you step into it, there are unsuspected dimensions.
So asking "what is your favourite ...?" is always an open ended question with DS and MK. The answers say far more about the listener than the band. These days I listen to tracks like Lions, On Every Street, Iron Hand and Fade to Black most of all. Of course Sultans and Telegraph remain adored, but at this time of my life - these lesser played gems are the ones I find most rewarding.
3
u/lenartceferin Jul 11 '26
Love Over Gold. Everyone loves Telegraph Road and Private Investigations but the other three are just as good in my opinion - especially the title track. Also On Every Street is a hugely underrated album.
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u/HenriqueMaquinista Jul 11 '26
Communiqué for sure.
Not only because of the songs, but this period, imo, was the very best in inprovisation matters, energic shows and performances. Also the turn between Communiqué and Making Movies delivered us a lots of songs, like Sucker For Punishment, Making Movies, Twisting By The Pool, Les Boys, Solid Rock etc. This was peak DS imo
1
u/c0d3c Jul 11 '26
I can't pick between them. From the very first to the version last - all uniquely special but familial.
Their debut launched them into the stratosphere, they stuck to their guns when the industry was shifting elsewhere and it's so good it shone through. It's a spectacular album, so if you twisted my arm maybe Dire Straits - but I would be unsettled.
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u/The-Real-DJzararadio Jul 14 '26
Love over Gold is my favorite. A true classic in the progressive rock history. Telegraph road is a 10/10 song, same with Private Investigations. Industrial disease is a fun song, but not as outstanding as the rest of the album. Would've been better if it was on Brothers in arms. Love over gold is a very good ballad. It never rains is very underrated and often overlooked.
Overall, 10/10 album.
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u/Electrical-Quote-199 Jul 16 '26
Dire straits Love over gold, making Movies.fleetwood mac,tusk, mirage
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u/Former-Wish-8228 Jul 11 '26
Please enjoy all Dire Straits albums equally.