Dire Straits: Dire Straits

Dire Straits: Dire Straits

1978

Warner Bros.

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Down to the Waterline  2. Water of Love  3.Setting Me Up  4. Six Blade Knife  5. Southbound Again  6. Sultans of Swing  7. In the Gallery  8. Wild West End  9. Lions  



I grew up distantly familiar with Dire Straits...Just like every other child of the 80's I  was transfixed by the "Money For Nothing" video...

...and I'm sure I caught "Sultans of Swing" on FM radio here and there but never really thought much about it...One summer day I was babysitting at my Brother's house and I noticed he had the obligatory copy of "Brothers in Arms" that seemed to be standard issue in the 80's... Out of sheer boredom I tossed it on the stereo...Was I blown away by Mark Knopfler's zeitgeist-capturing masterwork? Ummm, kinda...When the album didn't PUT ME TO SLEEP!!'

So I kept to the hits and never really gave much thought to their full-lengths...My wife is a bigger Dire Straits fan than I, and asked why we didn't have any DS in the collection, so one day at FYE I found a copy of the band's first album for a buck or two and picked it up...I figured if I found their later work a little sleep-inducing  maybe their earlier material would be more lively...It was recorded in '78 when British punk was in full rage, so surely this album must have surely picked up a bit of punk fire by sheer cultural osmosis, right?




Uhhh, wrong...It's certainly dry, stripped down and spare in the manner of punk and there might be mutual ties to pub rock but that's about it...This is measured, highly-skilled, relax-rock with lots of blues/jazz/country touches...I have to give Mark Knopfler a lot of credit...It takes balls and talent to solo using his clean, clear-as-a-bell tone...If there was a single flaw it would take a split-second to spot it, but he's always dead-on...Noodling cleanly and efficiently like a finely-tuned machine...I imagine if you're into guitar noodling this would be a real find...

But for me, I don't know...I find the low-key, dimly-lit mood appealing at times, and Marks' voice is  iconic (like a gruff, laid-back Dylan, is the best way I can explain it) but in the end this album snoozes me out...It's nice and all but I only find myself snapping to attention during "Down to the Waterline" and "Sultans of Swing" where the band puts a little more sting into their approach...The endlessly melodic guitar fills in "Sultans" are classic though and the songs has earned its rightful place in endless classic rock rotation...It 's one of the few songs on radio that really holds up to endless repetition, with enough little musical twists and lyrical details to keep the ear occupied after countless plays...Plus it inspired one of my all-time favorite "Shreds" video...

                                 
CREOLE!!!
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Here's a recipe for Down-Home Bayou Mardi Gras Shrimp Creole:

. 2 cloves of minced garlic

. 2 minced onions

. 2  minced words

. 8 oz tomato sauce, Mon Ami

. You love, Gambit., no?  

. 2 tsp Worcestercestershirecestershire sauce

. 10,000 Louisiana shrimp

Combine ingredients into large cauldron to be stirred by the one-eyed Bayou witch...Wrestle a spicy swamp gator until tempers are brought to a boil...Remove from heat and throw into Jerry Lewis' face...

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I usually find myself listening to Dire Straits' debut  as a soothing "after-party chillout" record...When you're beyond buzzed and in wind-down mode this record always sounds great...But listening to this stone-ass sober (like I'm doing now) makes me want to take a nap...But I like naps...And I like Dire Straits...So here's " Down to the Waterline"...Enjoy...