Dire Straits : Brothers In Arms (20th Anniversary Edition)

O ne of those albums everybody owns, like Synchronicity or Steve Miller Band’s Greatest Hits. It was a remarkable bit of music-making at the time, combining social consciousness with memorable hooks and a certain working-class swagger. At this stage in his career, Mark Knopfler’s facileness with a lyric or a guitar lick were unmatched. Likewise, the rest of the Straits knew when to add the right commentary or support their leader’s statements with a knowing nod of a backbeat. But the real wonder of Brothers In Arms is that so many people connected with an album this cranky. Of course they loved it in the UK, their psychology steeped in melancholia, but US pop audiences usually avoid anything too dark. Perhaps the album’s bright spots masked the brooding currents below the surface, as “Money For Nothing” and “Walk of Life” were ostensibly upbeat tracks. Though I wouldn’t call Brothers In Arms a concept album, there is a theme at work throughout. Mark Knopfler mopes out of the gate lamenting separation from his love (“So Far Away”), lashing out at the hand that feeds him (“Money For Nothing”), and deflating his own accomplishments (“Walk of Life”). As an opening trio, these tracks are unimpeachable. Unfortunately, “Your Latest Trick” plays away from the band’s strengths and “Why Worry” is a premature lullaby (it would have worked better at the end of the record). Throughout the first side, the album production builds a palpable sense of suspense and anticipation which the band cashes in on with their next four songs. It’s here that the brothers-in-arms theme comes into play (unless you want to make the case that Knopfler is painting a musician/soldier comparison). The reggae-tinged “Ride Across The River” and the bracing “The Man’s Too Strong” (where Bob Dylan is most strongly evoked) illustrate the evils of war, and Knopfler finds that music is no salvation for the world’s problems on “One World.” The album closes on a decidedly downbeat note with “Brothers In Arms,” and it’s here that I realized how much this album reminded me of Pink Floyd. The two bands have very different styles and yet the use of atmosphere and gruff vocals, tart guitar licks and sharp social satire, could claim Floyd as an antecedent. If you haven’t listened to this in a while (after playing it to death), here’s a brother you might want to get in touch with again.