Dire Straits : Communiqué

T he plain lady in the palace dire, but chat her up a little and she shines: her eyes flutter, her teeth sparkle and you wonder why you didn’t notice her the first time. Stamped by some as a sophomore slump, Communiqué is actually the sleeper in the bunch. The songs flow with a dire grace, the guitar work is masterful and the heavy mood settles like a warm mist. It doesn’t add much to their first record in terms of development, only to show that the band had another batch of the stuff brewed up and ready to roll. Making Movies was the quantum leap, Communiqué more the thoughtful and introspective second album (their songs about buildings and food, if you want to follow the Heads analogy). That the Straits don’t seem fired up to write hits is a good sign, since you’d hate to think they might be lured away from such a melancholy muse so soon. “Lady Writer” is the closest thing to a hit single on here, though picking favorites from Communiqué is bound to be a matter of personal taste (I like “News,” “Communiqué” and “Angel of Mercy” the most). Interestingly for those who followed the Bob Dylan comparisons, this album was produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett around the same time they were working with Dylan on Slow Train Coming. Clearly, Dylan was in a different place than Dire Straits in 1979, but the confluence could be seen as more than coincidence. Both were making music with dour diligence and a genius so comfortable in its own skin that the music entered the mainstream without ever being a part of it. People watched Dylan and Dire Straits like sleeping giants. And they should have, for the sleepy Communiqué is genius in repose, an album you can stare at fearlessly, endlessly.