Dire Straits

Dire Straits' great leap foreword, this was also a career best for the band. Mark Knopfler keeps the group's rootsy JJ Cale/Bob Dylan feel but implants it into epic Springsteen style rockers that have the cinematic sweep hinted at in the album title. This wasn't a big hit at first, but it kept selling throughout the '80s and the tracks "Tunnel of Love," "Romeo & Juliet," "Expresso Love" and "Skateaway" earned Making Movies perminent FM airplay. Brothers In Arms was their monster seller but this one holds up better.

Singer, songwriter and ace guitarist Mark Knopfler is the impressive sum of several very
appealing parts. His voice is a smoky mixture of Bob Dylan's acidic whine, Tom Waits'
tubercular snore and J.J. Cale's breathy, marbles-in-the-mouth whisper. He writes such
songs as "Sultans of Swing" and "Once upon a Time in the West" with the cinematic flair of
Bruce Springsteen, the hall-of-mirrors imagery of classic Dylan and the slashing t... More >

If any up-and-coming rock-and-roller aspires to auteur status it's Mark Knopfler, and among those with a taste for his rather corny plots (Romeo and Juliet, fancy that) this establishes his claim. Me, I note that this third album closes with his second gay-baiting song, and that I wasn't surprised . Better he should work on somebody else's stories--his guitar has emerged from Eric Clapton's shadow into a jazzy rock that muscles right past Larry Carlton and ilk. Steely Straits, anyone? Or would that be Dire Dan? (Grade - C+)