I want my MTV! Brothers in Arms (1985) - Dire Straits

“Dire F***ing Straits!” I said emphatically to a nonplused office as I tried to communicate my abject horror that colleagues were so blissfully unfamiliar with one of the nation’s most successful and timeless pop groups. I rather felt that just the mere mention of the band would call to mind the durgy saccharine of ‘Romeo & Juliet’, the epic proportions of ‘Tunnel of Love and the grandeur of ‘Telegraph Road’... but no, nothing. I felt they should all leave, head to a Tower Records (or whatever the ‘now’ place is to buy CDs) and purchase a copy of Brothers In Arms, the perfect introduction to the band but also, to my mind, their greatest achievement. 

It’s hard to believe that the album is now 30 years old, a few months ago I wrote a post on Barbra Streisand’s Guilty (1980) in which I referenced the albums that influenced my aural upbringing. Brothers in Arms was indeed one of those select cassettes played to death in the car, so much so that we wore through two tapes and had to keep replacing it. It became such a favourite of mine that it was my first CD purchase in 1992, at W H Smith’s using a £20 note I had been given for my fifth birthday by a godparent. Ah those were the days, listening to the digitally crisp opening bars of ‘So Far Away’ I am instantly transported back. Indeed so much did I like the chorus of this song that I used it as a saucy opener on Tinder. It felt like a good idea at the time: ‘so far away from me, you’re so far I just can’t see...’ but needless to say no-one responded to it and I got a few de-matches, however, the song still remains. With a killer base hook, glistening slide guitar and catchy lyrics, it’s a great opener for one of the best albums of the decade. 

I’m not sure even Knopfler could have predicted how successful the second track on the album, ‘Money for Nothing’ would be when it was recorded. Now it’s regarded as a radio classic, played consistently on Absolute Radio, nearly as much as ‘No Son of Mine’ by Genesis and ‘Behind the Mask’ by Eric Clapton! When it was release in the late spring of 1985 it became a global phenomenon, driving sales of the Album. From the haunting opening wails of guest star Sting, the dramatic crescendo of the opening, to the now oh-so-familiar hook ‘naah-nah-nah-naah-nah-nah-nah-nah’ it’s like an orgasm for the ears. Yes the lyrics are dated and distinctly un-PC but who cares, it’s a great tune, loved and loathed in equally measure. The video, of course, was the talk of the town when it was released, taking advantage of the growing capabilities of 3D-imaging to create a now laughably-dated. 

Next comes the album’s piece de resistance, ‘Walk of Life’ a rock-a-billy influenced track and one which is guaranteed to get everyone on the dancefloor, usually dropping some very embarrassing twists, at a family event. It’s a simple tune but so infection, with a pulsing hammond organ riff and Knopfler’s exultant ‘woo-hoo’s’ a real favourite at 2:00am in the morning in the clubs of London even today! It’s an inter-course, a small slice of extasy before the album takes an altogether moodier turn, beginning with the album’s most musically accomplished track, ‘Latest Trick’. It’s a moody, jazzy track, underpinned by a plaintive saxaphone solo. Listening to it you do feel like you’re in some smoky dive in the heart of the city, two thirds of the way through a bottle of kentucky bourbon and sitting alongside an ashtray overflowing with a mountain of Gitane stubs. 

The music then starts to become introspective and, takes a distinctly anti-war theme, as if Knopfler had an idea of a concept album but didn’t quite take of. There’s plenty of semi acoustic guitars, woodwind and claustrophic percussion in tunes like ‘Why Worry’, ‘Ride Across the River’ and ‘Man Too Strong’.They are good tracks but they are definitely filler, they do not have the hit quality, memorability or resonance of the first four cuts. Of these my favourite is ‘Ride Across the River’ it has a film quality to it, you could definitely imagine it in one of the slew of hammy Vietnam pictures that were release in the mid and late 1980s. 

The penultimate track, ‘One World’, is easily the weakest cut on the album, and completely incongruous to the rest of the record. It seems odd that it found a place on Brothers In Arms, again it’s not a bad track but it does not match the songwriting level of any of the other songs. Anyway the closing number is a cracker, an atmospheric epic, somewhat overused by American dramas looking to convey a sense of futility, loss and tragedy. From Miami Vice to The West Wing, the wailing guitars and sombre organs of the title track resonate with all who hear it. Mark Knopfler’s understated vocals add to the drama and contribute to this being a fitting end to a tour-de-force album.

The incessant noise of drum machines… Technique (1989) - New Order

As some of you will remember from my previous posts, 1989 has never been my favourite year for music. That melting pot of sound punctuating by a declining Stock, Aitken & Waterman and Jive Bunny. But there were a few glimmers of hope, particularly in the growing rave and dance music scene. Acts like Inner City, Adventures of Stevie V and Steve 'Silk' Hurley were making a big impact with their synth-laden singles, proving big hits in the UK clubs. 

Augmenting this was the fast-rising 'Madchester' scene, casting Manchester as the epicentre of late 80's/Early 90's indie music. Started by bands like The Smiths and record labels like Factory in the early 80's, it had grown into a behemoth with exiting new records coming out of awesome bands like The Stone Roses, Happy Monday, The LAs and The Charlatans. However, by far and away the leader of the pack was electronic/rock group New Order. 

Having formed from the fallout of Joy Division following Ian Curtis's suicide in 1980, the band had grown exponentially by 1989, carving a niche for themselves as one of the most musically exciting acts of the decade, coupling melodic riffs with razor-sharp production and a signature use of the latest synthesisers and drum machines.

Over the years records like Blue Monday, Thieves Like Us, Perfect Kiss and Bizarre Love Triangle had become airwaves staples cementing the group as one of the top-draw acts of the era. Coupled with this was the Northern dance scene they were fostering through their infamous 'pills, thrills and bellyaches' club 'The Hacienda' (a combination of acid house sensibilities and Factory Records' vision). It was a Mecca for all things of Manchester music scene. 

Come 1989 New order had not released a full album of new material for three years (the last being the patchy 'Brotherhood' in 1986). Buoyed, I'm sure, by the massive success of True Faith and Quincy Jones's prolific remake of Blue Monday ('88) the band embarked on a new set of material with incredible results.

Technique, is one of the best albums of the 80s and a great way to cap the decade. Combining thundering dance tracks with sombre indie rock it is a dark but danceable album showing a group at its zenith - hey, they were even asked to provide the World Cup anthem a year later! 

The album opens with, in my view, the best track of the set ‘Fine Time’ (also the first single off the album). The hypnotic beat of the drum machine and the catchy rhythm of the synth bass collapses into a weird and wonderful club track overlaid by Bernard Sumner’s idiosyncratic vocals. Clever effects and a liberal use of production combine to make this a memorable song that perfectly captures the flavour of the UK music scene during this period... others might disagree with this sweeping statement but I am sure they will not find fault with this track. 

This quickly descends into a slice of New Order stock fodder, will familiar production and a good melody ‘All The Way’ is a solid but unremarkable tune and weirdly fits alongside the previous, seemingly incongruous cut. Much the same can be said for ‘Love Less’ at no.3 which masterfully plays to Graham Hook’s signature bassline technique.

This slight, melancholy air is then obliterated by the next tune, ‘Round And Round’ the albums second single taken from the album. It’s a frantic and claustrophobic number, incorporating - dare I say it - a similar keyboard sound to that found on Phil Collin’s 1985 smash ‘Take Me Home’ (I am sure there are indie fans everywhere groaning at that comment). ‘Round and Round’ musically is New Order through and one might be forgiven for thinking that is structurally resembles ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ - although I am sure devotees of the band will disagree. Whatever, it is a standout track. 

Suddenly we are transported back to the incarnations of group for ‘Guilty Partner’, an atmospheric mid album number full of melancholy, not a favourite but not unlistenable as is the third single from the album ‘Run’, which marches on at a steady pace, made up for by it’s slow pace with some great work on the rhythm guitar. 

‘Mr. Disco’ is another dance orientated number with industrial sounds, heavy use of sythesizers, perfect for the pilled-out clubber of the day, zapped out of their mind on the shores of Ibiza (or more likely Bolton). Again, not one of the best, but pleasing. Luckily, this is followed by a top tune, ‘Vanishing Point’. Perhaps I like this because it is so of the New Order sound I prefer sharing the same name as one of my all-time greatest films. The echoey vocals and clever arrangement create a track that can be listened to over and over. 

The final number is another melodic, indie track and I think a unbefitting close to a brilliantly constructed album. ‘Dream Attack’ with its use of acoustic piano and spare production is good but I rather feel that it should have been scheduled earlier in Technique. Still, no matter. A great album and one that I thoroughly recommend to anyone looking for something to belt out loudly across South London as the sun shines and the beer and BBQs flow!