No. 341: Dire Straits - "Dire Straits" (1978)

These days it is not cool to admit that you dig Dire Straits. The name alone conjures up images of fluoro headbands and sports jackets over T-shirts, courtesy of the titanic success of their Brothers In Arms album in the mid 80's. Sure, "Money For Nothing" was the ultimate MTV track and "Walk Of Life" was a great toe tapper, but it's mainly for these reasons that the band will forever be identified as a product of the 80's. Which is a shame.
This debut album from 1978 is superb. The quality of Mark Knopfler's guitar playing and songwriting is outstanding. "Sultans of Swing", "Down To The Waterline" and "Water Of Love" have some of the most tasteful guitar takes ever put down on record, and I can safely say that aside from Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler is the only other guitarist I have ever heard that makes me specifically want to pick up a Fender Stratocaster every time I hear him.
It's nothing more than a simple case of bad luck that Knopfler's time came in the 80's, as opposed to the late 60's & early 70's when Eric Clapton came to the fore. To this day I still cannot understand how Clapton drifted through the 70's & 80's with all the respect and adulation as one of the "world's greatest guitarists" whilst Knopfler rarely cracks a mention. I've even watched video of them in concert together and Clapton was literally blown off the stage. Don't get me wrong: Clapton is a great interpreter of the blues, but Knopfler's fingerstyle guitar playing incorporates rock, blues, country & celtic influences and it's a real shame he doesn't get the kudos he deserves.
It was that damn headband, wasn't it?