Dire Straits
Brothers In Arms
Play Brothers In Arms
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MOG Editorial Review
While they had several almost-classics, Dire Straits finally had their masterwork in the form of Brothers in Arms in that it displayed both sides of the band at their best. On one hand, you got the catchy, radio-friendly jazz-rock of infamous hits like "Money for Nothing," and on the other, the spacey, sprawling soft-rock of deep cuts like "Ride Across the River." What's more astounding is that despite sounding schizophrenic on paper, Brother in Arms is a surprisingly cohesive album, one that lets "Walk of Life" exist in the same space as the folksy "The Man's Too Strong" without ever feeling off-put by the vast difference in sound.
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AMG Review of Brothers in Arms
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music GuideBrothers in Arms brought the atmospheric, jazz-rock inclinations of Love Over Gold into a pop setting, resulting in a surprise international best-seller. Of course, the success of Brothers in Arms was helped considerably by the clever computer-animated video for "Money for Nothing," a sardonic attack on MTV. But what kept the record selling was Mark Knopfler's increased sense of pop songcraft -- "Money for Nothing" had an indelible guitar riff, "Walk of Life" is a catchy up-tempo boogie variation on "Sultans of Swing," and the melodies of the bluesy "So Far Away" and the down-tempo, Everly Brothers-style "Why Worry" were wistful and lovely. Dire Straits had never been so concise or pop-oriented, and it wore well on them. Though they couldn't maintain that consistency through the rest of the album -- only the jazzy "Your Latest Trick" and the flinty "Ride Across the River" make an impact -- Brothers in Arms remains one of their most focused and accomplished albums, and in its succinct pop sense, it's distinctive within their catalog. [In 2005 Mercury released a 20th anniversary limited edition version of Brothers in Arms in the Hybrid/SACD format.]
 "Brothers In Arms")
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