Brothers in Arms [Remaster] - Dire Straits (CD 2000)

For most bands, success means selling a lot of records, making tons of money and having millions of screaming girls ogling all over you. This is good, if not great. Why shouln't a struggling artist who sacrificed almost everything to craft their work be rewarded? Yet, as with the Yin-Yang symbol we all have come to love, gratification can be a two edge sword. The roots of success can be found in the depths of obscurity yet the makings of failure lie at the core of success. In the music world this means that once the rock band has enough money to buy drugs more expensive than third rate weed, they start to poison their brains in addition to the producers addling their minds with the promise of ever increasing profits in exchange for a more commercial sound that sells to a broader audience. Thus, in the attempt of selling more records, the group alters its fundamental sound that made them so unique and popular oftentimes to the detriment of what made them appealing. Even if your name represents the hottest sex toy on today's radio, turning out cheap sounding poppy record after cheapo-ho release will make you into tomorrow's loser very fast. Just look at this ugly process happening to many of Dire Straits' contemporaries in the 1970's like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath or Jethro Tull.

With Dire Straits, the contrarian pub rock band, Brothers in Arms marked not only the arrival of a more commercial sound, but the "money for nothing" didn't go to our gallant Knopfler brothers' in arms' heads. Its coincidence with the age of technology made for their most mature, complex and well oiled album ever. The pub rock boys outdid themselves with this one, rising to the #9 top selling 1980's album of all time. Good as their original, noncomformist and eponymously titled debut album was, Brothers in Arms not only beat it commercially, but also artistically and in my humble opinion represents their best work by a landslide. As much as I adored their earlier ballads about quirky creole bands playing in an empty pub irrespective of commercial success and making out in public on the quaiside, Brothers in Arms was far better.

Dire Straits

The band was originally formed in 1977 in the midst of the disco era and the punk revolution. With many classic rock revival roots, their style was a reaction against the overproduced sound of the time. Their first album particularly had a lilting, lonely and endearingly soft jazzy sound that offered better complexity than the cheap pop which music had become of its era. Using mostly acoustics played in live venues, the band was known to request the volume being turned down so that the patrons could hold a conversation. They had some success but didn't manage to replicate their debut albums' success, largely thanks in part to the popularity of the song Sultans of Swing. They broke on through to the side of success right away, but despite somewhat consistent offerings of decent quality were starting to fade with the arrival of the 1980's. I guess all the decadence of the 1980's were inconsistent for a band that would rather have you talk to your friends while you sip your Bass Ale than make you deaf or blind with special sound and lighting effects.

Album Background

Though still gentle in many ways, 1985's Brothers in Arms totally changed their equation in most ways for the better. It was during a stay in Martinique that many of the songs were crafted with more than a few directly inspired by the local landscape. Sting himself sang a duet with the band though his presence on the recording is reported to be because he was vacationing on the island at the same time as our band of brothers rather than by design. Thanks to lyirical maturity, intelligent use of electronics and a vague but incisive antiwar theme that rears its head on several occasions, the album shines as current as the day it was released over 22 years ago. The synthesysers, Kenny G-like sax and stereo reverb make your eyes spin with delight when you listen to it on the headphones much reminiscent of what a good 1980's sound should be. It's highly typical of the time, but a closer look reveals a lot more. There is intense parody at many of the social ills of the pop culture and music of the day. Though in my opinion Brothers in Arms is one of the best and most characteristic 1980's recordings, it not only uses the best of the era in a technological sense but also provides a scathing rebellion against the worst of it.

They say Alternative music was the reaction against the 1980's. I am glad in a sense they overshadowed 2nd rate pedophiles like Mr. Jackson or boring arena rock drabness like that of Mr. Springsteen or Heart, but they replaced it with something worse. Tt really sounds like a bunch of losers in heroin withdrawal spouting off groans while they get the runs, sniffles and pukes of that nasty habit. They too became corporate rock sellouts, but the main difference was that they never had any talent to begin with and it was all downhill from there. To me, Brothers in Arms is what alternative music could have been, but never was. The end result was the crowning achievment of the band, one that was never equalled, either by the band who went into hibernation only to produce a lukewarm album with few signs of life in 1991 or by popular music with the possible exception of Guns N Roses.

Style

It's difficult to critique the album with exactness without going song by song because it uses so many different influences, some of them downright tongue in cheek. Though I assure the advisors that I will critique all the pieces in this lovely album, I have to speak out in praise for them as a whole because of the thematic unity which their eclectic unity ironically engenders. The album just flows. The poetry is real, at times so vivid you envision the stories before your very eyes. The music usually, but not always, supports the stories in a moving way whose complexity of harmonies is more reminiscent of classical music than a rock band. Though a few of the songs' melodies aren't as interesting as the others, the vast majority create for good, easily rememberd melodies with simple basic tunes into which lie intricately interwoven layers of harmony that offer something different every time the album is played. This package makes even the first time listener feel lovingly familiar with the songs, an overwhelmingly positive emotion that just gets better with every time after that as you try to grapple with the delicate secondary melodies.

The Songs

There are nine of them, and they amount to over 50 minutes of play. This is in step with the 1980's as they were transitioning from the old LP's which could offer around 45 minutes of play to the new CD's which could offer substantially more. As digital recording was in its infancy, the album was released both on record and on CD. The LP actually had different remixes of the songs that were shorter while the CD allowed the music to shine in its full splendor and glory. Honestly, there is a track or two that just doesn't ring as true as the rest and because of the album's relative length for its time it's a minor flaw that can be forgiven. However, most of the songs are worth treasuring until the last note is played, something that became obvious when my copy got scratched by a careless ex-girlfriend. I was so sad that I lost 30 seconds of footage from Money for Nothing. After we broke up I found myself missing those 30 seconds more than I ever missed her! Lest you miss out on the superlative tracks, here is my runthrough of the songs:


1. So Far Away: With lilting guitar notes, Mr. Knopfler's gruff voice and plenty of Hawaiian noises to go around, this is a pleasant tune of forlorn love that could easily mark many an 80's teen movie. Like many of the tunes on the album, it's more complex than its simplistic riff makes it out to be with plenty of electronica used to great advantage on the background.

2. Money For Nothing: Along with Sultans of Swing, this self deprecating and scathing criticism of the runaway excess of rock and roll is the band's signiature song. It speaks out in self deprecating humor "against" little flaggits with the earrings and the makeup who act dumb on MTV while becoming millionaires. The greatest risk in that line of work is getting blisters on your fingers to play that guitar while you bang those bongos making Hawaiian noises, and they seem to get rewarded with jet aircraft at such tender young ages that they still have all their hair because they make lots of money for nothing. This is the song where Sting makes his cameo singing "I want my MTV" in the same tune as "Don't Stand So Close to Me". The intro is simply stunning with an intricate synthesyzed drum part that builds up to a growing crescendo and crashes into the guitar riff of the song. The duets are also intelligently placed harmonies; though Mr. Knopfler and Sting sing at totally different times the rythm and harmonies are well coordinated almost in a-capella fashion. This song is highly overplayed and much talked about, but in no way can it ever be over-rated because I don't think any praise can be too great for it.

3. Walk of Life: Though the song isn't tremendously famous, the riff sure is. I don't think there is anyone who hasn't heard it, and its endearingly cute. Listen close and you will hear multiple guitars at work crafting not only the melody, but also the beat more reminiscent of classical music than some poppo band of young cokehead millionaires that make money for nothing.

4. Your Latest Trick: The greatest poem of the 1980's! Nothing is sacred, no emotion lies untouched yet nothing is trusted and when it's all said and done, you might still not cry from the overwhelming beauty the austere sadness here present can provide. Though the instrumentation is kind of boring with way too much Kenny-G like soprano sax and not much beat, the lyrics speak for themselves:

All the late night bargains have been struck
Between the satin beaus and their belles
And prehistoric garbage trucks
Got the city to themselves
Echoes roars dinosaurs
They're all doing the monster mash
And most of the taxis, most of the wh_r_s
Are only taking calls for cash

I don't know how it happened
It all took place so quick
But all I can do is hand it to you
And your latest trick

My door was standing open
Security was laid back and lax
But it was only my heart got broken
You must have had a pass key made out of wax
You played robbery with insolence
And I played the blues in twelve bars down Lover's Lane
And you never did have the intelligence to use
The twelve keys hanging off my chain

I don't know how it happened
It all took place so quick
But all I can do is hand it to you
And your latest trick

Now it's past last call for alcohol
Past recall has been here and gone
The landlord he finally paid us all
The satin jazzmen have put away their horns
And we're standing outside of this wonderland
Looking so bereaved and so bereft
Like a Bowery bum when he finally understands
The bottle's empty and there's nothing left

I don't know how it happened
It was faster than the eye could flick
But all I can do is hand it to you
And your latest trick

5. Why Worry: I never understood this song. Sometimes I listen to it, sometimes I don't. I might classify it as filler on a bad day, but I realize even a great album sometimes has a song I don't understand.

6. Ride Across The River: This is such a monumental album that it's easy for some of the less commercially successful songs to fall through the cracks: this is one of them. In my opinion it's the best song of the whole album. It talks about military tactics in the jungle and reminds me of those poor wrethces who had to get shot at and die in Vietnam (I have had quite a few Vietnam vets as patients, chokes me up every time). Maybe I have a soft spot for the veterans who sacrificed everything so that we could be free, but I can't listen to this song and not think very hard about how lucky I am. The instrumentation is also spooky, with plenty of "hawaiian beat" intertwined with short bursts of minor chords and power beats that fade into softness. Oddly enough you could listen to it without minding the lyrics and think of it as a slightly downbeat Wasting Away in Margaritaville but with much more complexity. The rythm section is especially intricate as well.

7. The Man's Too Strong: This is another tear jerker that's hard to listen to. As per the rest of the album, it's a very intricate crafting of judiciously used electronica, gruff vocals, lilting poetry and a beat that inspires. This time the song is about a drummer boy who is forced to witness and beat his drum to the tune of prisoners getting tortured and excecuted. Believe me, I have heard confessions from veterans who have had to follow orders and perform things that we civilians may not deem proper. It's hard to hear such devastatingly beautiful poetry because it hits home. I wonder if anyone in the band had a relative who had to fight in a war...

8. One World: This is the other song of the album that I just quite don't understand. It sounds OK, at some points even decent, but every time I hear the lyrics I can't help but wonder if they just rehashed Money for Nothing when they talk about the remedy of the blues on the news on TV. It's that TV connection... TV.... blues... I want my MTV! I just want my track 2 of the album (Money For Nothing)

9. Brothers in Arms: As if Dire Straits hadn't driven home the sadness of war, they have to sing a melodic, nostalgic tune about the camaraderie of soldiers. I have mentioned before how powerful they can be. All I am saying is that giving peace a chance was a song for sissies. Those who really want to hear strong antiwar music that remains respectful of the poor soldiers who have to fight should listen to this album, or at least the title track. Get out the liner notes, follow the lyrics closely, but if you or anyone you love is involved with military conflict, arm yourself with plenty of Kleenex beforehand. It's not as emotionally sterile as waving a peace symbol to the rythm of some hippie song.....

Conclusions

Brothers in Arms is not only the best work to come out of the 1980's, but one of the best rock and roll albums of all time. It's complex, intricate, lilting and melodic with plenty of interwoven rythms, harmonies, sub harmonies and employs tasteful use of electronica like no other. Its complexity and replay value approaches that of classical music! Really, most rock and roll pretty much copies a small snippet of classical music. Take any rock song and you could probably find a classical music song that covers every note that rock song has in about 5 seconds, only the rock music drags it out over 5 minutes. Brothers in Arms contains a filler track or two and I have a difficult time giving most rock and roll albums 5 stars regardless how good they are.

However, the art that is there is exceptional, original and tasteful. There is good variety on the album with enough complexity that it guarantees great replay value. It defies one's preconceived notion of what 80's music should be and remains as playably current as the day it was released. This album shows that on a good day a good rock band can almost match classical music, and I highly recommend this work to anyone who might want to appreciate good music. Most of the songs are devastatingly, emotionally beautiful and a few of them so powerful that on the right moment they can draw tears. I have no other choice but to award it five stars with one of the highest recommendations my minute influence on this website can provide. A job well done, it set a great precedent but it was so good that Dire Straits by definition could never have done better, and they never did. Its greatest flaw was that this exceptional band did very little afterwards. How could they? It sold 15 million copies, and I hope that it sells 15 million more so that as many people as possible can come into contact with its expression of art.

Thanks for reading!