Brothers in Arms (album)
| Brothers in Arms | ||||||||||
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| Studio album by Dire Straits | ||||||||||
| Released | 13 May 1985 | |||||||||
| Recorded | November 1984 - March 1985 AIR Studios, Montserrat AIR Studios, London Power Station, New York |
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| Genre | Roots rock, Arena Rock | |||||||||
| Length | 55:07 (CD) 47:21 (LP) |
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| Label | Vertigo (UK), Warner Bros. (U.S.) | |||||||||
| Producer | Mark Knopfler, Neil Dorfsman | |||||||||
| Professional reviews | ||||||||||
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| Dire Straits chronology | ||||||||||
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Brothers in Arms is the fifth studio album by the British rock band Dire Straits, released in 1985. The first half of the album is a development of their unique brand of arena rock which had evolved in their music since the 1980 album Making Movies, while the second half consists of more folk-influenced material. The whole album maintains the original Dire Straits' bluesy and laid back guitar-based style whilst utilising a more lavish and bombastic production and overall sound. It is the band's best-selling album, one of the top 10 best-selling albums in UK music history, and has sold 30 million copies worldwide [1].
Contents |
History
Brothers in Arms was one of the first albums to be directed at the CD market, and was a full digital recording (DDD) at a time when most popular music was recorded on analog equipment. It was also released on vinyl and cassette.
Brothers in Arms was the first album to sell one million copies in the CD format and to outsell its LP version. A Rykodisc employee would subsequently write, "[In 1985 we] were fighting to get our CDs manufactured because the entire worldwide manufacturing capacity was overwhelmed by demand for a single rock title (Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms)."[2]
It was remastered and released with the rest of the Dire Straits catalogue in 1996 for most of the world outside the United States and on September 19, 2000 in the United States. It was also released in XRCD2 format in 2000, then the 20th Anniversary Edition was issued in Super Audio CD format on July 26, 2005 (becoming the 3000th title for the SACD format) and DualDisc format with DVD-Audio 24 bit/96 kHz track on August 16, 2005, remixed in 5.1 by Chuck Ainlay[3] and winning a Grammy for Best Surround Sound Album.
In 2006, a half-speed-mastered vinyl version of the album was issued. Mastered by the renowned Stan Ricker, this version puts the full-length songs on vinyl for the first time. In order to do this, the album spans four sides on two 33 1/3 rpm discs.
Accolades
In 2000 Q magazine placed Brothers in Arms at number 51 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 351 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In November 2006, the results of a national poll conducted by the public of Australia revealed their top 100 favourite albums. Brothers in Arms came in at number 64 (see "My Favourite Album"). Brothers in Arms is ranked number 3 in the best albums of 1985 and number 31 in the best albums of the 1980s.
As of April 30, 2008, Brothers in Arms was 5th on the list of best-selling albums (UK) and is the 107th best-selling album in the United States.
The album won Best British Album at the 1987 Brit Awards.
Track listings
All songs written by Mark Knopfler, except where indicated. The track lengths on the LP version differ from the lengths on the CD and cassette versions, due to the limitations of the medium. The full tracks would not all fit on one side of vinyl. (This was the first album where the CD was longer than the LP.)
CD/Cassette Track Listings
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "So Far Away" | 5:12 |
| 2. | "Money for Nothing (Knopfler, Sting)" | 8:26 |
| 3. | "Walk of Life" | 4:12 |
| 4. | "Your Latest Trick" | 6:33 |
| 5. | "Why Worry" | 8:31 |
| 6. | "Ride Across the River" | 6:58 |
| 7. | "The Man's Too Strong" | 4:40 |
| 8. | "One World" | 3:40 |
| 9. | "Brothers in Arms" | 6:55 |
Original LP Track Listings
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "So Far Away" | 3:59 |
| 2. | "Money for Nothing (Knopfler, Sting)" | 7:04 |
| 3. | "Walk of Life" | 4:12 |
| 4. | "Your Latest Trick" | 4:46 |
| 5. | "Why Worry" | 5:22 |
| 6. | "Ride Across the River" | 6:58 |
| 7. | "The Man's Too Strong" | 4:40 |
| 8. | "One World" | 3:40 |
| 9. | "Brothers in Arms" | 6:55 |
A 2005 vinyl reissue contained the full-length versions of all songs by spreading out the songs over two LPs.
Songs
Side 1
"Money for Nothing" was one of the most played music videos on MTV during the era. It is one of only two Dire Straits songs on a studio album to not be solely credited to Mark Knopfler. Sting was given a co-writing credit because his vocal hook, "I want my MTV," is the same melody as The Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me".
"Walk of Life" was a number 2 hit for the band in the UK in early 1986 and a number 7 hit in the United States later that year. The song was nearly left off the album, but was included after the band out-voted producer Neil Dorfsman.
Side 2
On the second side of the album, three songs ("Ride Across the River", "The Man's too Strong" and "Brothers in Arms") are lyrically focused on guerrilla, male comradery and militarism.
"Ride Across the River" is built on an off-beat rhythm. The song uses immersive Latin American rain forest imagery, accompanied by pan flute and eerie background noises, to allude to the elements of guerilla warfare. "The Man's too Strong" depicts the character of an ancient soldier (or war criminal) and his fear of showing feeelings as a weakness. "Brothers in Arms" (that loosely inpired Jethro Tull's "The waking edge") deals with comradery as a redeeming memory after rude warfare.
Cover
The guitar featured on the album cover is a National Style 0 Resonator. The Style 0 line of guitars was introduced in 1930 and discontinued in 1941.
Personnel
Band Personnel
- Mark Knopfler: guitars, vocals
- John Illsley: bass, vocals
- Alan Clark: keyboards
- Guy Fletcher: keyboards, vocals
- Terry Williams: drums
Additional Personnel
- Omar Hakim: drums
- Jack Sonni: guitar
- Michael Brecker: saxophone
- Randy Brecker: horn
- Malcolm Duncan: tenor saxophone
- Neil Jason: bass
- Tony Levin: bass
- Paul Franklin: Pedal steel guitar
- Michael Mainieri: background vocals
- Dave Plews: horn
- Sting: vocals on "Money for Nothing"
According to a recent Sound on Sound magazine interview with the co-producer/engineer of the album, Neil Dorfsman, then-permanent drummer Terry Williams' performance was found to be unsuitable for the desired sound of the album during the first month of the recording sessions. He was therefore temporarily replaced by one of the most popular jazz session drummers of the time, Omar Hakim, who recorded the whole album's drum parts in two days and then left.[4] Terry Williams' only contribution is the improvised crescendo at the beginning of "Money for Nothing." Everything else features Hakim's drumming, although Williams would be back in the band for the music videos and the tour.
Charts
The album was a hit for the group:
- In Australia, Brothers in Arms was the biggest selling album in 1985 and the second best selling album in 1986, behind Whitney Houston's eponymous album. It topped the albums chart for 34 (non-consecutive) weeks, and is the album with 2nd most weeks at number-one in ARIA Albums Chart.
- In The Netherlands, the album broke the all-time longest chart history with (non-consecutive) 269 weeks.
- In the UK it reached #1 on the UK Albums Chart, and has achieved 228 weeks in the chart.[5]
- In the United States reached #1 on the Billboard 200 and remained there for nine weeks.
- The album also topped the charts: Austria, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Yugoslavia, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and Turkey.
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | UK Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1985 | Australian ARIA Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1985 | Austria Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1985 | U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
| 1985 | Canada CRIA Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1985 | German Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1985 | France SNEP Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1985 | Norway Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1985 | Sweden Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1985 | Switzerland Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1985 | Italy Albums Chart | 4 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | The Billboard Hot 100 | Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | Australia Singles Chart | Austria Singles Chart | France Singles Chart | Italy Singles Chart | Norway Singles Chart | Sweden Singles Chart | Switzerland Singles Chart | UK singles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Money For Nothing | - | #1 | #1 | #4 | #7 | #34 | - | - | - | - | #4 |
| 1985 | One World | - | - | #8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1985 | So Far Away | - | - | #29 | #22 | - | - | #33 | #4 | #7 | #6 | #20 |
| 1985 | Brothers in Arms | - | - | #29 | #57 | - | - | - | - | - | - | #16 |
| 1986 | Walk of Life | #4 | #7 | #6 | #11 | #18 | - | - | - | - | #24 | #2 |
| 1986 | Ride Across the River | - | - | #21 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1986 | So Far Away | #3 | #19 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1986 | Your Latest Trick | - | - | - | - | - | #1 | - | - | - | - | #26 |
Awards
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Brothers in Arms | Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical |
| 1985 | "Money for Nothing" | Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal |
| 2006 | Brothers in Arms | Best Surround Sound Album |
Certifications
| Organisation | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| BPI – UK | Silver | May 16, 1985 |
| BPI – UK | Gold | May 16, 1985 |
| BPI – UK | Platinum | May 16, 1985 |
| CRIA – Canada | Gold | July 1, 1985 |
| CRIA – Canada | Platinum | July 1, 1985 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Gold | July 23, 1985 |
| CRIA – Canada | Double Platinum | August 1, 1985 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Platinum | August 13, 1985 |
| CRIA – Canada | Triple Platinum | August 27, 1985 |
| BPI – UK | Double Platinum | September 13, 1985 |
| CRIA – Canada | 4X Platinum | September 17, 1985 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Double Platinum | September 24, 1985 |
| CRIA – Canada | 5X Platinum | October 17, 1985 |
| CRIA – Canada | 6X Platinum | October 31, 1985 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Triple Platinum | November 13, 1985 |
| CRIA – Canada | 7X Platinum | November 25, 1985 |
| BPI – UK | Triple Platinum | December 5, 1985 |
| CRIA – Canada | 8X Platinum | December 23, 1985 |
| IFPI – Germany | Gold | 1985 |
| IFPI – Germany | Platinum | 1985 |
| RIAA – U.S. | 4X Platinum | January 29, 1986 |
| CRIA – Canada | 9X Platinum | February 6, 1986 |
| CRIA – Canada | 10X Platinum (Diamond) | April 23, 1986 |
| RIAA – U.S. | 5X Platinum | May 28, 1986 |
| BPI – UK | 8X Platinum | February 24, 1987 |
| BPI – UK | 9X Platinum | September 28, 1987 |
| BPI – UK | 10X Platinum | November 1, 1987 |
| SNEP – France | Diamond[6] | 1988 |
| RIAA – U.S. | 6X Platinum | January 18, 1989 |
| BPI – UK | 11X Platinum | February 1, 1992 |
| BPI – UK | 12X Platinum | February 1, 1992 |
| RIAA – U.S. | 7X Platinum | August 17, 1994 |
| RIAA – U.S. | 9X Platinum | August 7, 1996 |
| BPI – UK | 13X Platinum | October 31, 1997 |
| ARIA – Australia | 17X Platinum | 2009 |
See also
- List of best-selling albums worldwide
- List of best-selling albums in the United Kingdom
- List of best-selling albums in Australia
References
- ↑ ""Mark Knopfler hurt in crash"". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2859527.stm.
- ↑ "It was 20 — or maybe not — years ago today". http://www.rykodisc.com/RykoInternal/20years/page_03.asp. Retrieved 2006-06-14.
- ↑ "High Fidelity Review - Interview with Chuck Ainlay, who remixed album in 5.1". http://highfidelityreview.com/features/brothers_in_arms_01.asp. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
- ↑ CLASSIC TRACKS: Dire Straits 'Money For Nothing'
- ↑ http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=5972
- ↑ http://www.infodisc.fr/CDCertif_D.php
| Preceded by Songs from the Big Chair by Tears for Fears |
Billboard 200 number-one album August 31, 1985 – November 1, 1985 |
Succeeded by Miami Vice I by Various Artists |
| Preceded by Hits 2 by Various Artists Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen Now That's What I Call Music 6 by Various Artists |
UK number one album May 25, 1985 – June 7, 1985 August 3, 1985 – August 16, 1985 January 18, 1986 – March 28, 1986 |
Succeeded by Our Favourite Shop by The Style Council Now That's What I Call Music 5 by Various Artists Hits 4 by Various Artists |
| Preceded by No Jacket Required by Phil Collins |
Australian Kent Music Report number-one album May 27 – June 30, 1985 July 29 – October 13, 1985 October 28 – December 15, 1985 February 3, 1986 – April 20, 1986 |
Succeeded by Be Yourself Tonight by Eurythmics |
| Preceded by Can't Slow Down by Lionel Richie |
UK Albums Chart biggest selling album of the year 1985 |
Succeeded by True Blue by Madonna |
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