Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits

( 4 )

Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Exactly ten years after Dire Straits' first compilation, Money for Nothing, appeared in the stores, their second, Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits, was released. A decade is a significant span of time, and the average band would have produced enough material for an entirely different collection, one that shared no similarities with its predecessor. Dire Straits is not the average band, however, and during those ten years, they released exactly two albums -- 1991's On Every Street, their first studio album since Brothers in Arms in 1985, and 1993's On the Night, a live album culled from tapes of the record's supporting tour. Not quite enough new ...
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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Exactly ten years after Dire Straits' first compilation, Money for Nothing, appeared in the stores, their second, Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits, was released. A decade is a significant span of time, and the average band would have produced enough material for an entirely different collection, one that shared no similarities with its predecessor. Dire Straits is not the average band, however, and during those ten years, they released exactly two albums -- 1991's On Every Street, their first studio album since Brothers in Arms in 1985, and 1993's On the Night, a live album culled from tapes of the record's supporting tour. Not quite enough new material for a new greatest-hits album, but it had been years since Dire Straits had released an album of any sort a compilation of BBC sessions snuck into the stores in 1995 -- hence the birth of Sultans of Swing. Unsurprisingly, it covers much of the same ground as Money for Nothing, containing all the essentials "Sultans of Swing," "Romeo and Juliet," "Tunnel of Love," "Private Investigations," "Twisting by the Pool," "Money for Nothing," "Brothers in Arms," "Walk of Life", with the exception of "Telegraph Road," which was left on the earlier compilation. A live "Love Over Gold," "Lady Writer," and "So Far Away" replace "Down to the Waterline," "Where Do You Think You're Going," and a live "Portobello Belle," which is really just a trade-off, since they're all equal in quality. Then there are the three hits from On Every Street "Calling Elvis," "Heavy Fuel," "On Every Street", all of which are pleasant re-creations of the Brothers in Arms sound; a live version of "Your Latest Trick" from On the Night, and, inexplicably, Mark Knopfler's "Wild Theme Theme from Local Hero." Fine tunes all, but none of them are reason enough to replace Money for Nothing with Sultans of Swing. But for casual fans or curious listeners looking for an introduction/sampler, it's the better choice, simply because it covers more ground and contains more music while remaining quite listenable and entertaining.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 10/27/1998
  • Label: Warner Bros / Wea
  • UPC: 093624713029
  • Catalog Number: 47130
  • Sales rank: 8,463

Tracks

Disc 1
  1. 1 Sultans of Swing (5:45)
  2. 2 Lady Writer (3:39)
  3. 3 Romeo and Juliet (5:51)
  4. 4 Tunnel of Love (8:07)
  5. 5 Private Investigations (5:45)
  6. 6 Twisting by the Pool (3:30)
  7. 7 Love over Gold (3:27)
  8. 8 So Far Away (4:02)
  9. 9 Money for Nothing (4:05)
  10. 10 Brothers in Arms (4:56)
  11. 11 Walk of Life (4:07)
  12. 12 Calling Elvis (4:37)
  13. 13 Heavy Fuel (4:54)
  14. 14 On Every Street (4:34)
  15. 15 Your Latest Trick (6:29)
  16. 16 Local Hero/Wild Theme (4:19)
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Album Credits

Performance Credits
Dire Straits Primary Artist
Technical Credits
Sting Contributor
Omar Hakim Contributor
Richard Rodgers Composer
John Illsley Contributor
David Knopfler Contributor
Jimmy Maelen Contributor
Barry Beckett Producer
Roy Bittan Contributor
Alan Clark Contributor
Mel Collins Contributor
Danny Cummings Contributor
Joop de Korte Contributor
Neil Dorfsman Producer
Guy Fletcher Producer, Contributor
Paul Franklin Contributor
Jimmy Iovine Producer
Manu Katché Contributor
Mark Knopfler Producer
Hal Lindes Contributor
Mike Mainieri Contributor
Tom Mandel Contributor
Phil Palmer Contributor
Jeff Porcaro Contributor
Denny Purcell Mastering
Jerry Wexler Producer
Chris Whitten Contributor
Terry Williams Contributor
Muff Winwood Producer
Pick Withers Contributor
Chris White Contributor
Robert Sandall Liner Notes
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 4 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(2)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

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1 Star

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Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews

  • Posted October 1, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Supplanted By Private Investigations

    When I picked this up about 5 years ago in was the only best-of available. Since the AMG review was written the two CD Private Investigations has been released, containing most of these songs plus a few of Mark Knopfler's solo efforts. One reason to buy that set is its inclusion of Telegraph Road, probably Dire Straits' most ambitious song. I also note that several other songs found on both sets are in the longer album versions on PI. I probably will buy the newer collection in the future.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 11, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 10, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 26, 2008

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews