Album Elimination Poll! - Round 1

[Knopflerfan]

BIA as the LEAST favorite ??. Somebody must have misread the poll. For sure

I thought that initially, but the more I have read the comments I'm now fully sitting on the fence.
I totally get the 'digital' album argument. Of course BIA is an album full of classics, but aren't all six full of MK masterpieces??

[Knopflerfan]

BIA gave us a stinker like Why Worry, so that for me was the reason to drop
but honestly, it was a very close call!

'Why Bother' - more like!!!!!

[Knopflerfan]

It's clearly between BIA & OES!!!!

[Elin N]

My vote easily goes to Making movies. I hardly ever listen to it. The only thing I like about TOL now, is the middle part on the live version, which is not TOL..

[NicoMK]

My answer is Brothers İn Arms. İt's not like a DS album to me. Good songs, yes but it's too digital...

Same here. Great songs for most of the record but it sounds too digital indeed. But we won't blame them : it was REALLY the sound of the 80s.

I don't get what's the problem with digital. I'd understand if the whole album was so 80s like "One World", but the album is the opposite of the typical 80s... At least in the main tracks, there are real drums, no gated reverbs, and typical synths, and while it's digital, digital is only a recording method. No? Or you HEAR that it's digital?

When I say "digital album", I imply that it really has the sound of the 80s, which was very "digital" or call it whatever you want but I'm sure you know what I mean, the drums sounding very "electronic" and those synths almost everywhere etc. It's not typical of the BIA record, it's typical of all the records of its time… including BIA. So for this reason, I still vote BIA, sorry guys.

[Dutchessy]

My vote easily goes to Making movies. I hardly ever listen to it. The only thing I like about TOL now, is the middle part on the live version, which is not TOL..

 

TOL is my favourite song EVER  Taste differs 

[superval99]

My vote easily goes to Making movies. I hardly ever listen to it. The only thing I like about TOL now, is the middle part on the live version, which is not TOL..

I feel like that about LOG.   It just has an over-produced sound to it and in the case of TR, I only listen to live versions nowadays. I didn't vote for LOG in this round, though.   

[Pierre]

I voted Brothers first because I genuinely thinks it is my least favourite.
Even with such powerful songs as Brothers and Man's too strong I feel it lacks unity or something I can't define and to be honest I've never liked the jacket:
For a rock band to put a guitar on its album cover is at the same time a commercial move and a cheesy one as it is, plus I think it reduces the music to the notion of guitar music only and I take Knopfler for a greater lyricist than guitar player and I have a feeling he would agree with that.
On every street's cover has a guitar (or 2) on it too you could argue but it's more subtle, I didn't realise it till years after I bought the disc.
Alchemy's features a guitar of sort but it's a true artistic rock cover plus it's live.

[quizzaciously]

I voted Brothers first because I genuinely thinks it is my least favourite.
Even with such powerful songs as Brothers and Man's too strong I feel it lacks unity or something I can't define and to be honest I've never liked the jacket:
For a rock band to put a guitar on its album cover is at the same time a commercial move and a cheesy one as it is, plus I think it reduces the music to the notion of guitar music only and I take Knopfler for a greater lyricist than guitar player and I have a feeling he would agree with that.
On every street's cover has a guitar (or 2) on it too you could argue but it's more subtle, I didn't realise it till years after I bought the disc.
Alchemy's features a guitar of sort but it's a true artistic rock cover plus it's live.

Great point. And, of course, we are discussing albums as a whole, like an album, so while Tunnel Of Love is a great song, it doesn't mean the album it's from is the best album of all time. Brothers In Arms really do feel like a compilation, and not because almost every song is a hit...

The covers, don't get me started. Album covers never were Mark's strong part, I'd say every one of them is OK, but not more. With the exception of The Ragpicker's Dream but that's a 1952 photo by a genius photographer (who's still alive!).

Brothers In Arms cover picture was taken almost by accident. No idea, no meaning, it's just a guitar and the sky. Wow.

[Robson]

I voted Brothers first because I genuinely thinks it is my least favourite.
Even with such powerful songs as Brothers and Man's too strong I feel it lacks unity or something I can't define and to be honest I've never liked the jacket:
For a rock band to put a guitar on its album cover is at the same time a commercial move and a cheesy one as it is, plus I think it reduces the music to the notion of guitar music only and I take Knopfler for a greater lyricist than guitar player and I have a feeling he would agree with that.
On every street's cover has a guitar (or 2) on it too you could argue but it's more subtle, I didn't realise it till years after I bought the disc.
Alchemy's features a guitar of sort but it's a true artistic rock cover plus it's live.

Interesting observation with the guitar on the cover. We're talking more about Brothers In Arms, but it's also important on album on every street 

[Love Expresso]

Back in 1985, the National Guitar was not so known to common people than it is today - in fact, most people know it because of this cover. Plus it's an acoustic guitar which was unusual for a rock band that Dire Straits was. I once read the guitar is flying into the sky like a rocket and it was a picture for the success of Dire Straits. So it obviously has a message or two. I loved the cover, it appeared magic to me, it was the first "real" album cover I put my interest on. The colours and the font is really great. I also loved the fact that no picture of any band member was seen, and the signature "MK" was also mysterious and  appearing very cool to me. I started to know Dire Straits from May 1985 on and it was already clear that Mark Knopfler obviously was the boss only because of this MK.

I must have stared hours to this cover as I did to all other Dire Straits  covers also. I loved the contrasts between them. Every one was unique and you knew it was Dire Straits at the same time which is cleverly done. The art department of Dire Straits was excellent. You could take all album covers and put them on the wall. Especially the first four ones. It ended in 1993 with an ugly On The Night cover and indeed got worse from then on.

LE

[Robson]

 

I agree. The cover Brothers In Arms is fantastic, but I also like the covers Mark Knopfler solo.

[Knopflerfan]

My vote easily goes to Making movies. I hardly ever listen to it. The only thing I like about TOL now, is the middle part on the live version, which is not TOL..

+1!

[Knopflerfan]

I agree. The cover Brothers In Arms is fantastic, but I also like the covers Mark Knopfler solo.

It is very nice and it is somewhat recognized by non DS/knopfler fans as a classic record of the 80s!

[Robson]

Exactly. This guitar is a symbol. Also the 80s. Important for Mark Knopfler. Certainly this photo is not accidental