New DS Live Box Set, 3rd November 2023!

[naif]

It's a pleasure to see you writing here, Chris. Your Calling Elvis performance was tremendous. It's a pleasure to be able to say it in person.

[vape68]

I listened to CD 2 of the On The Night era. The drums are quite low in the mix. It's not that they aren't powerful or punchy, just that they are mixed lower I think. Most of the time I'm hearing snare and toms, not much bass drum or hi-hat. Except MFN which seems to have a different mix.

I told you drums don't sound right, it's a terrible OTN production/mix imo, everything is messy, not only drums,
also completely incoherent with the sound of the original release

When you have new songs out it's still enjoyable, but the production is an arrow in the heart frankly

[vape68]

Hi Chris, it's wonderful to have you here, we're not taking it for granted. Man, I cringe every time you mention Mark pushing you to play as hard as possible on the On Every Street tour, I think it's unacceptable. Especially since Mark himself got in trouble for playing too hard on the guitar with some wrist pain and whatnot.

that was in 2001, not during the OES tour

[Terry82]

I listened to CD 2 of the On The Night era. The drums are quite low in the mix. It's not that they aren't powerful or punchy, just that they are mixed lower I think. Most of the time I'm hearing snare and toms, not much bass drum or hi-hat. Except MFN which seems to have a different mix.

Hello Chris, its really a great pleasure and a dream come true can talk with you. First of all, sorry for my bad english. Im from Argentina, and im a drummer. I listen DS since im a small kid. I started play drums listening to you in the OES Tour videos.
I can ask you about the gear you used wuth Dire Straits? What drum brand, cymbals (in the videos i can see Zildjian), hardware and drum heads. And why you choosed that different brands and models
And too what mics model to amplify the drum for each venue. What type of monitors you used? In any video (basel i think) i seen that you have in ears auriculars too, i love if you can explain in detail the way you used the monitors and how you do to can hear all the band properly. Sorry for my bad english and its a dream come true can chat with you. A lot of love for you from Argentina!

[Chris W]

I played Noble & Cooley Horizon series drums with an N&C Alloy Classic snare. Cymbals were Zildjian K dark. Heads were Evans.
All the other gear was not my choice or responsibility, so I can't remember as it was 35 years ago.

[vape68]

Mark wanted the drums loud (from the first day we went on stage with the PA and monitors), so I ended up slamming the drums for a lot of the show, which is NOT the way Sultans should have been played

NOT the way Sultans should have been played ?
Did you tell Mark during the tour or is it just a thought 30 years later ?

[Jules]

I am curious why this has to keep coming up.
I am proud of my performances with Dire Straits. To be honest - and I said this to John at the time - it was a LOT more pressure playing Beatles songs that had never been played live before, in front of an LA crowd containing Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. We actually played bigger shows with Paul than Dire Straits - two night at NY Giants Stadium, the Maracana in Rio (100,000 plus each night).
The only thing hampering me with DS was that the music was more scripted. I was expected to play that tom at that exact moment etc... And the fact Mark decided just before the first show that I should play harder than I expected to play.
I adjusted and I've only ever seen a minority of fans ever think the drumming was somehow lacking. It was different. I don't play like Pick and I don't play like Terry. Terry was long gone (like years) before I was even approached. I was never asked to play like Terry or Pick. In fact I think I was hired because my style was more like the drummers they had invited to play on BIA and OES.

I don't mean you weren't proud of your playing, but that maybe if the situation would had been different in all things you mentioned you would had rather played in other style or other way. I bet your pardon if any of what I say sounds irrespective, English is not my native language and I struggle to find the exact words with the exact meaning that reflects what I really mean to say.

Thanks for all your answers. I should repeat I love the Tripping the live fantastic record and I play it a lot!

[Jules]

I haven't followed the timeline, other than the very occasional Youtube video.

I think you would enjoy more playing with MK nowadays, since he broke the band he's more relaxed not only as a person but also as a musician, still very demanding but more relaxed in comparison, and it's not me saying that but himself in many interviews.

[benducret]

Hi everybody

 I'm just an old french fan who grew up with Dire straits, and have long since moved to very very different genres of music.

Let's just say that I love DS' music because that's where I started, I love MK, they are like "madeleines de Proust" for me. They can bring tears to my eyes even though the man I am now doesn't understand or cares for mark's artistic choices since BIA.


I have read your comments and decided to buy a hi-res digital version of the live box set.

I expected a huge disappointement but I happen to love it for what it is.

No surprise, I'm in love with the Rainbow concert. Because I love the early straits, but mostly because of their ENERGY that night (but also on their records in those years).

Energy doesn't mean playing fast or loud, in my opinion. But it has to do with keeping a minimum of tension in the music. Even slow numbers are tense in that concert.
MK is totally in it, just listen to the way he sings. Tension needs building, resolution, it needs life. I wanted a good recording of that concert ever since I saw the bbc arena doc on the alchemy bluray. I'm more than happy !

It is my opinion that dire straits let much of their life and energy slide away after the LOG tour. The question would be : why ?

What I find very interesting in Chris Witten's posts (thank you so very much for that !) is his use of the word "scripted". Scripted music.


Chris witten's words (playing that tom at that very moment) remind me of Pick Withers' words about the On location tour in a yt  interview : when he did something cool,  he was told to do the very same trick at the very same moment each night and  he clearly didn't like it. It couldn't have the same energy and sincerity once it was "scripted".

Mark's quest for total control certainly is the main motive in DS history and in his own music since then, and even in most of his collaborations with others. His search for freedom has, in my opinion, led to a more and more contrived style of music. A paradox to be sure. Or is it ?

OTN illustrates just that. I like Chris witten's work on that tour. In fact I like everybody's work. More or less : Phil palmer's style I don't like, Guy fletcher sounds and influence even less, and Chris White's piano bar saxophone invading every classic DS song I just can't stand. But that was Mark's vision !! So that's what I have a problem with. Mark's vision for dire straits from 1984 onward is not my cup of tea.

Still, I do enjoy OTN more than I expected.
Calling Elvis live is much better than the studio version, chris playing Jeff Porcaro's parts is great. He and Danny sound and look very much alive, I like it.
The OES songs are much better played live to my ears.

That said, that scripted show for nine performers cannot convey much energy. It has nothing to do with each musician's part, it has to do with the whole thing. And with MK too. He is not too "energic" himself and looked bored on that tour. Paul mc Cartney has much more energy than MK !

Mk has complained a lot with things getting too big. But they do not necessarily have to be that big on stage. A stage setup which, according to chris witten himself, had an impact on the way he heard things and the way he had to play. Was music the priority then ? One can wonder.
Many big bands make big tours without turning into that kind of programmed monsters. Tours are always demanding and tiring, but they can still keep the music alive. Sometimes very much alive.


All in all, that version of OTN is much better setlist-wise than the original. I didn't understand the choices made on the original cd and found it very lacking.
We now have a complete show, that's always a good thing.
So I'm happy with it.

Alchemy, I'm happy to have industrial disease, no matter how strange the sound is. And portebello too, although I'm not fond of Mel's jamming on it.

I agree with many of you that twisting by the pool is one "twisting song" too far on alchemy. All in all, I'll keep listening to the older version of that album.

Live at the BBC brings nothing new and many bootlegs from that period are much more interesting and satisfying. I do like it but never listen to it.

In the end, the live at the Rainbow and the now complete OTN show are the positive points of that box, the reasons to buy, so to speak. In my personal opinion.

I wonder why they have not produced deluxe editions of the original Live albums (and studio !!) plus a Live at the Rainbow, instead of packing it all in a box where you have to buy everything at once. Strange strategy, once more. Or just the rainbowor whatever.
 
As for the sound of the whole thing, it certainly could have been better. Mark's and Guy Fletcher's choices in terms of production, I don't understand, or don't appreciate. With all due respect, I never understood mk's now life long association with GF. Is Guy the ultimate "yes man" ?
Not my cup of tea.

But that doesn't stop me from enjoying the good things we get with this box.

[Knopflerfan]

Oh my life, I'm so in love with this boxset! Just listening to OTN and wow oh wow! WICTY SOS and TOL especially have just blown my mind! Love the little bit of 'Ghost riders in the Sky' during TOL which to me was a real nod to Hank. I absolutely love the drums on  WICTY, SOS and TOL so thanks Chris and also thanks for stopping by the forum too...
Rainbow concert next... £45 well spent today!!

[Jules]

My favourite bit is the Rainbow concert. It's so amazing that if they would had released that officially back in 1980 it would had been a great seller and a favourite for all fans.

Alchemy is a disappointment. Yes, it has the three songs missing but having Portobello cut makes it less special and it looses what would had made it special, being a complete version of a record that back in the day not only had three songs missing but some had terrible fade ins and outs.

OTN is special by his extras. It's by far my less favourite DS record, the extras have some of my preferred songs when listening bootlegs, that are "when it comes to you" and "I think I love you too much". The rest, well, is good, as it was played by great musicians but it was too much for me, like, let's say, overproduced, not only the record but the show itself. I don't get how is that what MK wanted but that MK was going through a lot of things.

The rest, I didn't listen to it. Encores doesn't offer anything special regarding the first release and Live at the BBC, I thought either would have anything interesting, but according to our friend Bruno Nunes, some songs are slightly longer and there is a radio DJ intro after Lions that wasn't there before, so, even being so very little there is a difference.

In total, this release is something special and I hope it's not the last!

[Brunno Nunes]

My favourite bit is the Rainbow concert. It's so amazing that if they would had released that officially back in 1980 it would had been a great seller and a favourite for all fans.

Alchemy is a disappointment. Yes, it has the three songs missing but having Portobello cut makes it less special and it looses what would had made it special, being a complete version of a record that back in the day not only had three songs missing but some had terrible fade ins and outs.

OTN is special by his extras. It's by far my less favourite DS record, the extras have some of my preferred songs when listening bootlegs, that are "when it comes to you" and "I think I love you too much". The rest, well, is good, as it was played by great musicians but it was too much for me, like, let's say, overproduced, not only the record but the show itself. I don't get how is that what MK wanted but that MK was going through a lot of things.

The rest, I didn't listen to it. Encores doesn't offer anything special regarding the first release and Live at the BBC, I thought either would have anything interesting, but according to our friend Bruno Nunes, some songs are slightly longer and there is a radio DJ intro after Lions that wasn't there before, so, even being so very little there is a difference.

In total, this release is something special and I hope it's not the last!

Exactly, this is something totally new, exclusive to this edition. Listening carefully to Live at the BBC, I noticed something quite unusual when an announcer was introducing the band right after they played Lions, the curious thing is that when he introduced David Knopfler, he said: "On guitar and KEYBOARDS"... , this is interesting, because during this period they presented the song Portobello Belle live for the first time and we have it on Bootleg 04.07.78- Barbarella's, Birmingham, UK, and Mark mentions when they are going to play PB that David would play keyboard on it, this it was a few days before this show at the Paris Theatre, which is Live at the BBC. The way the announcer introduces the band, it's as if David was with a keyboard at this show too, certainly they played Portobello Belle in the same way as on 04.07.78, Barbarella's, Birmingham, certainly others from the time like Real Girl or Me and My Friend. It would be incredible to have this complete record too, at least this edition of Live at the BBC brought this precious addendum.

[Justme]

The Rainbow concert is pure gold!

[Brunno Nunes]

What I'm quoting is at the end of Lions, the radio announcer even mentions after introducing the band, that they are going to play the last number, the next single, Whats the Matter Baby. This was not present on the recording released in 1995.

Guy's never quite sure what he's doing, it's unfortunate. He certainly had access to the master of this Live At the BBC recording.

Skip to 5:23 of Lions on Live on BBC

There are almost 1 extra minutes.

Down to the Waterline also gained a few extra seconds in the intro, there is no fade in like in the previous version.

[peterromer]

No, I could have - should have. I was kind of in shock.
A lot of times you have a boss and feel like an employee. I was just trying to give Mark what he needed to perform well.
It was an odd situation because I was dropped into an established set up. The core of the band had played through the entire BIA tour. In the rehearsals most people (except me, Paul F and Danny C) knew the intricacies of the songs - even Phil Palmer had played rhythm with Mark at several charity events before.

Thanks Chris for Your contribution both here and with DS.
Its much appreciated.

Regarding The New live set I went straight for the On Every Street songs that was previosly unreleased.
Wow....  Tunnel of love, I think I love You Too Much.... And When IT Comes.... Are so brillant. Serious x factor right there.
Personally I loves Your drumming performances

Will never forget DS in 1992 at Gentofte Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark.
It was radio broadcastet so we always had a great live bootleg from there.

Thanks Chris