BIA anniversary - where do you rank it?

[localhero1986]

…For the younger generation, I wonder, which DS album was the entry gate if not BIA?…

For me, OES is THE Dire Straits sound with songs like WICTY, PONO, HF, IH. With 38 years old I might be one of the younger generations. The only DS album release in my life was OES. BIA is a nice album and an important landmark in music history with great songs, but it also sounds a bit flat to me, like most of the albums produced in the 80’s. It’s a little bit too much polished and OES is a little raw in contrast to the 80’s stuff. That’s also why I hardly play the BIA album. The only album I play even less is MM. Live recordings of TOL are way better imo.

My raking would be:

On every street
Communique
Love over gold
Brothers in arms
Dire straits
Making movies

[Knut]

Not a fan of the production, but the album itself has that feel where you just know it will be huge because the songs themselves are great - together, and in most cases on their own, too. It's easy to understand why it because the hit it was.

[Mossguitar]

A great album, a rock classic. Very simple, clear  and sparse production. Maybe the least dated DS album. (I thought it was dated in the 90’s, with grunge and all, but not anymore.) A bit experimental, world music inspired. I love the synths. Very MK, very little DS. The drums are a bit dull on the first thee songs. They miss Pick!

The album is two EPs really. Side A is about walks of life and could be called that. Side B is more about war and could be called Brothers in Arms.

Favourite song: BIA. Coolest song (ever): MfN. Only skipper: One World.

Maybe the second or third best DS album (after DS and LOG.)

[mariosboss]

When I first heard the album on it's release at the age of 5 it blew me away. My Father had an exceptional sound system at the time. Technics record player with phenomenal speakers and amp. My father kept his records in immaculate condition, often purchasing Japanese versions of his favourite albums... Led Zep's Physical Graffiti & Led Zep II, Dire Straits self titled and Love Over Gold, Pink Floyd's The Wall... a few records by The Police just to name a few...

So I was quite spoilt in terms of soundscape. Rarely did I hear a scratched record. Of course BIA is an extremely polished album, however over time I personally feel it hasn't aged as well as some of the other albums. I read many many years ago about the Terry Williams situation which made perfect sense to me...with the exception of the MFN intro the drums sounded extremely polished but hardly no thrills (that's not to say Omar was a bad player, he is an exceptional drummer / session musician but Neil Dorfsmann obviously wanted him for a reason - sometimes it's about the feel of a song and he obviously had that feel... as well as the difficulty to playing with a click track) and even at the age of 6 or 7, a few years having listened to the album hundreds of times I 95% knew that the bass on certain tracks wasn't John. I had a feeling. The style was completely different for example on One World. Slap bass Duran Duran Hungry Like A wolf-esque. Fast forward to just a few years ago and sources proved me correct. (Similar thing to Def Leppard's Pyromania to my ears as a teenager sounding like the Drums were programmed, and ironically even though this was before Rick Allen's accident it was proved to be the case. The biggest twist obviously after losing an arm and even though the drum sound on the following two albums sounded processed and programmed Rick did indeed play on those tracks - adopting a kit - fair play to him, superb!)

There are some extremely strong tracks on the BIA album. Whilst Money For Nothing and So Far Away were my favourites as a kid (along with One World strangely) the best tracks on the album by far are Ride Across The River & The Man''s Too Strong, a track i've covered when playing my own shows with my originals solo project The Elegant Chasers! Probably one of the lowest selling artists of all time, as opposed to Dire Straits who were one of the best selling artists of all time...    That's why I have two other (properly paid) jobs!  Ah well....

Anyway I would rank BIA at number 4... and probably a rating of 7.5/10, probably 9/10 when I was a kid!

Love Over Gold
Tunnel Of Love
Dire Straits
Brothers In Arms
Communique
On Every Street

[privinvest]

 "... even at the age of 6 or 7, a few years having listened to the
album hundreds of times I 95% knew that the bass on certain tracks wasn't John. I had a feeling."

I sometimes tell people that I was reading the Economist when i was 11,
and many are suprised. And it was not even true, it was Time and Newsweek,
and the age was, 13. But this is just another level. Respect

[Rail King]

is it really 39 years, where did time go?

Totally unrelated, and totally unimportant: You say "Where did time go?", Stratmad, while Mark sings (on Two Pairs of Hands) "Where did the time go?» I'm not a native speaker, so I'm wondering what's more common?

Regarding Brothers in Arms, not my favorite Dire Straits album. But that's nothing to do with the songs (they're as great a anything), rather with the sterile 80s production.

[dustyvalentino]

Yes it's a common phrase in English.

[Rail King]

Yes it's a common phrase in English.

I know, but my question was whether it's common to say just "time" or "the time". Yes, we're getting into details now.

[dustyvalentino]

Ah sorry, the correct saying in English would be "where did THE time go"

[Pottel]

my ranking:
Making movies
On every street
Communique
Love over gold
Brothers in arms
Dire straits
but that is just the taste of the day.

[privinvest]

Ah sorry, the correct saying in English would be "where did THE time go"

[JF]

Ah sorry, the correct saying in English would be "where did THE time go"

I love Josh Turner's cover :