Brothers in Arms

One of the few vinyls my parents owned. Not even a rainy chaotic morning bother me because I was listening to this.

Ah, mes chers compagnons de route sur ce long chemin parsemé de 1001 galettes à s'enfiler entre les deux oreilles avant de clamser. Aujourd'hui, je dois me livrer à un exercice périlleux, une confession qui risque de faire voler en éclats la crédibilité que j'ai mis des années à bâtir. Vous me connaissez, vous connaissez mes amours, mes chapelles musicales. Je suis le type qui peut vous parler pendant des heures de la discographie de Current 93, qui trouve que Godflesh est le groupe parfait pour un premier rendez-vous galant et qui considère le silence entre deux morceaux de GY!BE comme une partition à part entière. Je suis l'ancien disquaire indé et le mec de la radio libre.

Et aujourd'hui... aujourd'hui, le livre, ce grand dictateur du bon goût, me somme de chroniquer "Brothers in Arms" de Dire Straits.

J'ai honte.

Voilà, c'est dit, j'ai une honte qui me ronge, une honte qui me donne envie de me cacher sous une pile de vinyles de noise japonaise. Dire Straits, le nom même évoque pour moi tout ce que j'ai combattu dans les années 80 et 90. C'est le groupe des yuppies, la bande-son officielle des pubs pour berlines allemandes. C'est la musique que ton beau-frère, celui qui vote à droite et qui met des mocassins sans chaussettes, passe en boucle pour tester sa nouvelle chaîne hi-fi. Mark Knopfler, avec son putain de bandeau en éponge, incarnait à lui seul le "guitar hero" propret, le branleur de manche dont la virtuosité clinique venait chier sur les tombes encore fraîches de Ian Curtis et du post-punk. C'était la musique de la réussite, du fric, de la production tellement lisse qu'on aurait pu y faire du patinage artistique. L'ennemi, le vrai.

Et pourtant.

Pourtant, ce putain d'album est un chef-d'œuvre.

La confession est totale, l'humiliation est publique. Je ne peux plus reculer. "Brothers in Arms", sorti en 1985, est une monstruosité de perfection. C'est un album qui, malgré tout ce qu'il représente, atteint des sommets de composition, d'interprétation et, surtout, de son. C'est d'ailleurs là toute l'histoire de ce disque, il a été l'un des tout premiers à être pensé, enregistré et marketé pour le Compact Disc. C'était l'album de la bascule, le disque-démonstration par excellence. On n'achetait pas une chaîne CD, on achetait une machine à jouer "Brothers in Arms". Et le son, mes aïeux, le son... C'est d'une propreté quasi chirurgicale, mais avec une ampleur, une profondeur qui reste, encore aujourd'hui, absolument bluffante. Chaque note est à sa place, chaque silence respire. C'est le son ultime du rock FM, mais élevé au rang d'art.

Je sens vos regards réprobateurs. "Mais enfin, tu as trahi la cause !". Attendez... Et allons droit au but. "Money for Nothing", avec son riff iconique et la voix de Sting en guest pleurnichard ("I want my MTV"), c'est le tube FM par excellence. C'est tellement années 80 que ça en devient une caricature, mais une caricature géniale. Le clip en images de synthèse a vieilli comme un yaourt au soleil, mais la puissance du morceau est intacte. "Walk of Life", avec son orgue Bontempi de fête foraine, est d'une niaiserie confondante, mais essayez de ne pas taper du pied dessus, juste pour voir. C'est impossible. Le piège est parfait.

Mais là où l'album me cueille vraiment, là où ma honte se mélange à une admiration sans bornes, c'est sur la seconde moitié du disque. C'est là que Dire Straits quitte les autoroutes du succès pour emprunter des chemins de traverse crépusculaires et mélancoliques. Ce toucher de guitare, ce son cristallin mais chaud de la Stratocaster de Knopfler, devient alors un instrument de narration pure. Le morceau-titre, "Brothers in Arms", est d'une beauté à pleurer. Une lente montée en puissance, une guitare qui pleure des larmes de métal, et ce texte d'une sobriété poignante sur la guerre et la fraternité... Franchement, qui peut rester de marbre ? C'est le genre de morceau qui te fait regarder la pluie tomber par la fenêtre en repensant à tous les cons que tu as été.

Et que dire de "Your Latest Trick" et de son saxophone introductif qui a dû faire vendre des millions d'instruments à vent à des apprentis-séducteurs ? C'est le slow ultime, la bande-son parfaite pour rouler un patin interminable dans une surboum de troisième. C'est cliché ? Oui. C'est magnifique ? Absolument.

Alors voilà, le verdict tombe. J'ai beau me draper dans ma dignité de fan de neofolk et de post-rock, j'ai beau maudire le rock de stade et les solos de guitare qui durent plus longtemps qu'un rapport sexuel de tantrisme, je ne peux pas nier l'évidence. "Brothers in Arms" est un album immense. C'est un disque qui a parfaitement capté son époque, celle du triomphe du son sur le fond, mais qui l'a fait avec une telle classe, un tel talent d'écriture, que ça en devient presque insolent. C'est un plaisir coupable, une maîtresse honteuse que l'on retrouve en cachette quand les amis aux goûts pointus ont le dos tourné.

Je dois me rendre à l'évidence : cet album, je l'aime. Profondément. C'est une anomalie dans ma discothèque, une tache de vin rouge sur un t-shirt noir siglé Sunn O))), mais une tache que je chéris.

Alors, pour sauver ce qu'il me reste de crédibilité auprès de vous, mes frères et sœurs de l'underground, je vais lui coller un 4 sur 5. Mais entre nous, juste entre nous, ne le répétez à personne... Cet album, c'est un 5 étoiles. Et maintenant, laissez-moi, je vais aller écouter un disque de Merzbow à fond pour me purifier. J'ai honte. Tellement honte.

Brothers in Arms is a superb album from one of the greatest bands of the era, Dire Straits. I’ve always loved this record, and it remains a defining moment in their catalogue.

Mark Knopfler’s guitar work is, of course, exceptional—subtle yet powerful—and it drives the entire record. The opening three tracks on Side 1 are outstanding, setting a high standard right from the start. Side 1 as a whole is incredibly strong, packed with energy and memorable hooks.

Side 2, while not as consistently gripping, still holds one of the band’s true masterpieces: the title track, Brothers in Arms. It’s haunting, emotional, and one of the greatest songs Knopfler has ever written.

Favourite tracks: So Far Away, Money for Nothing, Walk of Life, and of course Brothers in Arms.
Least favourite tracks: Your Latest Trick and Ride Across the River feel weaker compared to the rest. Without them, this would easily be a flawless 5/5 album.

Album artwork: Iconic. The instantly recognisable guitar against a soft blue sky is as timeless as the music itself.

A great post punk album with many strong tracks. Knopfler's vocal style suits the sound quite well, and "Money for Nothing" is iconic for a reason. The other songs are all bangers, too.

Some excellent tunes and some not excellent tunes.

My run of good scores comes to an end, four five stars in my last five albums. There were 2-3 songs I kinda liked on here but nothing I overly enjoyed. The rest I found to be quite dull. I’ve listened to it twice and it’s very unlikely I will ever revisit it.

Top Track - The Man’s Too Strong

Marvelously recorded, with a place for every instrument. Mark Knopfler, as always, performs at the highest level.

As a veteran 20 years removed from their service, Brothers in Arms speaks so very loudly to me. The relief of it all being over and having "won," the intense familial connection felt between fellow soldiers, and the reflection on the absolute futility of it all left me in tears this morning.

This is a favorite album of mine. Though not every song is worthy of a five star rating, some so far exceed five stars, they absolutely pull any extra weight not picked up by slightly weaker tracks.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

And just a note to those folks who are (justifiably) upset with the use of a slur in Money for Nothing: I urge you to go back and listen to the lyrics. The song is from a 3rd person perspective and is criticizing the type of person who thinks and talks that way. I think this context is important

'I want my MTV'; 'He got the action, he got the motion.' Knopfler intones like Bob Dylan and simplifies like Bruce Springsteen, but he has neither the reality-warping lyricism of BD or the American stamina of BS. He's actually full of BS, which gets in the way of what would be mere mediocrity, getting it together on one song only: 'Walk of Life.' But even that track doesn't approach the pop-rock spirit of Born in the U.S.A., released a year before this goes-on-forever dosage of 'cool.' But it's not cool, it's novocaine, it's a real bummer and a verifiable bore. My favorite Knopfler song is 'Sailing to Philadelphia,' the one about Thomas Pynchon's Mason & Dixon: I think he's better when he has a source. B/c otherwise, he's as bland as sand.

Great album. Guitar magic on hits and blues instrumentals. Plus the sax comes out for some cool jazz.

Great songs. Sterile 80s production.

This album cover looks like every CD my parents own (even though I don't think they own this album). But I'm glad there are album covers, because at this point in the journey I'm losing track of what we've already listened to, and I would have guessed we already had this one. Are there multiple Dire Straits albums? (If so,,,, talk about dire straits.)

Nah, it's not that bad. Like a peppy Michael Bolton. There sure are a lot of songs called 'So Far Away'. I wonder what the most common song title is? Probably just covers of 'Hallelujah'. (A quick search reveals it's actually 'Intro'.)

I didn't know Sting was the "I Want My MTV" guy! Actually, I always thought this song was a famous mashup (idk where I got that idea -- Weird Al maybe?) but it turns out it's just a weird 8 minute song. With slurs in it >:( But also a good delivery on "microwave ovens". So even if it's not a mashup, it contains multitudes.

Wow, I know 'Walk of Life'! Actually, I think I just know the intro. It must be in a lot of media. It's fine. I like that the woo-hoo-hoos sound like Ducktales.

I like the random sax in 'Your Latest Trick'.

'Brothers in Arms' is a weird tone shift. Almost Poguesy.

Weird album altogether. Long songs with some catchy bits, but also some annoying bits. Add it to the 3 pile!

Few people make the 80’s sound as good as Dire Straits.

4/5

Let me start by stating that I understand why this album is on the list. Dire Straits were one of those groups that may be slowly disappearing from the public consciousness with time, but I always admired their stripped-back roots rock sound. Their style felt like a deliberate callback to a simpler sound, compared to the bigger and louder styles that prevailed from the late 70s into the 80s.

As for this particular album, Brothers in Arms became one of the first albums to break big in the CD market, recorded digitally at a time when artists were still using analog. Songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist Mark Knopfler was striving to perfect his band's sound, and as such, embraced the new recording technology as a means towards that goal. Pairing that sentimentality with their throwback rock sound, it must have sounded like a slam dunk for them, right?

Well, I'll admit, for as much as I generally enjoyed Brothers in Arms, there are a few problems that need to be addressed. The shorter-to-describe issue I have with this album is how torn the sound is between the aforementioned throwback sound the band had been known for, with the blare of synthesizers and electric keyboards from new member Guy Fletcher. This was noticeable on tracks like "Money for Nothing" and "The Man's Too Strong", where the juxtaposition of guitar riffs and booming synths made for an odd clash of tones that made this album feel dated. It's probably not the description that Mark Knopfler intended in his desire for perfection, but given that synthesizers were part of what was the "wave of the future" sound at the time, it seemed like an earnest attempt to merge both worlds that didn't quite stick the landing.

The much larger issue I have with this album is the lack of cohesion throughout. We open on someone longing for their lover who is away from home ("So Far Away") before sharply changing perspective to two bigoted appliance deliverymen trash-talking the musicians they see on MTV ("Money for Nothing"). Then, we switch to the story about a young kid playing old rock & roll tunes down in the subway ("Walk of Life"), followed by a suite of love songs ("Your Latest Trick", "Why Worry?"). Finally, we close out the album on a series of anti-war musings that opt for a more cynical viewpoint ("Ride Across the River", "The Man's Too Strong", the title track). Oh, and in between the anti-war songs is a track about being in a more generalized bad mood ("One World"). There isn't much done to connect these songs thematically, outside of being basic observations made by Mark Knopfler.

To Mark's credit, some of these tracks are genuinely good. I'm a sucker for the jaunty bounce of "Walk of Life" that lyrically draws from those old rock & roll tunes. It's got the sort of whimsy that elevates the story of the street performer. The opening "So Far Away" is a pleasant breeze in its swaying momentum and slide guitar licks that almost excuse how the phrase "you're so far away from me" is constantly repeated throughout the song. The anti-war songs all bring different styles and insights. "Ride Across the River" with the spare trumpets, percussion, and low-end keyboard invokes the vibe of the soldier wading through the jungle waters towards their inevitable next fight. "The Man's Too Strong" boasts country-style guitar playing as the narrator contemplates all the evils committed for their government, identified as "the man". The title track is a haunting closer with the keyboard swell in the background, reflecting on the then-ongoing Falklands War and how every soldier on both sides of the conflict could be viewed as the same.

As for the songs I didn't like, the love songs didn't do much for me outside of the somewhat clever puns Mark made on "Your Latest Trick", and "Why Worry?" sounded very much in the style of the Everly Brothers. "One World" was such an odd track to place between the anti-war songs, which added to the overall dated feel with the swampy bass tone and delivery.

That leaves "Money for Nothing", a song that has become one of Dire Straits' most well-known songs. Let me state that I understand the concept behind this song. According to Mark, he went to an appliance store in New York City, and one of the employees there was delivering boxes and made the comments heard in the song, as he and Mark were watching MTV on the wall of televisions in the store. This song is Mark taking those bigoted comments and putting them to song as apropos of the mindset of the blue-collar worker that would bemoan how the musician makes more money than they do for what they perceive as less work. That is the general conceit of the song, and I understand why Mark would write this. Here's the thing - this song doesn't offer much more than those remarks made. If it was meant to be satire, then the joke being "look at how sexist and racist these men are" isn't much of a punchline or meaningful critique. Furthermore, there was an opportunity here for Mark to put some actual insight into why these blue-collar workers think this way. What does it say about the economic disparity that the worker feels they aren't making as much of a living, or their social status isn't as great, compared to the musician? What value do we place in art that puts it above such menial labor? These are the questions I'm left to ask, because Mark didn't bother to ask them to begin with. I feel like there should have been more said in the song, especially since the song is eight minutes long and they brought in Sting to sing the refrain of "I want my MTV" in the style of The Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me". Suffice it to say, this song could have been better.

With all that said, I come back to the sentiment that I get why Brothers In Arms is on this list. Even if this album doesn't fully click for me, it has historical significance, and some songs do hold up. I wish that I liked it more, but them's the breaks.

A bit all over the shop this. If only every song was as good as Money for Nothing.

In an utterly predictable outcome, the heavy-handed 80s influence added absolutely nothing to the music and made most of the songs a complete drag. There are some interesting ideas and (of course) some fantastic guitar parts, even if they are sparsely populated throughout the album.

2.5/5.0: Mixed

what a disappointment. i went into this with high expectations only to be let down. great guitar work from mark knopfler can't save this album of boring b-sides. the only song on the album that i'd consider great is money for nothing which is about two minutes too long.

More like a 3.5, but I’m going to round up to 4

And while I'm in that pub, someone puts Money For Nothing on the jukebox and I'm wiggling my hips and telling everyone who'll listen they don't make music like this anymore and that Mark Knopfler is really underrated as a guitarist.

After the high of last week, with genuinely original innovators and weirdos like Bowie, Velvet Underground, Lauryn Hill and Guided By Voices, this week has been a pretty tortuous grandad rock fest, concluding with the kings of them all. Nothing about this appeals to me.

The Good: We are warned that the straits are dire…
The Bad: Finding out there is nothing Dire about the Straits…
The Ugly: having to sell off the outfit I purchased to travel the straits that were supposed to be dire…

I know, I know, the above is not up to my usual standard of joviality, but I have a great reason for this, and that is that I’ve procrastinated writing this review for over a month…

Why, you might ask? Well, reading the overall bashing that people are giving this album, I had to wait till I calmed down before lambasting all those fools I stumble over the use of the term “faggot” in the song Money For Nothing…

This is a quintessential ‘80s album, it also just happens to be one of the greatest albums ever, easily Top-20.
The Dire Straits were massive due to this album, even if there are fans of the band who believe that this is not their best album.
For me, this album was my introduction to more guitar oriented music, and what a great teacher Mark K is… Yeah buddy, it’s his own hair…

The title song is what it is, a 10.
Walk of Life made everyone want to tune into MTV just to see the video, another 10.
Sting jumpin’ in to lend a hand, another 10.
The opening track a perfect intro, you guess it, another 10.
And then there are the fillers, who, IMHO, all deserve a 9 or 10…

You guessed it, 5*

and to all those cry babies who can’t stand 1 word being used… pay attention to the lyrics, you ignorant fools, and maybe you will learn something.

The album that launched a million other CDs. I remember this was almost the "test" release for new fangled CDs (a bit like "Journey into Stereophonic Sound" a 1950s record that my dad had).
As such pretty much every one I know bought it. Stands the test of time. All good songs. Still a bit sick of it though.