Brothers in Arms

Limited edition Japanese pressing of the 1985 album. Brothers in Arms brought the atmospheric, jazz-rock inclinations of Love Over Gold into a pop setting, resulting in a surprise international best-seller. Of course, the success of Brothers in Arms was helped considerably by the clever computer-animated video for Money for Nothing', a sardonic attack on MTV. But what kept the record selling was Mark Knopfler's increased sense of pop songcraft - 'Money for Nothing' had an indelible guitar riff, 'Walk of Life' is a catchy up-tempo boogie variation on 'Sultans of Swing', and the melodies of the bluesy 'So Far Away' and the down-tempo, Everly Brothers-style 'Why Worry' were wistful and lovely. Dire Straits had never been so concise or pop-oriented, and it wore well on them. Vertigo. 2005.

Propelled by Mark Knopfler's literate songs, gruff vocals, and spidery guitar work, Dire Straits had overcome initial skepticism for their resistance to '70s new wave accents in favor of a rootsy traditionalism. This 1985 album captures the band consolidating a far more epic style than the concise shuffles and ballads that the original scrappy quartet had reeled off, their ambitions fueled by the larger canvas afforded by the CD. One of the first albums to exploit the format's longer playing time, Brothers in Arms was initially released in separate versions for CD/cassette and edited LP, and the band became digital poster boys on a world tour sponsored by CD hardware interests. Critics that had once warmed to the band sniffed at the marketing, but the album remains their best known, noteworthy for the MTV staple "Money for Nothing" and the breezy rock shuffle "Walk of Life," as well as for the wistful "So Far Away," the plot-driven narratives of "Ride Across the River," and the title song. --Sam Sutherland