I’m sure I used to own a copy of this on tape, but it wasn’t until I recognised parts of the last track on the album, Lions, that I was certain. The only track I could recall (apart from Sultans of Swing, obvs) was Down To The Waterline. Which I recall liking, but listening again reminded me of how abruptly it ends. One minute the song is chugging along nicely, and then suddenly it gets called to a halt.
These two tracks are probably the closest to the direction that Dire Straits develop along on future albums; the rest is a lot more bluesy than might be expected. Lions, Six Blade Knife, and Water of Love have a kind of laid-back blues (and slight soul) feel to them; I want to say a bit like Ry Cooder but I’m not convinced that’s the right reference. Setting Me Up and Southbound Again, meanwhile, feel more like Eric Clapton, especially a track of his like Lay Down Sally, with an up-tempo and somewhat funky beat.
Mark Knopfler provides the distinctive Dire Straits sound. His gruff voice, I discovered, was compared by some reviewers to Dylan, which I have never considered but I guess it is in some ways - more throaty and less nasal than Dylan, in my opinion. The way he narrates moments of life – the people congregating for a commuter train reading newspapers cut through with violence in Lions, or the dogged pub band playing to an unappreciative audience purely for the love of the music in Sultans Of Swing – these are very Dylanesque subjects and it possible to imagine His Bobness covering these.
Rather than punctuate his words with harmonica, though, Knopfler uses his guitar. His playing is very distinctive, from the little phrases and triads he flicks at the end of each line to the rapid-fire solo at the end of Sultans, he manages to instil a lot of atmosphere into his songs. Missing from this album, largely, are the slow, spacious notes that he uses on the slower songs. They’re only really present at the start of Down To The Waterline, an opening that evokes the lonely, misty, docks of the song’s setting.
The rest of the band – drummer Pick Withers, bass John Ilsley, and brother David Knopfler on rhythm guitar – provide a solid backdrop upon which Knopfler M can paint his pictures of sound. There are no flashy drum breaks or any especially complex beats, but then, the songs don’t need them. I must admit to always pigeon-holing Dire Straits as a bit naff, but this debut album is a lot better than I remember. Perhaps I’m just old enough to appreciate them more.
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