Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms

Brothers In Arms is the fifth studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 13 May 1985 through Vertigo Records internationally and Warner Bros. Records in the United States. It spent a total of 14 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart (including 10 consecutive weeks between 18 January and 22 March 1986), nine weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 in the United States, and 34 weeks at number one on the Australian Albums Chart. Brothers In Arms was the first album to be certified 10 times platinum in the United Kingdom and is the eighth best-selling album in the history of the UK chart. It has been certified nine times platinum in the United States and is one of the best-selling albums in the world, having sold over 30 million copies worldwide.

The album won a Grammy Award in 1986 for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, the 20th Anniversary Edition won another Grammy in 2006 for Best Surround Sound Album and also won the award for Best British Album at the 1987 Brit Awards. Q magazine ranked the album at No. 51 on its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums. Brothers in Arms is considered musically to be a pop rock album. The music video for “Money For Nothing” was heavily promoted by MTV and was the first to be shown on MTV Europe when the network launched on 1 August 1987. It is one of two Dire Straits songs on a studio album not credited solely to Knopfler, the other being “The Carousel Waltz”, which opens Making Movies, with guest vocalist Sting receiving a co-writing credit due to the melody of the repeated “I want my MTV” by him. The song also features the melody of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” by the Police at the end.

“Walk Of Life” was the band’s number two hit in the UK Singles Chart in early 1986 and number seven hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 later that year. The song was not to be included on the album, but was included thanks to the band’s producer Neil Dorfsman.

On the second side of the album, the three songs “Ride Across The River”, “The Man’s Too Strong” and “Brothers In Arms” lyrically focus on militarism. “Ride Across The River” uses striking Latin American imagery, accompanied by synthetic flute, mariachi trumpet and a reggae-influenced drumming and eerie background noises. “The Man’s Too Strong” depicts the character of an ancient soldier (or war criminal) and his fear of showing emotion as weakness. Written during the 1982 Falklands War, “Brothers In Arms” deals with the feeling of war. In 2007, on the 25th anniversary of the Falklands War, Knopfler recorded a new version of the song at Abbey Road Studios to raise funds for British veterans who he said “still suffer from the effects of that conflict”.

From this excellent album I select, of course, “Money For Nothing”.
 
Tracklist

A1. So Far Away 3:59
A2. Money For Nothing 7:04
A3. Walk Of Life 4:07
A4. Your Latest Trick 4:46
A5. Why Worry 5:22
B1. Ride Across The River 5:57
B2. The Man’s Too Strong 4:40
B3. One World 3:40
B4. Brothers In Arms 6:00