Reviewed by Timothy Sprague
Released: September 24 1982 Dire Straits Love Over Gold Genre: Classic Rock Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5 Tim’s Rating: 5 out of 5 Highlights: Telegraph Road Private Investigations Industrial Disease Love Over Gold It Never Rains It’s been too long since I have revisited Mark Knopfler’s simply wonderful guitar playing, which I pretty much took for granted during the 1980s because Dire Straits were such an AOR mainstay. His unmistakable sound really hits the spot when you need a strong dose of masterful git-picking and Love Over Gold does not disappoint. As I started work on this review I was listening to the album on YouTube but that was just not doing it justice, so I purchased a proper copy on the iTunes store. If that can be considered “proper.” Truth be told I am running out of shelf space for records and CDs so have gone digital with a lot of purchases and I’m not a fan of streaming services. Being assigned to review this album was a good excuse to fork over $9.99 for a Dire Straits album for the first time since I purchased Brothers In Arms in high school, one of the first clear cassettes I ever owned. It seemed really futuristic at the time. The magnum opus Telegraph Road gets things underway, clocking in at just over 14 minutes with layered piano and organ creating a sumptuous backdrop for Knopfler’s raspy storytelling. He lets if fly on his Shecter Strat to magnificent effect and the song feels like it ends too soon, despite it’s length. Private Investigations follows and Mark gets a chance to show off his acoustic prowess for a bit before the album’s hit Industrial Disease. This song always put a smile on my face when it would come on the radio and features another signature Dire Straits sound, the whirling organ of Alan Clark. Clark is no slouch as a musician himself and has an extensive list of credits that includes playing on albums by Bob Dylan, Phil Collins, Pet Shop Boys, Al Green, Jon Anderson and Lou Reed, as well as arranging Tina Turner’s smash hit Private Dancer, written by Knopfler for this album but left unused because he thought it needed a woman’s voice instead of his. Knofler’s production throughout this album is top notch with great little touches like the vibes on the title track. Full disclosure … I loves me some vibes! Another long track, It Never Rains, closes out the album and, as it finishes, I get a little sad that it’s only 41 minutes long. They truly do not make ‘em like this any more. Love Over Gold is a testament to the craftsmanship that bands used to put into their albums. Yes, I know I sound like a fossil but is there a young guitarist out there who even comes close to what we hear on this record? It makes me long for the lost days when being good at playing an instrument was more admired than how many tattoos a musician has. The grace. The subtlety. Attenton to detail. Dynamics. Love Over Gold has all of them in spades. I just can’t find anything I don’t like about this one. Damn it! Now I gotta buy the rest of the DS catalog at the iTunes store. At least I don’t have to get in the car to purchase music these days, so there’s that.
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