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.
Though they couldn't maintain that consistency through the rest of the album -- only the jazzy "Your Latest Trick" and the flinty "Ride Across the River" make an impact -- Brothers in Arms remains one of their most focused and accomplished albums, and in its succinct pop sense, it's distinctive within their catalog.
[In 2005 Mercury released a 20th anniversary limited edition version of Brothers in Arms in the Hybrid/SACD format.].
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | So Far AwayMark Knopfler | Dire Straits | Play | 05:12 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 2 | Money for NothingMark Knopfler, Sting | Dire Straits | Play | 08:26 | 19 MB | 50 MB |
| 3 | Walk of LifeMark Knopfler | Dire Straits | Play | 04:12 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | Your Latest TrickMark Knopfler | Dire Straits | Play | 06:33 | 15 MB | 36 MB |
| 5 | Why WorryMark Knopfler | Dire Straits | Play | 08:31 | 19 MB | 38 MB |
| 6 | Ride Across the RiverMark Knopfler | Dire Straits | Play | 06:58 | 15 MB | 37 MB |
| 7 | The Man's Too StrongMark Knopfler | Dire Straits | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 25 MB |
| 8 | One WorldMark Knopfler | Dire Straits | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 9 | Brothers in ArmsMark Knopfler | Dire Straits | Play | 07:00 | 16 MB | 33 MB |
| 55 mins | 126 MB | |||||
| 55 mins | 303 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chuck Ainlay | Mixing, Producer |
| 2 | Jon Bailey | Assistant |
| 3 | Michael Brecker | Horn |
| 4 | Randy Brecker | Horn |
| 5 | Alan Clark | Keyboards |
| 6 | Sutton Cooper | Design, Sleeve Art |
| 7 | Dire Straits | Primary Artist |
| 8 | Neil Dorfsman | Engineer, Producer |
| 9 | Deborah Feingold | Photography |
| 10 | Guy Fletcher | Keyboards, Vocals |
| 11 | Omar Hakim | Drums |
| 12 | John Illsley | Bass, Vocals |
| 13 | Steve Jackson | Assistant |
| 14 | Neil Jason | Bass |
| 15 | Mark Knopfler | Composer, Guitar, Producer, Vocals |
| 16 | Bruce Lampcov | Assistant |
| 17 | Tony Levin | Bass |
| 18 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 19 | Jimmy Maelen | Percussion |
| 20 | Mike Mainieri | Vocals (Background) |
| 21 | Graham Meek | Transfer Assistant |
| 22 | Jo Motta | Project Coordinator |
| 23 | Chris Myring | Transfer Assistant |
| 24 | Dave Plews | Horn |
| 25 | Andrew Prewett | Design |
| 26 | Robert Sandell | Liner Notes |
| 27 | Thomas Stever | Artwork |
| 28 | Sting | Composer, Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 29 | Terry Williams | Drums |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |