Album Reviews

If you’re one of those who doesn’t “get” Brothers In Arms, originally issued in 1985, Robert Sandell’s liner notes accompanying this meticulously produced double 180g LP reissue provide a plausible, if not entirely believable explanation for its original and continued popularity.

While many hear it as bland studio dross, Sandell claims Brother In Arms was, in fact, a “protest” album— railing against synth-pop “hair” bands with a potent mix of reflective “roots rock” and somber reflection.

Is the music Dire Straits produces here really more substantial than, say, Heaven 17 or even The Thompson Twins? Sure, Knopfler makes fun of “product” on “Money For Nothing” but if the song really cut,would it have made it to MTV?

In retrospect, are Neil Dorfsman’s smooth, synth-accented production values here any less slick than those of Alex Sadkin’s on Into The Gap? I don’t think so. Is the ditty “The Walk of Life” any more authentic than “Stay With Me?” Not really. In fact, there’s something more authentic about what the Thompson Twins were doing, because it was true to a Brit/pop sensibility whereas Knopler appropriated a pseudo-American personna on much of Money For Nothing. Knopfler finally gets down to more personal business on “Your Latest Trick,” (though it dips dangerously into “smooth jazz”) and the Buddy Holly-ish “Why Worry.”

Whatever you think of Knopler’s songwriting depth and the communicativeness of his delivery, there’s no denying the exquisite—though now sounding dated— mid-1980’s production quality. The sound quality of this album immediately attracted audiophiles back then and continues to do so today.

Even on his worst day, I wouldn’t bet against Bob Ludwig cutting at the Masterdisk lathe and the “RL MASTERDISK” original is still a potent sounding record. Stan Ricker’s half-speed cut, spread out over four sides, doesn’t attempt to re-create the original’s brash, forward and echoey sound. It’s somewhat drier, less “tinkly” and definitely gives musical images greater weight and more body. For instance, “Walk of Life” comes off far less “carnival-like” and I think that makes it a much better song. Ricker gives the album a warmer, more mature feel, with the half-speed mastering trading some brashness and edginess for greater true transient detail and a more burnished overall presentation.

Roots rock or whatever, Brothers In Arms remains a classic from the post “classic rock” era of the ‘60s and ‘70s. I’ve gotten a few emails from “purists” who prefer the original, but as someone who was never a big fan of Brothers In Armswhen it was first issued, I think the remastered sound adds substance that better sells the songs, especially twenty one years after the fact.

We should all be supportive of and give thanks to Tom Biery who is overseeing both a high quality vinyl reissue program at Warner Brothers and the hopefully rebirth of the business, doing what it does best: making and selling records.