“I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 17)

In a new occasional series for paid subscribers. I’m going to take albums that need “fixing” and make them what they should have been…

Today’s fix is Love Over Gold by Dire Straits

I love the first three Dire Straits albums — the first two in particular are perfect. Slight speed wobble on the third, but the exhilarating opener lets them get away with what they want after that. Knopfler was pumping out these mercurial songs that seemed to take from Americana but placing them in a profoundly British scenario every time. Quite the magic trick. That, alongside his straight lifting from Richard Thompson and J.J. Cale eh.

But it was also a phenomenal band, the early beast. So good.

So I’ve always been a bit bummed out about the wheels falling off and the stadium rot setting in. But I also quite like the fourth album, just could never feel as confident about ‘loving’ it. I also love the fifth and sixth albums — but they’re a much harder sell for a lot of people, since the sweatbands were just far too visible by then. Fine when practical, but as a fashion move, no. Apparently. (I wear wristbands a lot, and I think it’s actually in tribute to Mark Knopfler, but that is indeed another story).