Brothers in Arms (album)

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Brothers in Arms
Studio album by Dire Straits
Released	May 1, 1985
Recorded	November 1984–March 1985, AIR Studios, Montserrat AIR Studios, London Power Station, New York
Genre	Rock
Length	54:40
Label	Vertigo Records(Canada & Worldwide)/Warner Bros. Records(US)
Producer(s)	Mark Knopfler, Neil Dorfsman
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (B-) link
Dire Straits chronology
Alchemy (1984)	Brothers in Arms (1985)	On Every Street (1991)

Brothers in Arms is the fifth studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in 1985. The album has sold over 29 million copies worldwide. It was the ninth best-selling album of the 1980s.

Contents 1 History 2 Songs 3 Placements in "greatest album" lists 4 Trivia 5 Track listing 6 Personnel 6.1 Additional personnel 7 Charts 8 Awards 9 Certifications 10 References 11 See also

[edit] History

Brothers in Arms was one of the first albums to be directed at the CD market, being a full digital recording (DDD). It was also released on vinyl and cassette. This was also the first album to sell one million copies in the CD format. Indeed, when the disc was released, it was said that more people owned a copy of the CD than owned CD players.^{[citation needed]} A Rykodisc staffer would subsequently write, "[In 1985 we] were fighting to get our CDs manufactured because the entire worldwide manufacturing capacity was overwhelmed by demand for a single rock title (Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms)."^[1]

It was remastered and released with the rest of the Dire Straits catalogue on September 19, 2000. It was also released in Super Audio CD format on July 26, 2005 and DualDisc format on August 16, 2005, winning a Grammy for Best Surround Sound Album.

[edit] Songs

"Money for Nothing" was one of the pioneering songs and music videos of the MTV era. "Walk of Life" was a number 2 hit for the band in the UK in early 1986. In the song, Mark Knopfler pays tribute to the American singer Johnny Mathis.

The "second side" (the final four songs) are lyrically focused on the guerilla wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua of the 1980s.

"Brothers in Arms", the title track of the album, has been extensively used as background music in television and films. Most notably, it appeared in the finale of the second season of The West Wing. It has also been used in Miami Vice and Third Watch episodes.

[edit] Placements in "greatest album" lists

In 2000 Q magazine placed Brothers in Arms at number 51 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 351 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In November of 2006 the results of a national poll conducted by the public of Australia revealed the top 100 favourite albums of time. Brothers in Arms came in at number 64. See the list at "My Favourite Album".

As of August 2006, it was the 4th best-selling album in the United Kingdom and 112th best-selling album in the United States.

[edit] Trivia

• The guitar featured on the album cover is a National Style 0 Resonator. The Style 0 line of guitars was introduced in 1930 and discontinued in 1941.

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Mark Knopfler, except where indicated. The track lengths on the LP version differ from the lengths on the CD and cassette versions.

1. "So Far Away" – 5:12 (3:59 on LP)
2. "Money for Nothing" (Knopfler, Sting) – 8:26 (7:04 on LP)
3. "Walk of Life" – 4:12 (4:07 on LP)
4. "Your Latest Trick" – 6:33 (4:46 on LP)
5. "Why Worry" – 8:31 (5:22 on LP)
6. "Ride Across the River" – 6:58
7. "The Man's Too Strong" – 4:40
8. "One World" – 3:40
9. "Brothers in Arms" – 6:55

[edit] Personnel

• Mark Knopfler: guitar, vocals
• John Illsley: bass, vocals
• Alan Clark: keyboards
• Guy Fletcher: keyboard, vocals
• Terry Williams: drums

[edit] Additional personnel

• Omar Hakim: drums
• Jack Sonni: guitar
• Michael Brecker: saxophone
• Randy Brecker: horn
• Malcolm Duncan: tenor saxophone
• Neil Jason: bass
• Tony Levin: bass
• Jimmy Maelen: percussion
• Michael Mainieri: background vocals
• Dave Plews: horn
• Sting: vocals on "Money for Nothing"

According to a recent Sound on Sound magazine interview with the co-producer/engineer of the album, Neil Dorfsman, then permanent drummer Terry Williams' performance was found to be unsuitable for the desired sound of the album during the first month of the recording sessions. He was therefore temporarily replaced by one of the hottest jazz session drummers of the time, Omar Hakim, who recorded the whole album's drum parts in two days and then left.^{[citation needed]} Terry Williams' only contribution is the improvised crescendo at the beginning of "Money for Nothing". Everything else features Hakim's drumming, although Williams would be back in the band for the music videos and the tour.

[edit] Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1985	Billboard 200	1

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	"Money for Nothing"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	1
1985	"Money for Nothing"	The Billboard Hot 100	1
1985	"One World"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	8
1985	"So Far Away"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	29
1985	"Walk of Life"	Billboard Adult Contemporary	4
1985	"Walk of Life"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	6
1985	"Walk of Life"	The Billboard Hot 100	7
1986	"Ride Across the River"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	21
1986	"So Far Away"	Billboard Adult Contemporary	3
1986	"So Far Away"	The Billboard Hot 100	19

[edit] Awards

Grammy Awards

Year	Winner	Category
1985	Brothers in Arms	Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical
1985	"Money for Nothing"	Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
2006	Brothers in Arms	Best Surround Sound Album

[edit] Certifications

Organisation	Level	Date
BPI – UK	Gold	May 16, 1985
BPI – UK	Platinum	May 16, 1985
CRIA – Canada	Gold	July 1, 1985
CRIA – Canada	Platinum	July 1, 1985
RIAA – U.S.	Gold	July 23, 1985
CRIA – Canada	Double Platinum	August 1, 1985
RIAA – U.S.	Platinum	August 13, 1985
CRIA – Canada	Triple Platinum	August 27, 1985
BPI – UK	Double Platinum	September 13, 1985
CRIA – Canada	4X Platinum	September 17, 1985
RIAA – U.S.	Double Platinum	September 24, 1985
CRIA – Canada	5X Platinum	October 17, 1985
CRIA – Canada	6X Platinum	October 31, 1985
RIAA – U.S.	Triple Platinum	November 13, 1985
CRIA – Canada	7X Platinum	November 25, 1985
BPI – UK	Triple Platinum	December 5, 1985
CRIA – Canada	8X Platinum	December 23, 1985
RIAA – U.S.	4X Platinum	January 29, 1986
CRIA – Canada	9X Platinum	February 6, 1986
CRIA – Canada	10X Platinum	April 23, 1986
RIAA – U.S.	5X Platinum	May 28, 1986
BPI – UK	11X Platinum	February 1, 1987
BPI – UK	12X Platinum	February 1, 1987
BPI – UK	8X Platinum	February 24, 1987
BPI – UK	10X Platinum	November 1, 1987
RIAA – U.S.	6X Platinum	January 18, 1989
RIAA – U.S.	7X Platinum	August 17, 1994
RIAA – U.S.	9X Platinum	August 7, 1996
BPI – UK	13X Platinum	October 31, 1997

[edit] References

1. ^ Rykodisc.com: It was 20 — or maybe not — years ago today

[edit] See also

• List of best-selling albums (UK)

Dire Straits

Mark Knopfler John Illsley | Alan Clark | Guy Fletcher | David Knopfler | Pick Withers | Hal Lindes | Terry Williams | Jack Sonni

Discography

Albums and extended plays: Dire Straits | Communiqué | Making Movies | Love over Gold | ExtendedancEPlay | Alchemy | Brothers in Arms | On Every Street | On the Night | Encores | Live at the BBC | Money for Nothing | Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits | The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations

Hit Singles: Sultans of Swing | Lady Writer | Romeo and Juliet | Skateaway | Private Investigations | Twisting by the Pool | So Far Away | Money for Nothing | Brothers in Arms | Walk of Life | Your Latest Trick | Calling Elvis | Heavy Fuel |