Dire Straits: Brothers in Arms (2LP, Abbey Road half-speed master) [VERTIGO]

Why you'll love it

This Abbey Road half-speed master runs at 45 RPM over two 180g LPs, with full-length versions of "So Far Away," "Money for Nothing" and "Your Latest Trick." Brothers in Arms spent nine weeks at No. 1 in the US, 14 in the UK, and has sold more than 30 million copies.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Half-speed master
• 180g vinyl
• Cut at 45 RPM
• Obi strip
• Abbey Road Studios certificate of authenticity
• Remastered
• Lyrics included
• Pressed in Germany

About the album

Brothers in Arms was the first album to sell a million copies on compact disc, which makes it rather pleasing to hear it this way. Mark Knopfler had written every song and rehearsed the band before they flew to AIR Studios on Montserrat in late 1984, and he and co-producer Neil Dorfsman recorded it on one of the first Sony 24-track digital tape machines.

The guitar tone on "Money for Nothing" came from a happy accident: microphones left half set up from the night before, with Knopfler's Les Paul through a Laney amp, and Sting dropping in to sing that unforgettable hook. "Walk of Life" bounces along on a cheerful organ riff, "Your Latest Trick" is pure late-night saxophone, "Why Worry" and "Ride Across the River" drift, and the title track closes the album in a slow, foggy glow.

It won the Grammy for Best Engineered Album, and was the first record certified ten-times platinum in the UK. Half-speed mastering for an album this obsessed with sound feels less like a reissue and more like finally handing Knopfler the keys he wanted all along.

Also at Kops: more Dire Straits on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Vertigo / Mercury (cat# ARHSDLP004), a reissue of the 1985 album.