CREST OF A KNAVE

Somewhat of a comeback album for the band, following the dismal Under Wraps. Brought back a harder rock edge on a few tracks, and received substantial radio play and acclaim. Notoriously won the Grammy for best hard rock/heavy metal album (beating Metallica), which was roundly criticized as it is not really considered a hard rock album, and certainly not metal. Overall, it is somewhat varied in style and substance, ranging from acoustic, pop and rock tracks. This album also marked the start of their 'Dire Straits period', in that multiple songs on this album, and at least one on most of the subsequent albums, bore a strong resemblance to Dire Straits, not only in the talk-singing vocal of Ian by this time, but also in the overall style and structure of the songs. Not sure if this was a conscious decision to emulate the band, but some of these songs sound like they could actually be Dire Straits songs (not that there's anything wrong with that). Overall, a nice direction for the band in the 80's. Good, but still not one of their stronger albums. Best tracks: Jump Start, Budapest, Part of the Machine, Farm on the Freeway. Weaker tracks: Steel Monkey, Mountain Men. Dire Straits-sounding songs: She Said She Was a Dancer, Waking Edge, Raising Steam. Rating: 3 stars