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Do Dire Straits Count as Prog?

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Topic: Do Dire Straits Count as Prog?
Posted By: FatherChristmas
Subject: Do Dire Straits Count as Prog?
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 07:53
Do Dire Straits Count as Prog? They did do some very progressive stuff, like their 14 minute song Telegraph Road, but is that just a sort of weird, jazz fusion/roots rock stuff?



Replies:
Posted By: King of Loss
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 08:08
No. Not in my opinion at least.


Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 08:11
No.

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Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy!


Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 08:16
No


Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 08:28
My definition of prog is more extended than most others', but I would draw a line at Dire Straits. I must admit I am only familiar with two of their albums though, their self-titled debut album and "Brothers in Arms".

Their debut left my elder brother (ten years my senior) cold; there was so much music that he considered to be much more interesting at that time. And I was only nine years old at the time and heard music mostly because he heard it; he was my babysitter back then (some babysitter he was; my parents would have freaked out had they known what he was doing while babysitting me). My taste was very much influenced by him, and so I didn't warm up to them either.

"Brothers in Arms" came out when I was sixteen and MTV was in its prime, and of course I saw the video for "Money for Nothing". I liked the heaviness of that song, so I got the album for myself. But I found the rest of the album rather disappointing. I never heard their other albums.


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BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.


Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 08:40
No, DS are not prog but it's easy to see why prog fans would like a sophisticated album like Love Over Gold or Making Movies. Good stuff.

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Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 08:59
Love over Gold is quite good, but I find a lot of their music fairly dull.

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Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy!


Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 09:04
some of their songs have been overplayed, I mean I don't want to hear Money For Nothing any time soon. Or Romeo & Juliet, Walk of Life. 






Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 09:04
In one word, No, but in more than word, Yes, I've always liked Dire Straits, (even though I wouldn't want to be in dire straits myself), but I don't really think they have a place in ProgArchives - not even in the  Prog-Related section, before anyone asks. Even so, I'll never tire of hearing their weird, jazz fusion/roots rock stuff. Smile


Posted By: Jaketejas
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 09:21
The real question is ... does Dire Straits count as prog to you?

To my ears, there were definitely progressive in combining country, blues, jazz, and even classical elements with rock. If you haven't heard Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins' album entitled "Neck and Neck", it is fun. Also, Money For Nothing off of Brothers in Arms showcases an extremely creative (and, dare I say progressive) way of playing electric guitar using country fingerstyle. The introduction leading into the guitar riff gives me goosebumps every time. The lyrics were meant to be satirical but are often criticized these days as being offensive. At the time Mark Knopfler was often dubbed the King of Tone. When you listen to the song Brothers in Arms, just tell people you have sand in your eyes. But, would I call them a Progressive Rock band?

Probably, I would not classify them in that way. But, I'd think twice about it, and they are definitely a band that many people who enjoy Prog Rock have on their playlists ... like Big Country (rah!) and shy people who like Kajagoogoo.


Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 09:36
No......but Knopfler is a killer guitarist.

...and Pick Withers the drummer in DS used to be in the prog band 'Spring'.
Wink



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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin


Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 09:48
Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:


...and Pick Withers the drummer in DS used to be in the prog band 'Spring'.
Wink

Good catch doc. Clap

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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 10:56
Nah....there is no progressive rock music in their albums.

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Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 11:07
No. Their music was originally based in pub and club blues, but they were certainly a damned fine band.

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Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org


Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 11:46
Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:


...and Pick Withers the drummer in DS used to be in the prog band 'Spring'.
Wink

Good catch doc. Clap
and their later drummer, Terry Williams, was in Welsh band Man.


Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 11:46
Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

No, DS are not prog but it's easy to see why prog fans would like a sophisticated album like Love Over Gold or Making Movies. Good stuff.


If DS had made three stupendous albums ala Love Over Gold, I'd say that they could have a shot at PA, but otherwise no.

While I still love their debutClapStar, their next two albums bore me to death. Sleepy

And TBH, at first, I almost didn't pay attention to LOG because all you heard was Industrial Disease (musically the weakest on that album) over the radio, and at the time, I was diving into 60's psych and 70's JR/F and soon afterwards 60's jazz. But that was one hell of an album.StarClapClapStar; but, I could've easily missed it altogether.

I was expecting very much out of their next release , which turned out to be awful Twisting EP, which was a complete turn off. I wasn't impressed at BIA either at first, because if I didn't mind MFN, I hated the other hits out of it, and by that time, I was almost completely out of the "rock thing". Then I heard at a GF's place the second side of the BIA album, and I found it rather nice (much more in the LOG mood) with strong stuff

One of DS' facet is the roots thing, and this is a gigantic turn off for me, with tracks like Walk Of Life and stuff like that. Very irritating, to the point that if it comes on the radio, I will switch stations.
BTW, I never really warmed to Alchemy Live, though most people rave about it.


Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 11:52
^ You were bored to death by Making Movies? Confused

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Posted By: Awesoreno
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 12:12
Originally posted by Catcher10 Catcher10 wrote:

Nah....there is no progressive rock music in their albums.

There is no "prog" music in their albums. I think they have their "progressive" moments, but wouldn't consider them overall as progressive rock, nor should they have an entry on PA. Though maybe we need a database for bands that many prog fans enjoy that are not prog or qualify for prog-related. "If you like prog, you might like these bands/artists."


Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 12:20
As far as I am concerned, Dire Straits are very much like The Police - wonderful band whose albums get regular spins here, but with very flimsy connections to prog. As the Interactive Polls we are enjoying in this same section of the forum have amply demonstrated, there is a whole lot of great music around that is not prog, or only very tenuously related. On the other hand, there is a lot of very bad music whose prog "credentials" cannot be questioned. I'll keep on enjoying what I like whether it's on PA or not.


Posted By: The Anders
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 13:02
The Love Over Gold album does perhaps (and "Telegraph Road" in particular). Apart from that, not really. I really like them nonetheless.


Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 13:20
I've found some of my favourite artists on here that I never would have expected to find on a Prog-Rock website, including:- David Bowie; Kate Bush; Electric Light Orchestra; & Queen, to name just a few. I could go on, so I will:- Black Sabbath; Blue Oyster Cult; Led Zeppelin; Uriah Heep, and many more besides. Smile


Posted By: BrufordFreak
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 13:39
No

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Drew Fisher
https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/


Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 14:00
Hi,

I would say NO, however, LOVE OVER GOLD probably deserves some more attention as its 5 songs are a bit more than what usual radio will play and much more focused as a piece of music, than some of their previous material that was more song designed, than this album ... this album had a certain amount of freedom that the others didn't, and specially the one album after, that was almost exclusively made for the FM radio, that was beginning to lose its strength and ability to give us all new music!

LOG, if we were not so set on our "definition" of the music, would be considered a nice fit, but since the band did not continue beyond just songs, my take is ... NOPE. I'm not sure that David Knopfler was too interested in a whole lot of things other than his songs after the big hit!


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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com


Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 14:03
I'll have a Dire Straits Top 7 Songs poll coming up soon, which was inspired by this thread. Wink


Posted By: jamesbaldwin
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 14:13
II'm not sure that Love Over Gold is their best album. 

It's more proggy, yes, but, is it the best?

The two things are not correlated.

Maybe Making Movies and Brothers in Arms are better.

I think that side A of Making Movies is their best side A, even better than the side A of Love Over Gold.

The B side of their albums are usually less beatiful than side A.




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"Happiness is real only when shared"


Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 15:09
I actually like the first two DS albums better than the others. Oh well, I suppose we're all differentSmile.


Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 15:14
No

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Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.


Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: June 30 2020 at 16:04
Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

^ You were bored to death by Making Movies? Confused


even the album sleeve is boring as hell Sleepy

And Solid Puke is a total repellent à la Walk Of Life



Originally posted by jamesbaldwin jamesbaldwin wrote:


The B side of their albums are usually less beatiful than side A.




Not so with BIAWink


Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 00:08
No , just a terribly overrated band with annoying vocals (like U2 and many other eighties bands) .


Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 00:38
Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

No , just a terribly overrated band with annoying vocals (like U2 and many other eighties bands) .


Yeah, I could probably go with this....

My dislike of DS may be marginally less than yours. but alongside U2 they do represent an 1980's, I'd rather forget; the 'cool' kids at school, strutting around in Rattle & Hum, or Brothers in Arms tee shirts, like they'd just discovered the guitar. They needed reminding that two years before they were listening to A-Ha and Go West (both of which I'd also rather listen to than U2 & DS )

Dire Straights, U2, INXS et al = Rock music for people who don't like rock music.

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Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy!


Posted By: Hrychu
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 01:13
no

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Bez pierdolenia sygnał zerwie, to w realia wychodź w hełmie!


Posted By: FatherChristmas
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 02:40
Thanks to all those who have replied - Wikipedia does classify Love over Gold as prog, but, after listening to some of their other stuff, I don't think they really ever went further into the genre. Mark Knopfler is a great guitarist though.


Posted By: PhideauxFan
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 03:04
No for me ! Dire Straits: very good classic rock with some progressive moments (Telegraph Road and some other tracks).
 


Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 03:07
About as Prog as Elton John - that is ; they dabbled with elements of Prog without fully indulging in the complexities.
Didn’t the last Eagles album feature many longer tracks ??


Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 03:41
Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:

No......but Knopfler is a killer guitarist.

...and Pick Withers the drummer in DS used to be in the prog band 'Spring'.
Wink


This is the answer!


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"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021


Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 05:30
Originally posted by Sean Trane Sean Trane wrote:

Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

^ You were bored to death by Making Movies? Confused


even the album sleeve is boring as hell Sleepy


 




 
Well, at least we agree about the cover! LOL Tunnel Of Love is their most progressive song and features a melodic and electrifying lead that most guitarists could only dream of playing, but c'est la vie.

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Posted By: Mascodagama
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 07:14
They just need their own sub-genre, Pub Rock Prog.

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Posted By: jamesbaldwin
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 07:42
Originally posted by Blacksword Blacksword wrote:

Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

No , just a terribly overrated band with annoying vocals (like U2 and many other eighties bands) .


Yeah, I could probably go with this....

My dislike of DS may be marginally less than yours. but alongside U2 they do represent an 1980's, I'd rather forget; the 'cool' kids at school, strutting around in Rattle & Hum, or Brothers in Arms tee shirts, like they'd just discovered the guitar. They needed reminding that two years before they were listening to A-Ha and Go West (both of which I'd also rather listen to than U2 & DS )

Dire Straights, U2, INXS et al = Rock music for people who don't like rock music.

The Dire Straits music comes from the tradition of English rockblues, to which is added American roots rock, and some prog ambitions. All with velvety and mainstream production. 

U2 has nothing to do with it, they come from the post punk or post new wave scene, and their rock is much more rough and with a nearly seventies sound. The two audiences have little in common. Obviously you may like or not these two groups, but they are among the best of their genre, in that years. 

The music of U2 up to Achtung Baby has neither the sound nor the typical production of the eighties. 

Inxs, on the contrary, are a three-minute single group with an eighties-style pumped sound, they managed to produce good pop-rock-funky singles but as far as albums are concerned, they are two spans under U2 and Dire Straits.




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"Happiness is real only when shared"


Posted By: Argo2112
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 07:46
Great band but not prog. (Maybe a few hints of it on some songs.)
 


Posted By: essexboyinwales
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 08:35
Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

^ You were bored to death by Making Movies? Confused

I'm bored to death by pretty much anything I've every heard by them....


Posted By: essexboyinwales
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 08:39
Originally posted by Blacksword Blacksword wrote:

Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

No , just a terribly overrated band with annoying vocals (like U2 and many other eighties bands) .


Yeah, I could probably go with this....

My dislike of DS may be marginally less than yours. but alongside U2 they do represent an 1980's, I'd rather forget; the 'cool' kids at school, strutting around in Rattle & Hum, or Brothers in Arms tee shirts, like they'd just discovered the guitar. They needed reminding that two years before they were listening to A-Ha and Go West (both of which I'd also rather listen to than U2 & DS )

Dire Straights, U2, INXS et al = Rock music for people who don't like rock music.

Oh my God I'm so glad I'm not the only one who has these thoughtsLOLLOLLOL


Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 09:03
Originally posted by essexboyinwales essexboyinwales wrote:

Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

^ You were bored to death by Making Movies? Confused

I'm bored to death by pretty much anything I've every heard by them....
I can tell that you're not a guitarist! LOL

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Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 09:40
When I was 14, I thought John Illsley was the best bassist, then I bought Never Told a Soul and knew............he wasn’t 🤪


Posted By: The Anders
Date Posted: July 01 2020 at 13:56
If Dire Staits is rock for people who don't like rock music, I must be one of those who don't like rock music...

And Mark Knopfler is one of my favourite guitarists - his playing is much more poetic than many of those move-your-fingers-as-fast-as-you-can guitar players that dominate f.e. Rolling Stone's top 100 of guitarists and which I often find boring and unimaginative - but maybe that's just me...


Posted By: FatherChristmas
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 04:46
Agreed. To be fair, I don't think Knopfler is the best guitarist ever compared to people like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, but I think he's done some of the best guitar solos, and he is also far more poetic in his writing than most people on Rolling Stone's top 100 guitarists list in my opinion. 


Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 05:11
Originally posted by Tom Ozric Tom Ozric wrote:

When I was 14, I thought John Illsley was the best bassist, then I bought Never Told a Soul and knew............he wasn’t 🤪
yeah, Illsley was no genius but he could get a groove going and probably fit their stripped down sound.

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Posted By: miamiscot
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 07:28
That's a very hard "NO" and I am in favor of a large Prog tent (yes, I believe XTC should be included here) but Dire Straits are not even that progressive - let alone capital "P" Prog...

Good band though!!!


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The Prog Corner


Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 08:40
No, but one or two of their albums are considered prog. They were sort of roots rock and then later pop rock. I remember I had their last album on cassette and remember thinking parts of it were rather Floydish so they definitely had their prog moments but over all no not prog. Also, there is one undeniable prog connection and that is that Pick Withers who was the drummer on their first four albums also played with the early English prog band Spring and is on the mellotron debut album from 1971.


Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 12:02
Originally posted by FatherChristmas FatherChristmas wrote:

Agreed. To be fair, I don't think Knopfler is the best guitarist ever compared to people like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, but I think he's done some of the best guitar solos, and he is also far more poetic in his writing than most people on Rolling Stone's top 100 guitarists list in my opinion. 

Hi,

I think, if it may be suggested, that you need to listen to a few more guitarists ... when you get out of the "song" business, and into serious guitarists let me know ... Hendrix is good and Clapton is good, but I seriously doubt that anyone will compare them to some of the "masters" in Europe in guitar playing and even some of the worst pickers in the streets of Madrid and Barcelona ... they would all make those two look silly and beginner guitar players, although I would love to have seen Jimi show up in there and tell them ... I'll show you what can be done ... but for someone that ended up stuck in blues, sadly, it was not going to happen for us all to see!


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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com


Posted By: FatherChristmas
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 12:43
Admittedly, Manitas de Plata and other great flamenco players are the real greatest guitarists of all time. 


Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: July 08 2020 at 08:24
Great band, not especially prog though.  "Making Movies" is awesome, and the title track to "Brothers in Arms" sends chills up and down my spine every time


Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: July 08 2020 at 13:42
Originally posted by Cristi Cristi wrote:

some of their songs have been overplayed, I mean I don't want to hear Money For Nothing any time soon. Or Romeo & Juliet, Walk of Life. 





I'm prepared to make an exception for the middle song in that list but that's it. I feel similarly about U2's  With Or Without You.

Those were probably the 2 eighties bands I really disliked the most from that decade. Even Duran Duran were more interesting which is saying something Tongue




Posted By: Hrychu
Date Posted: July 08 2020 at 13:58
Originally posted by FatherChristmas FatherChristmas wrote:

Admittedly, Manitas de Plata and other great
flamenco players are the real greatest guitarists of all time. 

Your post reminds me of those people (usually found in YT comments) who say something like:
"(insert a contemporary band they don't like here) isn't music. (insert an old band they do like here) is real music."

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Bez pierdolenia sygnał zerwie, to w realia wychodź w hełmie!


Posted By: FatherChristmas
Date Posted: July 09 2020 at 04:27
Originally posted by Hrychu Hrychu wrote:

Originally posted by FatherChristmas FatherChristmas wrote:

Admittedly, Manitas de Plata and other great
flamenco players are the real greatest guitarists of all time. 

Your post reminds me of those people (usually found in YT comments) who say something like:
"(insert a contemporary band they don't like here) isn't music. (insert an old band they do like here) is real music."
That is true.
All bands formed after 1995 aren't music. Genesis is real music. Wink


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"Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence" - Robert Fripp
"I am an anti-Christ" - Johnny Rotten


Posted By: timmble
Date Posted: April 27 2023 at 07:48
Obsessive Dire Straits fan here, since the age of 6.  46 now!

I've had Brothers in Arms and their first album on this afternoon.  They definitely do borrow some prog elements from time, say for instance, the second half of Why Worry on Brothers in Arms, and Telegraph Road.

But yeah, they aren't a prog rock band.  There's folk, blues, jass, and all sorts of other stuff in Mark's songs.


Posted By: timmble
Date Posted: April 27 2023 at 08:06
Saw John live in Shrewsbury doing some acoustic stuff.  Met him and bought a signed CD of his new album - but never listened to it hah.  Love him as part of DS though.


Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: April 27 2023 at 09:56
Looking at some of my old posts (during the pandemic mainly I think) I was really demonstrating some unnecessary hate towards them . They were far from being the worst thing in the eighties and stuff such as Telegraph road and Private Investigations was decent enough. However I genuinely dislike Money For Nothing although that's more for the horrible production. 


Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: April 27 2023 at 10:09
Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Looking at some of my old posts (during the pandemic mainly I think) I was really demonstrating some unnecessary hate towards them . They were far from being the worst thing in the eighties and stuff such as Telegraph road and Private Investigations was decent enough. However I genuinely dislike Money For Nothing although that's more for the horrible production. 

Love Over Gold was excellent, i overplayed it when i was younger. I overplayed DS in general back then, i rarely listen these days. 




Posted By: MortSahlFan
Date Posted: April 27 2023 at 12:12
No, but a band that had a unique/original sound. "Sultans of Swing" is one of the greatest songs ever. "Making Movies" is a tape we listened to a lot on our drives to grandma's. The only 'picker' I like. I never liked walk of life, so far away, money for nothing, though.


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Posted By: Dapper~Blueberries
Date Posted: April 27 2023 at 12:35
Originally posted by FatherChristmas FatherChristmas wrote:

Do Dire Straits Count as Prog? They did do some very progressive stuff, like their 14 minute song Telegraph Road, but is that just a sort of weird, jazz fusion/roots rock stuff?

Not really. Like, a 14 minute song doesn't automatically make a band prog. For example, the stoner metal band of Bongripper has a ton of 15+ minute songs, and they aren't prog. Same with the noise artist of Merzbow. Length doesn't quite equal what is or isn't prog. Gentle Giant doesn't really have any big long songs. It is all based around the music, and too me, while Dire Straits have some great music, they aren't prog, 14 minutes or not.


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D~B


Posted By: jamesbaldwin
Date Posted: April 27 2023 at 12:49
They cant be prog: King Charles III listen to them!

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"Happiness is real only when shared"


Posted By: David_D
Date Posted: April 27 2023 at 13:00

Strange questions relate to around here. 








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                      quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond


Posted By: omphaloskepsis
Date Posted: April 27 2023 at 16:47
Nope.  Just because it's long, does not make it a prog rock song.


Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: April 27 2023 at 16:53
Dire Straits are about as much of a prog band as Steely Dan or The Police. 


Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: April 27 2023 at 17:39
Adding some Heavy Fuel to the debate, I can tell you Money for Nothing that Dire Straits are So Far Away from prog, but between You and Your Friend, Why Worry anyway, as they'll always be a Solid Rock band to me. Smile


Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: April 28 2023 at 01:49
Originally posted by AFlowerKingCrimson AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:

Dire Straits are about as much of a prog band as Steely Dan or The Police. 

LOL

I would also throw in Queen just to reignite an old argument.Wink


Posted By: Jared
Date Posted: April 28 2023 at 03:18
Originally posted by jamesbaldwin jamesbaldwin wrote:

They cant be prog: King Charles III listen to them!

He also attended a Status Quo gig with Di, back in '82... and before anyone asks, Quo ain't prog either; as they so self-deprecatingly admitted, they were still searching for the fourth chord.. 


Posted By: mellotronwave
Date Posted: April 28 2023 at 06:06
Originally posted by jamesbaldwin jamesbaldwin wrote:

They cant be prog: King Charles III listen to them!


Posted By: mellotronwave
Date Posted: April 28 2023 at 06:07
Not prog Imo....however I like Telegraph Road a lot


Posted By: Frets N Worries
Date Posted: April 30 2023 at 19:06
Telegraph Road was the song that led me to love longer songs, so for me, they're not prog, but a stepping stone that led me to progressive rock


Posted By: I prophesy disaster
Date Posted: April 30 2023 at 19:30
Wikipedia regards "Love over Gold" as progressive rock, art rock, jazz rock.
 
Not long after "Love over Gold" was released, my older brother offered me a ticket to a Dire Straits concert, describing their music as "similar to Pink Floyd" which, because neither of us were aware of the term "progressive rock" at that time, was his way of saying he thought their music was progressive rock. He introduced me to Yes and Nektar, so he was aware of what progressive rock was.
 
It should be said that this was during the '80s when progressive rock had more-or-less disappeared from the airwaves in Australia, so every hint of progressive rock counted.
 



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No, I know how to behave in the restaurant now, I don't tear at the meat with my hands. If I've become a man of the world somehow, that's not necessarily to say I'm a worldly man.


Posted By: barbera
Date Posted: May 04 2023 at 17:31
Love Over Gold has some hints of prog here and there, within Telegraph Road. A great song and also great lyrics. The rest of their catalogue is not progressive. The opposite. imo.


Posted By: bardberic
Date Posted: May 04 2023 at 19:34
Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Originally posted by AFlowerKingCrimson AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:

Dire Straits are about as much of a prog band as Steely Dan or The Police. 

LOL

I would also throw in Queen just to reignite an old argument.Wink


But Queen 1973-1975 are prog lol


Posted By: bardberic
Date Posted: May 04 2023 at 19:34
Dire Straits? Ha! No, not even remotely. Nope.


Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: May 05 2023 at 00:45
Not even remotely, although their masterpiece Love over Gold has some slightly progish hints.

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Posted By: b_olariu
Date Posted: May 05 2023 at 03:32
NO


Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: May 05 2023 at 03:54
Originally posted by I prophesy disaster I prophesy disaster wrote:

Wikipedia regards "Love over Gold" as progressive rock, art rock, jazz rock.
 
Not long after "Love over Gold" was released, my older brother offered me a ticket to a Dire Straits concert, describing their music as "similar to Pink Floyd" which, because neither of us were aware of the term "progressive rock" at that time, was his way of saying he thought their music was progressive rock. He introduced me to Yes and Nektar, so he was aware of what progressive rock was.
 
It should be said that this was during the '80s when progressive rock had more-or-less disappeared from the airwaves in Australia, so every hint of progressive rock counted.

I also spent the 70's & 80's being unaware my music of choice was called "progressive rock". I only learned that in the early 90's. 
Most of us in the area (Toronto) called that genre "Art Rock"



Real progressive rock from the big 70's band during the 80's were: 
King Crimson/Discipline era
Emerson Lake & Powell
Brother Were You Bound 

Crest of Knave ((see Budapest)





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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword


Posted By: ledzepfan63
Date Posted: May 05 2023 at 09:06
dire straits is pure rockBig smile


Posted By: mickcoxinha
Date Posted: May 10 2023 at 13:24
Originally posted by Sean Trane Sean Trane wrote:

Crest of Knave ((see Budapest)


Budapest, which is basically Jethro Full trying to sound like Dire Straits plus flute


Posted By: Jacob Schoolcraft
Date Posted: May 10 2023 at 16:36
There are many Rock bands in the 60s, 70s, and 80s that played regular Rock, but had a tendency to play in a Progressive style ..either by doing it for the whole of 4 or 5 minutes in one of their songs...or...recorded an instrumental piece .You can literally plough through a large volume of Rock albums which extend over 30 years and find that.

Of course they were never thought to be Progressive Rock by their audience or the industry, but because they were professional musicians they did in fact play something which sounded like Progressive Rock for a whole of 2 or 4 minutes. The reason being that they had a spark of creative freedom and could get away with it sparingly because they sold consistently and made the record companies happy. It's a fact..however they were never labeled as progressive in any sense. It usually wasn't revealed through the publications industry that they possessed that quality. I'm assuming it wouldn't have been good for business since they were being promoted as something else..but obviously some fans took notice of it.


Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: May 11 2023 at 02:05
Originally posted by mickcoxinha mickcoxinha wrote:

Originally posted by Sean Trane Sean Trane wrote:

Crest of Knave ((see Budapest)


Budapest, which is basically Jethro Full trying to sound like Dire Straits plus flute

I've never thought that Ian Anderson sounded like Knofler in that trilogy of albums (Crest, Island and Catfish). 

TBH, that Crest album sounds more like ZZ Top in its Eliminator/Afterburner era, because of two tracks.

Still laughing about the Best metal album grammy thing, though..


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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword


Posted By: Heart of the Matter
Date Posted: May 11 2023 at 08:06
Most musicians keep going in and out of genres or styles, it's only fans who stay inside their box of choice. Dire Straits' foray into prog is as good and enjoyable as anyone's, whether it be an only song or an entire career.


Posted By: Prog-jester
Date Posted: May 27 2023 at 04:39
Originally posted by Heart of the Matter Heart of the Matter wrote:

Most musicians keep going in and out of genres or styles, it's only fans who stay inside their box of choice
so true


Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: May 27 2023 at 05:39
Originally posted by Prog-jester Prog-jester wrote:

Originally posted by Heart of the Matter Heart of the Matter wrote:

Most musicians keep going in and out of genres or styles, it's only fans who stay inside their box of choice
so true

To that I would add it is only the obsessive fans who stay inside their box of choice. Most of us do demonstrate at least some element of flexibility.


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Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org


Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: May 27 2023 at 05:45
Originally posted by lazland lazland wrote:

Originally posted by Prog-jester Prog-jester wrote:

Originally posted by Heart of the Matter Heart of the Matter wrote:

Most musicians keep going in and out of genres or styles, it's only fans who stay inside their box of choice
so true

To that I would add it is only the obsessive fans who stay inside their box of choice. Most of us do demonstrate at least some element of flexibility.

true Tongue


Posted By: David_D
Date Posted: May 27 2023 at 09:04

In short, no way, at best (Love over Gold) Art Rock.








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                      quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond


Posted By: Moonshake
Date Posted: May 30 2023 at 15:50
Dire Straits does not count as prog.
In my opinion, they count as boring.


Posted By: cstack3
Date Posted: May 30 2023 at 18:15
Originally posted by Moonshake Moonshake wrote:

Dire Straits does not count as prog.
In my opinion, they count as boring.

Aye.


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I am not a Robot, I'm a FREE MAN!!


Posted By: timmble
Date Posted: June 05 2023 at 03:22
Definitely dip their toes into prog sometimes, but are ultimately a classic rock band.


Posted By: Mr ProgFreak
Date Posted: June 05 2023 at 05:56
They can be made not boring:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/x0RV0kgdqJU" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/embed/x0RV0kgdqJU


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https://tagyourmusic.org/users/Mike" rel="nofollow - https://tagyourmusic.org/users/Mike



Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: June 05 2023 at 06:00
Originally posted by Mr ProgFreak Mr ProgFreak wrote:

They can be made not boring:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/x0RV0kgdqJU" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/embed/x0RV0kgdqJU

eheeee, Sultans of Swing is not a boring song. Smile


Posted By: Mr ProgFreak
Date Posted: June 05 2023 at 06:33
^ depends. It's a sophisticated song, harmonically, and difficult to play (on the guitar). But for most of my life I found it boring. 

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https://tagyourmusic.org/users/Mike" rel="nofollow - https://tagyourmusic.org/users/Mike




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