Love Over Gold

by

Dire Straits

Edit

Mark Knopfler obviously loves to write passacaglias - pieces of music that start with a very basic theme, played by only one or very few instruments and, often over repeated crescendos and slow-downs, increasing in volume and instrumentation to a rousing finale, performed by either all instruments or the instrumental lead "voice;" in Knopfler's case of course his trademark Fender Strat. "Brothers in Arms" has elements of a passacaglia, and so does "Speedway to Nazareth" on his latest solo release, "Sailing to Philadelphia." His greatest achievement though, not only in this regard, has to be "Telegraph Road," the opening track of "Love Over Gold." In a little over 14 minutes, the song rises from a simple opening melody, evoking the loneliness of that man walking along a deserted track at the beginning of the song's story, to a final guitar solo which is among the most ambitious and evocative pieces of music written by anyone in recent decades, anywhere and in any musical category. In between, there are no less than two other guitar solos, each of them over a minute long; dramatic centerpieces in their own right in any song but this one. And like the song's instrumentation, its lyrics trace the story of civilization from that one man walking along a track to a modern city, with six lines of traffic (three lines moving slow), unemployment, desolation and anger; so apparent in Knopfler's coarse vocals in the final verse and echoed with even greater force in the instrumental finale.

"Telegraph Road" is followed by the sinister "Private Investigations," reminiscent of Alan Parsons's interpretation of the Poe classic "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" (listen to that steady beat underneath the instrumental part and tell me you don't hear the "Tell Tale Heart"), and as daring and elaborate in its composition as "Telegraph Road." Both pieces are made possible by the advent of Alan Clark and his skills as a pianist; and yet, here as there it is Knopfler's guitar play that takes front and center stage. Next is the wicked "Industrial Disease," followed by the album's title track, and last, "It Never Rains," Knopfler's bow to Bob Dylan, rendered in an interpretation so true to life that you inadvertently feel yourself transported back by a decade or more and expect him switch into "The Times They Are A-Changin'" any second. One may wonder why the record, given its mostly gloomy and cynical mood, was not named for one of the two equally stunning and dark first tracks. Perhaps, however, the answer lies in the title song's last verse: "It takes love over gold and mind over matter to do what you do that you must, when the things that you hold can fall and be shattered or run through your fingers like dust."

The album's cover rightly (although somewhat unnecessarily) describes "Love Over Gold" as "one of Dire Straits' most ambitiously conceived projects to date" and points out that it "reflects almost a year's worth of meticulous attention." Short of his film music (which he was not to start writing until a year later, with "Local Hero"), this album was the closest yet that Knopfler has come to classical composition; not just in the record's first two masterpieces but right down to little details like the xylophone air underneath the title track. It was a hard act to follow, even for a Mark Knopfler; and his virtually only choice was to take his music into other, and more diverse directions ("Brothers in Arms"). Listening to the remastered CD version of "Love Over Gold," you almost forget that unlike its mega-selling successor this recording was not "made for CD;" which in itself speaks volumes to the quality of the sound engineering and production and, more importantly, to the indeed "meticulous attention" given to every single instrumental and human voice of every single track on the album. In all of its 41+ minutes, and although it does not reflect as wide a range of musical styles as Knopfler's later work, "Love Over Gold" is one of the most complex pieces of recording he ever produced. It may have taken the release of "Brothers in Arms" to propel Dire Straits to worldwide fame forever. But it is impossible to listen to "Love Over Gold" and not recognize the unique talent of a man who, having found an initial foothold in the musical scene through the success of his band's first three albums, here made it clear once and for all just how much more the world had yet to expect from him.

Also recommended:

Alchemy: Dire Straits Live

On the Night

Dire Straits

Night in London

Sailing to Philadelphia (CD & DVD Audio)

Local Hero (1983 Film)

After a rather long wait, Dire Straits' 1982 release Love Over Gold arrived in the mail this afternoon. It's not quite as well-known or best-selling an album as 1985's Brothers in Arms or 1980's Making Movies. However, Love Over Gold offers subtle nuances in its progressive leanings. Mark Knopfler continues to establish himself as one of the greatest emotive guitarists in rock history. That's a good thing.

The opening cut, "Telegraph Road", is an epic song about the industrialization of the world. Piano lines and the finger-plucked guitar soloing of Knopfler dominate musically, if they can be called "dominating" at all. This is not hard rock; this is rock music as art. It builds as the song goes on; it may be too long or too subtle for some listeners' tastes, but as a progressive rock fan and a Knopfler acolyte, I like it quite a lot.

"Private Investigations" follows, mellow as it begins, entering into a strummed, almost flamenco-flavored guitar solo over which Knopfler, in the character of a private detective, begins to speak. The song is basically instrumental, since there is no actual singing in it. After Knopfler's last spoken section, the character of the song changes somewhat, adding a steady rhythm section below the increasingly exploratory guitar. Soon enough, an electric guitar shreds in to add another layer, then the piano. As soon as they appear, almost, they are gone; and then back; the song continues in this way to finish. Definitely prog rock.

The third track, "Industrial Disease", takes up the familiar Love Over Gold theme of disaffect with the corrosion of the modern times in satirical fashion. The song is upbeat and rollicking, in contrast with its satirical but charged lyrics. Not my favorite on the album; not unlistenable, though.

"Love Over Gold", track number four and title track for the album, comes in with the piano again and adds the acoustic guitar in shortly. Knopfler's voice reinforces the quiet, hushed beauty of the Dire Straits ballad. It's about a spontaneous woman who acts boldly on flickers of passion and spurs of the moment; the last verse asserts that "It takes love over gold / And mind over matter / To do what you do that you must" and gives tacit approval to the fearless, unplanned actions of the character in the song. It's really a beautiful piece (there's even a marimba solo woven in there) and a new favorite of mine from the band...

The album ends with "It Never Rains", about a woman who lives life on the edge in a different way (or, perhaps, not in a different way but simply seen from a more critical perspective?) and does irresponsible and naive things that end up hurting the people around her and alienating the world. I think that Dire Straits does better when they try to be affective and evocative; as with the similarly up-tempo "Industrial Disease", "It Never Rains" is not quite as good or moving of a song as "Telegraph Road" or "Love Over Gold". It's not bad, though, as 'Straits rockers go.

Overall, I would recommend Love Over Gold to fans of Dire Straits or such other bands as Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, and Camel. It's only five tracks long (though all are long, one very much so), but the passages tying together all of them - save, perhaps, for "Industrial Disease" - are classic 'Straits, music as art and art as music. I guess that's what makes groups like this better for me than most of the heavy metal stuff that feels so much less passionate.