3. ALBUMS

Q: Will there ever be another Dire Straits album?

A: Dire Straits have fulfilled all their contractual obligations, so no further new studio-album can be expected (according to Ed Bicknell). There are plans to release a Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler Love Album in September 1998. This will be a compilation album. (confirmed by Polygram Germany)

A new Mark Knopfler soundtrack album "Wag The Dog", was released in the 3rd week of January 1998. A new Mark Knopfler solo-album is scheduled for spring / summer 1998

Q: What is the "Twisting by The Pool" EP? Is it still available?

A: ‘Twisting By The Pool’ is a rock and roll song. It was written and played as an encore in the late 70’s. In 1982 Dire Straits recorded ‘Twisting By The Pool’ for a Dance EP (rock and roll style). Considered a reaction from the ‘serious’ Love Over Gold work, this EP (Extended Dance Play) recorded in October 1982, contains three songs: ‘Twisting By The Pool,’ ‘Two Young Lovers’ and ‘If I Had You.’ The 12" version also includes the jazzy ‘Badges, Posters, Stickers, T-Shirts,’ earlier released as a B-side of ‘Private Investigations.’

You can only purchase this EP at some second-hand record stores or at record fairs, because it is out of print. The only CD-version , which is very hard to get, is a CD-video release, with the video of ‘Twisting By The Pool’ and audio tracks of ‘Twisting By The Pool,’ ‘Two Young Lovers,’ ‘If I Had You,’ and ‘Two Young Lovers’ (live).

You can also find ‘Twisting By The Pool’ on the Money For Nothing compilation album (1988) in a remixed version. ‘Two Young Lovers’ can be found on Alchemy (1984). Many bootlegs from the On Every Street tour and Brothers In Arms tour include ‘Two Young Lovers.’ ‘Badges, Posters, Stickers ,T-shirts’ can also be found on the "You and Your Friend" cd-single, released in 1992.

Q: Which soundtracks has Mark done? And where can I find them?

A: Mark did the music for the following movies: LOCAL HERO (1983), CAL (1984), COMFORT AND JOY (1984), THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987), LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN (1989), WAG THE DOG (1998) and METROLAND (1998). Mark also worked on THE COLOR OF MONEY (1986). ‘Darling Pretty,’ from Mark’s first ‘solo’-album Golden Heart, is also on the soundtrack of TWISTER (1996).

LOCAL HERO, CAL, THE PRINCESS BRIDE , LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN, WAG THE DOG and METROLAND are released on CD. The music from COMFORT AND JOY is available on the Mark Knopfler cd-single "Going Home-theme from Local Hero" (re-issue 1993) and on the Dire Straits cd-single "Ticket To Heaven" (released 1994). ‘Darling Pretty’ is available on the TWISTER soundtrack and on Golden Heart.

In 1993 a compilation Screenplaying was released, containing music from Knopfler’s film scores from 1983-1989.

Also, ‘Six Blade Knife’ is on the soundtrack of DESPERADO. ‘Romeo & Juliet’ is on soundtrack to Empire Records. A demo version of Solid Rock can be found on the Riding High soundtrack LP.

At this moment, Mark finished the music for the METROLAND movie, which will be in the cinemas in 1998.

Q: Why did the band's live album, On The Night only have ten songs on it instead of the full setlist? Many of the classic songs were edited out such as 'Sultans of Swing,' 'Telegraph Road' and 'Tunnel of Love.'

A: They thought that a double album might not have been as commercially viable. Instead they made a CD and a single "Encores." They also did not want to compete with Alchemy which contained these songs.

(The next info comes from DSIS): "The maximum running time for a CD is 76.15. There are of course CDs which are slightly longer, but some CD players (especially the earlier models) won't play them, because the mechanism fails to recognise the length and won't pick up on the CD at all. So to make sure everyone with a player can listen to this one, we're sticking to the official maximum length. That means we can't quite fit it all on one CD, hence the extra single, "Encores"."

The On The Night record is still available (remastered edition). But it can be difficult to find the limited-edition CD-single "Encores," with tracks ‘Your Latest Trick,’ ‘The Bug,’ ‘Solid Rock,’ and ‘Wild Theme,’ which are (except ‘Your Latest Trick’) not on the album.

Q: What are remastered Dire Straits albums ? Should I buy them ? Are they any different from originals?

A: In recent years many bands re-released their old albums as "remastered CDs." Technically this means that the old master tapes from which the original vinyl was produced are remixed using new digital sound recording technology. This results in a higher quality CD recording than just a regular CD, which has the same sound quality as the original vinyl LP. Sometimes there is an essential difference in *how* themusic is mixed and in *how* it sounds. Also, some glitches that made it on the original release might be cleaned. Also, in some cases, remastered CDs include much more artwork and text than "regular" CDs.

The information above applies directly to new, and long awaited by audiophiles, Dire Straits remasters. Whether to buy them or not depends on your personal tastes and preferences. If you do not own an album on CD, then buying the remastered version is probably a better choice.

The older albums (e.g. Dire Straits, Making Movies) have a better sound than the originals. On the ‘new’ debut-album, you can find the full-length version of ‘Sultans Of Swing.’ And on Alchemy, there are a few more seconds of music on it (longer fade-ins/outs). But comparing the newer albums (which were already recorded digitally, like Brothers In Arms, On Every Street and On the Night) with the ‘originals,’ shows that there isn’t much difference. Some of the remastered CD’s contain newly written sleeve-notes.

The soundtrack-albums of Mark are now available in a remastered edition.

Note: It seems that the ‘Remastered’ Dire Straits albums aren’t available in the States yet.

Q: Is the ‘A Night In London’ video available in the USA?

A: Yes, it’s available in the USA for around $17 - $21, depending on the chain store. You might have to look for it, but major chain stores, like Tower, seem to carry it.

Q: Why is Walt Disney Productions credited for Scrooge McDuck on "Alchemy"?

A: Because there’s a very small picture of Scrooge McDuck in the right corner on the cover of "Alchemy"

Q: Did other Dire Straits members also recorded solo-albums?

A: Yes, John Illsley made two albums, "Never Told A Soul" (1984) and "Glass" (1988). On both albums you can hear Mark Knopfler and Alan Clark. Chris White recorded an album called "Shadowdance". David Knopfler made several albums after his depart from Dire Straits. On his website (www.knopfler.com) you can find all the details on his albums.

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