Last Albums: Dire Straits - On Every Street (1991)

Normally, bands strike while the iron is hot, but it took Dire Straits six years to follow up their blockbuster Brothers in Arms CD that sent "Money for Nothing" screaming up the charts and turned the band into a household name.

On Every Street - the last album by Mark Knopfler's British quartet that by this time was really nothing more than the leader's backup band with a very fluid lineup - went to #1 in much of the world and #12 in America. 

Knopfler said that one of the reasons he shut Dire Straits down the first time in 1987 is that while he wanted to be successful he wasn't fond of the superstardom that went along with it. In 1988 he told Rolling Stone "A lot of press reports were saying we were the biggest band in the world. There's not an accent then on the music, there's an accent on popularity. I needed a rest," but he eventually reorganized the group with original bassist, John Illsley, along with both Alan Clark and Guy Fletcher on keyboards.
After the release of On Every Street in 1991 Dire Straits embarked on a two year world tour that exhausted both Knopfler and the band. He said it contributed to his divorce. At that point, he broke up the group forever to focus on a successful solo career.

While On Every Street may not be the group's best work it's still a good album. Dire Straits never made a bad one. What it lacks are the strong deep tracks that Knopfler always brought to the studio. Highlights include "The Bug" - a rockabilly track later covered by Mary Chapin Carpenter, "Heavy Fuel" - a hard driving rocker that is reminiscent of "Money for Nothing," a slow burning blues in "Fade to Black" and "Calling Elvis" - a pleasing rocker loaded with song references to the late King of Rock and Roll.

Two tracks from the album, "Ticket to Heaven" and "How Long" were performed live a year earlier with Knopfler's one-off country outfit, The Notting Hillbillies. Both songs would be a better fit for that quartet's one and only record, Missing.....Presumed Having a Good Time.

Despite going platinum, On Every Street was disappointing to a lot of people, yet there is enough good stuff on Dire Straits' swan song to recommend it to any fan. Give it a good listen if you haven't already done so. I'm sure you'll find something on it you'll want to hear again.

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Last Albums discusses music that was recorded as new material and intended to be released to the public as a complete album but not necessarily the last one. Live albums, greatest hits or "best of" collections and compilations do not count, nor do posthumous releases of leftover tracks cobbled together to make a final album.

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