Dire Straits
photo: helge øverås · cc by-sa 4.0 ↗Dire Straits formed in London in 1977 around singer-guitarist-songwriter Mark Knopfler, whose fingerpicked, plectrum-free Stratocaster and clean, unhurried tone became one of the most recognizable guitar sounds in rock. Against the grain of punk, the band built literate, narrative songs on a foundation of blues, country, and pub-rock economy, breaking through with 1978's 'Sultans of Swing' and reaching a global peak with the 1985 album 'Brothers in Arms' and its MTV-era hit 'Money for Nothing.' They disbanded in 1995, leaving Knopfler's understated craftsmanship as their defining legacy.
Knopfler has often named J.J. Cale as a formative influence on his laid-back, behind-the-beat feel and clean, understated tone; the relaxed, economical groove of Cale's Tulsa Sound is a template for Dire Straits' unhurried, space-conscious approach.
listen forPut on Cale's 'Call Me the Breeze,' then Dire Straits' 'So Far Away' — hear the same loping, unhurried shuffle and warm, conversational vocal that never pushes or oversings.
Knopfler's fingerstyle technique — picking the strings with thumb and fingers rather than a plectrum — draws on the Atkins school of country guitar; his admiration was explicit enough that the two later recorded the duet album 'Neck and Neck' together in 1990.
listen forCue Atkins' 'Mister Sandman,' then the fingerpicked electric lead of 'Sultans of Swing' — the same clean, rolling thumb-and-fingers attack, every note plucked crisp and separate.
Dire Straits' early, wordy narrative songwriting and Knopfler's half-spoken vocal phrasing drew frequent comparisons to Dylan; the connection was real enough that Knopfler played guitar on Dylan's 'Slow Train Coming' in 1979.
listen forPlay Dylan's 'Tangled Up in Blue,' then 'Romeo and Juliet' — both spin a cinematic, tumbling story in a talk-sung, road-worn voice that prizes the words over the melody.