Knopfler's guitar virtuosity is simply amazing - obviously evident on all the studio albums, but even more impressive live and raw. I purchased this recording on vinyl the day it hit the stores, wore it out, bought the compact disc, and have listened to it as often as anything i own.

Dire Straits is the band that got me through the late 70's / early 80's wasteland of popular music and the group never let me down, and never sounded any better than on this absolutely essential recording. Knopfler's smokey voice and unbelievable guitar playing, coupled with a tight backup cast (Mel Collins' saxophone adds a great feel) make for a great listening experience.

Whether dancing to Solid Rock or crying while listening to the moving version of Romeo And Juliet, the album has something to evoke every emotion.

Buy this disc right now, and - if it still can be found - pick up the "Alchemy" video. It's worth it. Trust me.


The Way a Live Show Should Be   April 18, 2001
Russell Diederich (Littleton, CO United States)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

Mark Knopfler and boys know how to put together a great show. This energy-packed ninety minutes of raw music is how live shows should be done. If you are one that is looking for the songs straight off the studio albums, better look someplace else. Music is a living entity that changes each time it's played. Knopfler doesn't keep within the restraints of the original format of the song and uses his guitar as a medium to explore the possibilities in longer, more intricate pieces.

Knopfler is a great guitar player, but he is even more so when he is standing under the lights before an audience. His perfectionist attitude and desire to play to his fans allows him to rise to the occasion of superb showmanship. Don't listen to a Dire Straits studio album immediately after listening to this live album - it will sound lifeless and flat in comparison.

"Sultans of Swing" closes the first of the two discs in this set. Listen how Knopfler's end solo is used to build and relieve tension by changing his volume and intensity, even providing a space for the crowd to become involved. Check out his solo work on "Two Young Lovers" and "Tunnel of Love" and hear notes played with a feeling that no studio album has been able to capture.


Fitting showcase for greatest piece of music ever recorded   December 21, 1999
20 out of 24 found this review helpful

I have been a Dire Straits fan of moderate sorts since the early 80's, but I can assure you that this album changed my whole perspective, not just on the band, not just on live albums, but on music. No other live album I can remember has so many good songs, all of which sound great, better and more musical live than in the studio album. I have seen 150+ live acts, but I don't think any of them could have compared to the fantastic guitar work of Mark Knopfler on this double live album.

While I enjoyed the band's debut album and found "Sultans of Swing" quite catchy, I was completely unprepared for the live version of Sultans. No other song, work of art, literature or architecture has ever been this intensely emotional and beautiful. I have heard and enjoyed thousands of songs and performances of every type of music, but none even begins to compare to live Sultans of Swing. Quite simply, it is the finest piece of music, of any genre, ever recorded. Period. It is perfect, the equivalent of a date in which you and your partner suddenly and for the very first time, find that you are in love, so head-over-heals in love that you lose track of the passage of time for hours.


The best Live concert in the 80's....it must be..!   May 12, 1999
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

This 2 CD album has many very terrific tracks which are totally perfect to play live, and no one does it better than Dire Straits, so once again great storys in the songs, all of them and the instrumental sound is fantastic , they plays very good in good teamwork, M.K, Hal lindes, etc...and john illsley, etc. best bass player. One of the best songs here are "Sultans Of Swing", perfectly played in live, and "Telegraph Road", "Private Investigations", these are totally brilliant, and the others are great too. And "Going Home" is a good finish on the album. I like the pocketpictures too, it's art to me... the arrows fits very well, to their music,on several ways. Live whitout crowd nosie is not live, so this album have no problems whith this.And i miss "industrial Disease" here.Too bad, that this great heavy rocking song not is playing Live on this album. But thats no problem, the album is great anyway. I like his clothes too. A percect album, buy it it's worth the money, and even more...... thanks, JOHN. L