Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
| Alchemy: Dire Straits Live | ||||
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| Live album by Dire Straits | ||||
| Released | March 12, 1984 | |||
| Recorded | 22 (Solid Rock) - June 23, 1983 Hammersmith Odeon, London | |||
| Genre | Roots rock, blues rock, progressive rock | |||
| Length | 93:59 | |||
| Label | Vertigo Warner Bros. (US) |
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| Producer | Mark Knopfler | |||
| Dire Straits chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Alchemy: Dire Straits Live is the first live album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music). It features their best-known tracks up to that point, often featuring reworked arrangements and extended improvisational segments.
The cover image is taken from a painting by Brett Whiteley.
Alchemy was remastered and re-released (in the UK only) on May 8, 2001.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Mark Knopfler except as indicated.
[edit] Original release
Side one
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Once Upon A Time In The West" | 13:01 |
| 2. | "Romeo and Juliet" | 8:22 |
Side two
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Expresso Love" | 5:41 |
| 2. | "Private Investigations" | 7:40 |
| 3. | "Sultans of Swing" | 10:48 |
Side three
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Two Young Lovers" | 4:51 |
| 2. | "Tunnel of Love (Mark Knopfler, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II)" | 14:38 |
Side four
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Telegraph Road" | 13:19 |
| 2. | "Solid Rock" | 5:32 |
| 3. | "Going Home – Theme from 'Local Hero" | 4:58 |
[edit] CD release
"Love over Gold", which had been released as a separate single in 1984, was added into the track list for the CD release, and the fade outs between sides 1 and 2 and sides 3 and 4 have been removed. A number of tracks had their length increased for the CD releases.
Disc one
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Once Upon A Time In The West" | 13:01 |
| 2. | "Expresso Love" | 5:45 |
| 3. | "Romeo and Juliet" | 8:17 |
| 4. | "Love Over Gold" | 3:27 |
| 5. | "Private Investigations" | 7:34 |
| 6. | "Sultans of Swing" | 10:54 |
Disc two
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Two Young Lovers (Intro: The Carousel Waltz)" | 4:49 |
| 2. | "Tunnel of Love (Mark Knopfler, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II)" | 14:29 |
| 3. | "Telegraph Road" | 13:37 |
| 4. | "Solid Rock" | 6:01 |
| 5. | "Going Home – Theme from 'Local Hero'" | 6:05 |
[edit] Video release
| Alchemy: Dire Straits Live | |
|---|---|
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| Video by Dire Straits | |
| Released | 1984, 1995 (Digitally remastered) |
| Length | 90 minutes |
| Label | PolyGram Video |
| Producer | Limelight Films |
The concert film was originally released in Beta, VHS video cassette and Laserdisc formats, and digitally remastered in 1995.
A DVD and Blu-ray version with newly remixed 5.1-surround mixes were released in May 2010. The new mixes have been prepared by Chuck Ainlay in 2009. The original film itself will be digitally enhanced.[2] The song "Love over Gold" is not included in the video, just like the original album, but is contrarily the one performance available on DVD so far, being included in the compilation Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits.
The video opens with scenes of the band in a pub playing pool, interspersed with concert clips. Playing over this is the song "Saturday Night at the Movies" performed by The Drifters. The music changes to the instrumental "Stargazer", from the film Local Hero, over external shots of a sold-out Hammersmith Odeon. The scene switches to the inside of the venue as Dire Straits are announced and walk onstage for the concert.
The closing credits again use the Drifters' "Saturday Night at the Movies".
- A Limelight Films Production
- Director – Peter Sinclair
- Film Editor – Peter Goddard
- Soundtrack produced by Mark Knopfler
- Recorded by Mick McKenna, Rolling Stones Mobile
[edit] Personnel
- Mark Knopfler – guitar, vocals
- Alan Clark – keyboard
- John Illsley – bass
- Hal Lindes – guitar
- Terry Williams – drums
[edit] Additional personnel
- Mel Collins – saxophone
- Tommy Mandel – keyboards
- Joop de Korte – percussion
[edit] Charts
This first live album by Dire Straits stayed 163 weeks in the UK Albums Chart. [3] In Australia, the album was the twenty-second best-selling album of 1984.
[edit] Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Greek Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1984 | New Zealand Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1984 | Swiss Albums Chart | 3 |
| 1984 | UK Albums Chart | 3 |
| 1984 | Norwegian Albums Chart | 7 |
| 1984 | Austrian Albums Chart | 9 |
| 1984 | Swedish Albums Chart | 19 |
| 1984 | U.S. Billboard 200 | 46 |
| 2010 | German Albums Chart[4] | 46 |
[edit] Certifications
| Organisation | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| BPI – UK | Silver | March 15, 1984 |
| BPI – UK | Gold | March 15, 1984 |
| SNEP – France | Gold | 1984 |
| BPI – UK | Platinum | February 19, 1985 |
| IFPI – Germany | Gold | 1988 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Gold | July 27, 2001 |
[edit] References
- ^ Ruhlmann, William (2011 [last update]). "Alchemy: Dire Straits Live - Dire Straits | AllMusic". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r5891. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ "MarkKnopfler.com". MarkKnopfler.com. August 4, 2009. http://www.markknopfler.com/news/news_items.aspx?PostID=16380. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ "Dire Straits - Alchemy". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=7764. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ ":: MTV | Album Top 50 KW 47 | charts". Mtv.de. November 25, 2011. http://www.mtv.de/charts/album50. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
[edit] External links
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