Alchemy: Dire Straits Live is an Essential ’80s Concert Album
Revisiting this guitar epic for its 40th anniversary
In a very real sense, Alchemy: Dire Straits Live, released on March 16 1984, effectively summed up the success Dire Straits had achieved since their initial efforts in the late ‘70s.
Borne out of step from the post-punk era, they made their mark with a direct and decisive sound characterized by leader Mark Knopfler’s Dylan-esque vocals and a supple guitar style that was consistently in sync with the songs’ clever and compelling melodies.
Recorded at London’s Hammersmith Odeon on July 22–23, 1983 during the final two nights of an eight month tour in support of their then-current Love Over Gold album, Alchemy culled songs from the band’s first four albums, as well their ExtendedancEPlay EP and Knopfler’s Local Hero soundtrack. To the band’s credit, these weren’t simply perfunctory replays of a collection of supposed greatest hits, but rather a series of imaginative reinterpretations of the band’s seminal songs.
In that regard, there are several added exclusives. “Once Upon the West,” which opens the set, is given an instrumental introduction via the song “Stargazer,” which originally appeared in the Local Hero soundtrack isn’t noted here in the set list. The same tack is taken with “Tunnel of Love,” courtesy of an introductory sequence that makes its first recorded appearance here. That then leads into an otherwise unlikely entry, mainly an excerpt from the “Carousel Waltz,” culled from the classic Rogers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.
These particular sequences offer further evidence of Dire Straits’ musical mettle. While their initial efforts put them in a unique position early on — that of a rock band with a seemingly irreverent attitude but well-skilled in technical finesse — they made a decisive impression, establishing their own identity while garnering continuing kudos from critics, radio programmers and the public at large.
Equally importantly, Alchemy also proved that Dire Straits could also hold their own in concert, not only by replicating their early material, but also by enhancing the melodies while bringing them into an arena-sized setting. To be sure, the band had been substantially revamped by the time it went out on this particular tour.
Knopfler and bassist John Illsley were the only remaining members of the group’s earlier incarnation, and were joined here by Alan Clark on keyboards, Terry Williams on drums and Californian Hal Lindes on second guitar and backing vocals. The band was also augmented on this particular tour by former King Crimson sax player Mel Collins, Tommy Mandel, a member of Bryan Adams’ backing band on additional keyboards, and Joop de Norte playing percussion.
VIDEO: Dire Straits “Sultans of Swing” from Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
Taken in tandem, the musicians create a formidable sound, but naturally it’s Knopfler who remains at the center of the spotlight. His fretwork boasts a technical finesse, but it’s fluidity rather than flash which allows his playing to shine. Many of the songs shared a certain intimacy in their initial incarnations, but here “Romeo and Juliet” (culled from the album Making Movies) and “Private Investigations (taken from Love Over Gold) manage to find a new dynamic, one befitting their live performance.
A recent eight CD set, Live 1978–1992, adds a number of tracks to the original effort, which, as a double LP, contained only ten songs and left plenty of room for the band to expound on the original arrangements. “Once Upon a Time in the West” and “Telegraph Road” clock in at over 13 minutes apiece, while “Tunnel of Love” is extended beyond 14 minutes in duration. Even the snappy “Sultans of Swing” is stretched to over ten minutes, allowing time for improvisation and some seemingly spontaneous instrumental interplay that brings the song an extra layer of intrigue and illumination.
Ultimately, even in its primary incarnation, Alchemy ranks as one of the most impressive albums of all time, one that managed to combine essence and indulgence in equal measure. As the title implies, that’s a highly potent combination.
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