On Every Street
On Every Street is an amazing album, if only for its apparent refusal to exploit the success of its predecessor. Sure, radio programmers could hear echoes of "Money for Nothing" in "Heavy Fuel," or traces of "Walk of Life" in "The Bug," but Mark Knopfler wouldn't have waited six years to follow up the band's megaplatinum Brothers in Arms if that was all he had in mind. Instead, he took time out to play with the Notting Hillbillies and Chet Atkins (while most British guitar heroes idolize American blues, Knopfler obviously has a thing for Nashville). On Every Street finds those influences complementing the late-night melancholy that's always been Dire Straits' specialty. Instead of Sting singing "I Want My MTV," fans got Hillbillies pedal steel player Paul Franklin adding to the high-lonesome sound of the quite infectious title track and the epic "Planet of New Orleans," along with meditations on the mistreatment of striking miners in the cinematic "Iron Fist," and some of Knopfler's most haunting guitar work throughout. The result can be seen as a dignified--and, at times, even inspiring--farewell album. --Bill Forman