Dire Straits: On the Night

Recorded during Dire Straits' last tour in 1992, in France, this concert confirms well a thing: Mark Knopfler is one of the most talented guitarists of his generation. He had formed his legendary band, fifteen years ago, and after all this time, he didn't lose anything from his inspiration, his sharpness and his talent. Maybe, you can blame him for not being rousing enough for the faster songs such as "money for nothing" or "the bug" but he knows very well how to be peaceful and calm for the gorgeous ballads "on every street", "brothers in arms". Moreover, he's supported by a handful of musicians in great form, especially the drummer and the percussionist. The concert unanimously acclaimed by the fans,reaches its highest point with the wistful and entrancing "local hero". At the end, a good but a bit listless concert. Nevertheless, Dire Straits' fans will find something in it.

In this live show, the band surprises the audience in every song. Even playing "traditional" and well known songs, it took a while to recognize each song, because Dire Straits gave each song a new intro, with new instruments and themes. Although, they sound like recorded in a full fledged studio, the quality (and clarity) is outstanding.

I've never seen, any band sound so good live. Technically excellent, and musically touching and rewarding. It was delightful re-meet the dearest band, and the dear songs, in a completely new arrangement. The only downside is that the most famous song (Sultans of Swing-1977) is missing in the DVD and in the CD.

Mark Knopfler and the boys give a concert in the Netherlands in 1992. This is a combination of material from a couple of albums (CDs), combining some of the older stuff with his new (at the time) material. While this concert isn't as good as Knopfler's "A Night In London," it's pretty solid. It's a bit more mellow and the group isn't very animated, yet the concert is a pleasing one.

Good crowd shots help pump up the interest, and a fast number does come on, the impact is all the more. The crowd, despite a lot of rain, was into it here, giving great support. Europe has to have some of the best rock crowds in the world. They are dedicated fans who love their music.

The best song on this tape is probably the first one: a 10-minute "Calling Elvis" version. Great stuff, but Dire Straits was always a great band and Knopfler's guitar work is about as good as it gets.

I have all Dire Strait's albums but just the one live DVD. There may be a better/newer/whatever one, but for me it's fine and has a superb sound quality, with a very wide stereo sound-stage, with one wailing guitar seemingly coming from my next door neighbour's!

The only downside is that it's in 4:3 ratio which fits oddly on a widescreen, but the stadium is huge, the crowd receptive and the tracks flow nicely into each other. Meanwhile, Mark Knopfler looks strangely more like Bob Geldof but has the requisite head band and god of a guitar. The way it is filmed and angled may be typically standard but at least you see what is playing, when you need to.

So, slick production, excellent sound and my favourite DS songs - that's why it's one of the few live DVDs that I do play again and again.

Concert footage from Dire Straits' concerts at Nimes, France, and Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam, Holland in May 1992. Tracks include: Calling Elvis; Walk of Life; Heavy Fuel; Romeo and Juliet; The Bug; Private Investigations; Your Latest Trick; On Every Street; You and Your Friend; Money for Nothing; Brothers in Arms; Solid Rock; Local Hero – Wild Theme.

The benchmark for Dire Straits concert films, and for most concert films, is their 1983 film Alchemy. Atmospheric with superb music, great virtuoso performances, excellent arrangements, well filmed. On The Night has the excellent musicianship but is quite up to the standard of Alchemy in the other departments.

The music has the obligatory overweight to tracks from their latest album, On Every Street, which is easily their worst album. The Bug and Heavy Fuel are pretty good but Calling Elvis must be their worst ever recording and the other two, You and Your Friend and On Every Street, are so-so. As a result, not much by way of pre-Brothers in Arms stuff, which harms the quality.

This also impacts on the arrangements. Their earlier stuff was long, wonderfully structured and majestic (Telegraph Road springs immediately to mind). The Brothers in Arms and On Every Street stuff was shorter and more commercial. So instead of these wonderfully long, structure-based songs we have more short and sharp ones.

Filming is fine, though pretty standard. Alchemy seemed to capture the essence of a live concert while this feels a bit more perfunctory.

Overall: very good, but not among the top concert films you'll ever see.