Some bands have a distinct style all their own. When you hear the distinct voice and guitar of Mark Knopfler, you know you are listening to Dire Straits. The band has been around for ages, but their most high profile album was probably the 1985 album Brothers in Arms with the MTV video hit Money for Nothing which was ironically a video that lampoons the seemingly undeserved success of the very sort of rock stars MTV propelled to fame. If you were a child of the eighties (like myself), you recall Sting's voice singing I want my I want my I want my MTV soon to be joined by the distinct guitar style of Mark Knopfler.

I couldn't think of a better album by Dire Straits to give the Surround Sound treatment to (okay, I can, I always liked Making Movies the best, but this album is their most successful so...). Brothers in Arms was released both as an SACD (which I ordered but inexplicably the album refused to play on any of my SACD players), and as a dual disc.

A bit about the Dual Disc The Dual Disc 20th Anniversary Edition features a CD side which I think if you already have this album on CD is about useless. Fortunately, the album also has a DVD side which features a 5.1 surround sound mix in 96 kHz 24 bit, a stereo mix in 48 kHz 24 bit, and a Dolby Digital Surround mix. You should be aware that Dual Discs don't play on all CD players because they are slightly thicker than either CDs or DVDs.

Sound Quality - Surround Mix

The album begins with So Far Away which gives a hint of how good the album is going to be. It is my least favorite cut, but here it sounds pretty good.

Money For Nothing starts with Sting singing the familiar opening I want my .. I want my MTV The sound builds up as Sting sings until the drums just start beating across the front sound stage left center right. The keyboard brings a note to a peak, then all stops as Knopfler's guitar just slams in from the right with tight controlled chords that ring out and stop suddenly. You can just picture him strumming the chords, and silencing them in rapid succession. His bitter sarcastic voice spits out Now look at them yo-you's thats the way you do it, you play the guitar on the MTV That ain't workin' thats the way you do it money for nothin and chicks for free Sting sings along side Knopfler as the chorus rings out we gotta install these microwave ovens, custom kitchen deliveries, we gotta move these refrigerators we gotta move these color TVs. The guitars and backing vocals fill the surround channels as Sting and Knopfler sing from the front center. Its a bit unnerving as you hear Sting in the background channels singing the chorus while singing the lead vocals from the front center, but I guess thats the beauty of mulitchannel recording. The song fades away with Sting singing the signature line fainter and fainter from the front center.

Walk of Life begins with incredible keyboards filling the room, joined soon by drums and bass from left and right, and surrounds, and keyboard riffs from the center. Soon Knopfler rattles out here comes Johnny, singing oldies, goldies be bop a lula baby what I say It's a catchy vibrant fun song, made more so by the advanced resolution. Its a toe tapping song.

Your Latest Trick begins with mournful trumpet solo followed by deep keyboards, and a light hi hat from the front stage. Soon a guitar joins somewhere in the back. That all fades out, and another trumpet comes in cheerfully cnter stage taking the place of the mournful trumpet fading out to the right. I feel like I've been dropped into a 1970s film noir film. Knopfler sings in the center as the trumpet and saxaphone players move to the rear echoing Knopflers sad lyrics. More saxaphone solos come in from the center between the lyrics. The surround track on this song made me listen to it in a way I never did on the original CD. You can just place every instrument, and the added depth of the song has to be heard to be believed. I originally thought of this as one of the weaker songs on the album, but in surround it gains a depth and feel that gives the song new life.

Why Worry opens with a sad melancholy sound. Knopflers guitar is showcased right in the center channel, and you can make out each sad note. Baby I see this world has made you sad, some people can be bad, the things they do and the things they say The rhythm guitars come in from the sides, and in the back you can just make out the backing vocals whispering over the chorus of why worry.

Ride Across the River begins like it belongs in a high wire Chinese epic movie, until the drums and guitars kick in. This song has great well placed drums and bass in the front, with the brass instruments echoing in from the surrounds. The percussion also makes excellent use of the surround fields starting from the center and expanding outwards. The drums in this song reminded me of the drums in House of Flying Daggers Occasionally, a percussion riff will sound off from the rear. The song takes full advantage of all six channels and surrounds you with a variety of instruments which come in and out from all directions, including what distinctly sounds like a cricket.

The Man's Too Strong begins with a simple strumming guitars, and reminds me of Neil Young's work back in the days of Hawk's and Doves. Knopflers voice is clear and distinct as he sings in the role of a man who has lived a life of evil, and now seeks forgiveness I'm just an ageing drummer boy, and in the wars I used to play, and I've called the tune to many a torture session, now they say I am a war criminal, and I'm fading away, father please hear my confession. In the choruses, the rhythm guitars come in with a vengeance, as does a drum that sounds huge! I wish the tracks listed the type of instruments played, because there is a drum that appears in the chorus of this song that has the deepest boom I have heard.

One World rings out agressively from the start in sharp contrast to the preceding song can't find no sleeves for my records, can't get no laces for my shoes, can't get no fancy notes on my blues guitar, can't get no antidote for blues. The song just assaults you from all angles until the third verse, where Knopfler sounds strangley removed singing inside a big drum.

The album ends with the title cut Brothers in Arms The song begins with thunder and the ominous growl of the keyboards. I feel like I am watching an apocalyptic sci fi movie. A lone guitar sounds against a backdrop of subsonic rumbling that I can feel into my bones (this is a song for good subwoofers). It is a song for the end of war and a cry for peace. The rumbling thunder all but disappears, replaced by keyboards mimicing Scottish bagpipes. Knopfler sings quietly and reflectively with almost no musical accompanyiment these mist covered mountains, are a home for me now, but my home is the lowlands, and always will be. Some day you'll return to your valleys and farms and you'll no longer burn to be brothers in arms

Brothers in Arms was an excellent album to begin with, but this 20th Anniversary Edition is a remarkable improvement. I listened to many of the songs in a way I hadn't really listened before. What were just songs on the Compact Disc, become stories on the DVD-Audio.

Dolby Digital Mix I was pleased with the Dolby Digital mix on this album, they did a good job with it. It contains the same surround sound mix as the advanced resolution track, and has a very good clear sound to it. It doesn't have that pristine quality that the advanced resolution tracks do, but for anyone who doesn't have a DVD-Audio player, this is a terrific mix for anyone who owns a DVD player.

Stereo Track This sounded a bit better than the CD because it was mastered in 24 bit, but I couldn't understand why it was only sampled at 48 kHz. Most DVD-Audio is sampled at 96 kHz or above. Nevertheless, stereo creates a good sound stage, although I felt detail and depth was lost. The sound stage is not so good that you imagine a center channel, its clearly a stereo mix. The instruments and vocals all sound good, but not as good as I think they could have sounded. If I only owned the CD, and wasn't interested in the surround sound tracks, I would not get this for the High resolution stereo track.

CD Side I really can't tell any difference from this remastered CD and my original CD. It plays in all my CD players.

Extras The album has lyrics and credits for each song, and a feature called Dire Straits- Brothers in Arms an Appreciation which turned out to be a few pages in text about the album and how it propeled the group to commercial success. Its a feature that could have just as easily been printed in the booklet.

Test Equipment DVD -Audio played on a Pioneer Elite 47A. Surround Sound Receiver Yamaha 5280 (100 w/ch) with front channel power from a Rotel 991 RB power amplifier (200 w/ch) Front Left and Right Speakers Polk Audio Monitor 70s, Rear left and right Polk Audio R20s, Center Polk Audio CSi40, and subwoofer Velodyne SPL 1000 series II (1000 watts RMS/2000 watts peak).

Summary It's a fine way to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of a Classic Album!

For other DVD-Audio reviews:

David Bowie Stage // David Live // Eric Clapton & B.B.King - Riding with the King // Alice Cooper - Welcome to My Nightmare // The Doors - L.A. Woman // The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots // Fleetwood Mac - Rumours // Foreigner - Four // Alicia Keys - Songs in A Minor // Metallica - Metallica (the Black Album) // Santana - Supernatural // Britney Spears - In the Zone //
Steely Dan - Two Against Nature // Neil Young Harvest // On the Beach // Hawks n Doves // Road Rock Volume 1



Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving