Happy Anniversary: Dire Straits, Making Movies

34 years ago today, Dire Straits released Making Movies, an album which failed to change the band’s then-declining chart fortunes in the US – their debut hit #2, but their sophomore effort, Communiqué, only climbed to #11, and this one topped out at #19 – but provided them with their third consecutive top-five album in the UK.

Making Movies was co-produced by Dire Straits frontman and songwriter Mark Knopfler with Jimmy Iovine, a pairing which came about as a result of Knopfler being so smitten by the sound of Patti Smith’s cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Because the Night.” In addition to his own work on the album, Iovine also helped the band secure E Street Band keyboardist Roy Bittan for the Making Movies sessions, which definitely added a new element to the Dire Straits sound.

It’s funny to think that Making Movies was only kinda sorta popular in the States, given that “Romeo & Juliet,” which was a top-10 single in the UK, never even managed to chart on these shores. Indeed, the only single to make any headway here was “Skateaway,” and even that only crawled to #58 before beginning its descent. “Tunnel of Love” has also come to be seen as one of the band’s signature songs, but, nope, that one didn’t chart here, either.

Looking back, Making Movies was very much a transitional album for Dire Straits, as it was the first time Mark Knopfler was working without his brother David in the lineup, thereby giving him the opportunity to steer the ship in whatever direction he desired. Some may view Brothers in Arms as the band’s best album based solely on the fact that it was the most commercially successful, but it’s easily arguable that Making Movies is as good as Dire Straits ever got.