Alchemy: Dire Straits Live

Alchemy: Dire Straits Live is a double album and the first live album by the British rock band Dire Straits, released on 16 March 1984[3] by Vertigo Records internationally, and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. Recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on 22–23 July 1983, the album features well-known songs from the band's first four albums, the ExtendedancEPlay EP and Knopfler's Local Hero soundtrack. Many of the songs have reworked arrangements and extended improvisational segments. The album cover is taken from a painting by Brett Whiteley. Alchemy: Dire Straits Live was remastered and re-released on 8 May 2001.

Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
Live album by
Dire Straits
Released16 March 1984 (1984-03-16)
Recorded22–23 July 1983
VenueHammersmith Odeon, London
Genre
Length
  • 93:59 (CD)
  • 88:50 (LP)
LabelVertigo
Warner Bros. (USA)
ProducerMark Knopfler[1]
Dire Straits chronology
ExtendedancEPlay
(1983)		 Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
(1984)		 Brothers in Arms
(1985)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [2]

Recording

Alchemy: Dire Straits Live was recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on 22–23 July 1983, the final two concerts of Dire Straits' eight-month Love Over Gold Tour promoting their album Love Over Gold. The concerts were recorded by Mike McKenna using the Rolling Stones Mobile unit. Nigel Walker was the recording engineer. The recording was mixed at AIR Studios in London in November 1983.[1]

"Tunnel of Love" is preceded by an otherwise unrecorded instrumental (actually faded in from the extended coda of "Portobello Belle", which was left off the album), already played on the 1981 tour, but here re-arranged to showcase Mel Collins' saxophone. It is followed by the brief "Carousel Waltz" intro and standard version of the song (with improvisation sections).

Cover artwork

The album cover artwork was adapted from a section of a painting by Brett Whiteley titled Alchemy 1974.[1] Alchemy is a hypothetical process once believed to turn ordinary elements into gold. The image of a guitar with lips held by a hand was added for the album design. The original painting, done between 1972 and 1973, was composed of many different elements and on 18 wood panels 203 cm x 1615 cm x 9 cm. In terms of media it used everything from feathers and part of a bird's nest to a glass eye, shell, plugs and brain in a work that becomes a transmutation of sexual organic landscapes and mindscapes. It has been regarded as a self-portrait, a giant outpouring of energy and ideas brought forth over a long period of time.

Critical reception

Reviewing for AllMusic, critic William Ruhlmann wrote of the album "There is an interesting contrast .... between the music, much of which is slow and moody, with Mark Knopfler's muttered vocals and large helpings of his fingerpicking on what sounds like an amplified Spanish guitar, and the audience response. The arena-size crowd cheers wildly, and claps and sings along when given half a chance, as though each song were an up-tempo rocker." Ruhlmann concludes, "The CD version of the album contains one extra track, "Love Over Gold," which adds a needed change of pace to the otherwise slow-moving first disc."[4]

Track listing

All songs were written by Mark Knopfler, except where indicated.

LP
Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Once upon a Time in the West"13:01
2."Romeo and Juliet"8:22
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Expresso Love"5:41
2."Private Investigations"7:40
3."Sultans of Swing"10:48
Side three
No.TitleLength
1."Two Young Lovers"4:51
2."Tunnel of Love" (Extract from "The Carousel Waltz" by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II)14:38
Side four
No.TitleLength
1."Telegraph Road"13:19
2."Solid Rock"5:32
3."Going Home – Theme from 'Local Hero'"4:58

CD

"Love over Gold", which had been released as a separate single in 1984, was added into the track list for the CD release, and the fade outs between sides 1 and 2 and sides 3 and 4 have been removed. A number of tracks had their length increased for the CD releases, and the track order is slightly different: "Romeo and Juliet" and "Expresso Love" are in reversed order.

Disc one
No.TitleLength
1."Once upon a Time in the West"13:01
2."Expresso Love"5:45
3."Romeo and Juliet"8:17
4."Love over Gold"3:27
5."Private Investigations"7:34
6."Sultans of Swing"10:54
Disc two
No.TitleLength
1."Two Young Lovers"4:49
2."Tunnel of Love" (Extract from "The Carousel Waltz" by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II)14:29
3."Telegraph Road"13:37
4."Solid Rock"6:01
5."Going Home – Theme from 'Local Hero'"6:05

Three more songs were recorded live but not included on the official album release: "Industrial Disease," "Twisting by the Pool" and "Portobello Belle." An edited version of "Portobello Belle" and a remixed version of "Telegraph Road" were included on the CD version of the compilation Money for Nothing, released in 1988. (Money for Nothing was re-mastered in 1996 as part of the "Dire Straits Re-Mastered" series. The album was then deleted to make way for the Sultans of Swing - The Best of Dire Straits CD released shortly after.)

Personnel

Dire Straits

Additional musicians

Production

  • Mark Knopfler – producer
  • Mick McKenna – recording engineer
  • Nigel Walker – engineer
  • Jeremy Allom – assistant engineer
  • Brett Whiteley – artwork (adapted from Alchemy 1974)
  • C More Tone Studios – design

Video release
Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
Video by
Dire Straits
Released1984 (VHS),
1995 (VHS remastered),
2010 (DVD, Blu-ray)
RecordedHammersmith Odeon,
22–23 July 1983
GenreRoots rock, blues rock,
progressive rock
Length90:00
LabelPolyGram Video
ProducerMark Knopfler

The concert film was originally released in Beta, VHS video cassette and Laserdisc formats, and digitally remastered in 1995. 2010 saw new DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases of the concert with surround sound mixes prepared by Chuck Ainlay and the original video footage digitally enhanced and cleaned by Dick Carruthers.[5] The song "Love over Gold" is not included in the video, just like the original album, but is available on the compilation Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits. It includes a mix of the live band footage with circus spectacle scenes. The 2010 Blu-ray release also included the BBC Arena documentary about Dire Straits aired in 1980.

The Alchemy video opens with scenes of the band in a pub playing pool, interspersed with concert clips. Playing over this is the song Saturday Night at the Movies performed by The Drifters. The music changes to the instrumental "Stargazer", from the film Local Hero, over external shots of a sold-out Hammersmith Odeon. The scene switches to the inside of the venue as Dire Straits are announced and walk onstage for the concert. The closing credits again use the Drifters' "Saturday Night at the Movies".

  • A Limelight Films Production
  • Director – Peter Sinclair
  • Film Editor – Peter Goddard
  • Soundtrack produced by Mark Knopfler
  • Recorded by Mick McKenna, Rolling Stones Mobile

Charts

Album
Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[6] 3
Austrian Albums Chart[7] 9
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[8] 26
Dutch Charts Chart[9] 1
German Albums Chart[10] 8
New Zealand Albums Chart[11] 3
Norwegian Albums Chart[12] 7
Swedish Albums Chart[13] 19
Swiss Albums Chart[14] 3
UK Albums Chart[15] 3
US Billboard 200[16] 46

Video
Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Music DVDs Chart[17] 1
Austrian Music DVDs Chart[18] 5
Belgian (Flanders) Music DVDs Chart[19] 2
Belgian (Wallonia) Music DVDs Chart[20] 3
Danish Music DVDs Chart[21] 3
Dutch Music DVDs Chart[22] 5
Finnish Music DVDs Chart[23] 7
New Zealand Music DVDs Chart[24] 2
UK Music Videos Chart[25] 2

Certifications

Album
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[26] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[27] Gold 50,000^
France (SNEP)[28] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[29] Gold 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[30] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[31] Platinum 15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[32] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[34] Gold 250,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Video
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[17] Gold 7,500^
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[35] Gold 15,000*
Portugal (AFP)[36] Gold 4,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Alchemy: Dire Straits Live (booklet). Dire Straits. Burbank, California: Warner Bros. Records. 1984. p. 12. 925085-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. Ruhlmann, William. "Alchemy: Dire Straits Live – Dire Straits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  3. "Record News". NME. London, England: IPC Media: 40. 10 March 1984.
  4. http://www.allmusic.com/album/alchemy-dire-straits-live-mw0000189678
  5. "Mark Knopfler News". Mark Knopfler. 4 August 2009. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. "Dire Straits – Alchemy – Dire Straits Live". Austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  8. "100 Albums". RPM. 40 (11): 8. 19 May 1984. ISSN 0033-7064. Archived from the original on 28 December 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  9. "Dire Straits – Alchemy – Dire Straits Live". GfK Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  10. "Top 100 Longplay". Charts.de (in German). Media Control. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  11. "Dire Straits – Alchemy – Dire Straits Live". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  12. "Dire Straits – Alchemy – Dire Straits Live". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  13. "Dire Straits – Alchemy – Dire Straits Live". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  14. "Dire Straits – Alchemy – Dire Straits Live". Hitparade.ch (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  15. "1984-03-24 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive | Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  16. "Alchemy: Dire Straits Live – Dire Straits: Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  17. "ARIA Top 40 Music DVD" (PDF). The ARIA Report (1056): 23. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  18. "Austria Top 40 – Musik-DVDs Top 10 04.06.2010". Austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  19. "Ultratop 10 Muziek-DVD". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  20. "Ultratop 10 DVD Musicaux". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  21. "Musik DVD Top-10". Hitlisten.nu (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  22. "DVD Music Top 30". GfK Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  23. "Suomen Virallinen Lista – Musiikki DVD:t 20/2010". Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland (in Finnish). Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  24. "Top 10 Music DVDs". RIANZ. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  25. "2010-05-22 Top 40 Music Video Archive | Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  26. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  27. "Canadian album certifications – Dire Straits – Alchemy". Music Canada. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  28. "French album certifications – DIRESTRAITS – Alchemy: Dire Straits Live" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 6 March 2013. Select DIRESTRAITS and click OK. 
  29. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Dire Straits; 'Alchemy')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  30. "Dutch album certifications – Dire Straits – Alchemy" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 20 August 2018. Enter Alchemy in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  31. "New Zealand album certifications – Dire Straits – Alchemy". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  32. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 918. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  33. "British album certifications – Dire Straits – Alchemy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 6 March 2013. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Alchemy in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  34. "American album certifications – Dire Straits – Alchemy". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 6 March 2013. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  35. "Brazilian video certifications – Dire Straits – Alchemy Live" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos.
  36. "Top Oficial AFP". Artistas & Espectáculos (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on 15 July 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
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