Despite the co-production credit for On Every Street (released 9/9/91), shared between Mark Knopfler and the group, Dire Straits had long ceased to be a bonafide band by the time this last record under that moniker was released. The chief composer/singer/guitarist retained usage of the name for obvious reasons, commercial and otherwise, but by the time of this release three decades ago—after a three-year hiatus in the wake of the tremendous success of Brothers In Arms— he had already begun to craft soundtracks for films-see the latter for Local Hero a year after Straits’ Love Over Gold in 1982.
Knopfler had also already begun his solo career on another front by this time, forming the country-oriented band he called Notting Hillbillies in a style at all dissimilar to the rockabilly likes of this album’s opener “Calling Elvis” or the equally good-natured (and comparably lacking in substance throwaway) “The Bug.” A member of that side-project himself, Paul Franklin on pedal steel is prominent through much of Street, but the readily-recognizable electric guitar of Knopfler’s remains a calling card of sorts (along with the Dylanesque mumble of his vocals). As do the production touches of electric piano and panoramic synthesizer imprinted on this opening cut, both elements easily discernible via the mixing of long-time engineer Neil Dorfsman (and both expert masterings by Bob Ludwig).
The quartet credited for On Every Street is a different band than the one Mark had fronted with his brother David, bassist John Illsley and drummer Pick Withers. That lineup had splintered during the recording of Making Movies, and while recruiting keyboardist Roy Bittan from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band maintained some of the chemistry of the original foursome, there is really no pretense to such unity here except in the credits: specifically referencing Illsley, keyboardist Alan Clark and multi-instrumentalist Guy Fletcher (also a Hillbilly), those details make reference to the ‘invaluable contributions’ of country guitarist/vocalist Vince Gill and Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro.
Unlike the core four, these high-profile musicians had not been part of previous Dire Straits tours, but the twelve tracks comprising this LP nonetheless build with the discernible momentum of a well-paced concert. Precise acoustic guitar work adorns “Iron Hand” and “You And Your Friend,” that intimacy in contrast to the sumptuous orchestration of strings of “Ticket to Heaven”as well as the horn accents on “My Parties.” Meanwhile, after a couple of instances of merely percolating near the end of, for instance, “When It Comes To You,” Mark Knopfler cuts loose with some fiery electric guitar on “Planet of New Orleans.” In addition, arranger/hornman Chris White’s parlays a robust sax solo there, pinpointing how skillful at making records the titular leader of Dire Straits had become.
More than a little akin to a subdued concert encore, the near-solo rendition of “How Long” that immediately follows is one of the direct personal expressions of Knopfler’s here. Likewise in contrast to the detached cinematic likes of the title song, the near-pure blues of “Fade To Black” carries a thinly- disguised bitterness,, but that only adds a human touch to a record that otherwise comes off impersonal during arch character portraits like “Heavy Fuel.”
Casting an eye toward similarity in the indigo-themed cover graphics between this sixth and final Dire Straits album and its uber-selling predecessor, the retrospect of thirty years clarifies the consummate style with which this band bowed out.
