TS: the first three Dire Straits albums vs. the first three Tom Petty albums

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It's the mid-1970s...

1. Move to London and get signed to a major based on a pretty good song that appeals to the "rock" crowd despite being promoed as new wave (well, pub rock technically). Your second album is underrated, but your third album is a hit. Unlike the traditional "rock" crowd you make music videos before MTV is even on the air.

2. Move to L.A. and get signed to a major based on a pretty good song that appeals to the "rock" crowd despite being promoed as new wave. Your second album is underrated, but your third album is a hit. Unlike the traditional "rock" crowd you make music videos before MTV is even on the air.

― The Equator Lounge (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 18:48 (twenty years ago)

I'll weakly side with Dire Straits on this one, though my fave albums from each are their fourth ones.

― The Equator Lounge (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 18:49 (twenty years ago)

TS: Tom Petty vs. Adam Ant

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 19:21 (twenty years ago)

how was tom petty's first album promoed as new wave when it came out in 76?

― team jaxon (jaxon), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 19:34 (twenty years ago)

how was tom petty's first album promoed as new wave when it came out in 76?

Retroactively. The first place I heard "Breakdown" was on the early KROQ in 1978.

― The Equator Lounge (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 19:45 (twenty years ago)

I don't have any specifics on how Petty's debut was promoted, but I can remember that it sounded and seemed COMPLETELY different from, say, Toto or other corporate rockers. The spare production, the 60s rock influences, the sneer in the vocal, I dunno... it was new wave to my friends who liked Led Zep, that's for sure.

― Daniel Peterson (polkaholic), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 19:51 (twenty years ago)

upon closer examination, it's a pretty good fight .. Each had a catchy #1, a forgettable #2, and a strong #3. I know there's little love for Dire Straits around these parts, so I'll give 'em bonus points just for being disliked. It's been quite some time since I actually heard either, but I was addicted to Damn the Torpedoes in 8th grade. Making Movies didn't get much play, but until about 6 months ago, I would have chosen it over Petty without hesitation. Now I think another listen is order, but I'm inclined to go with Petty.

― Dave will do (dave225.3), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 19:52 (twenty years ago)

Tom Petty was at his best at the start of his career while Dire Straits got a lot better later on.

"Love Over Gold" is underrated, and "Brothers In Arms" is at least almost as good as people thought it was in 85-86.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 21:26 (twenty years ago)

>how was tom petty's first album promoed as new wave when it came out in 76?..Retroactively. The first place I heard "Breakdown" was on the early KROQ in 1978.<

Wasn't it on the soundtrack of *FM*? But yeah, either way, he was marketed as powerpop new wave, like Nick Lowe or Dwight Twilley. I pick him over Dire Straits, but for those early albums, it's closer than I would've guessed. This is actually a real good thread idea!

― xhuxk, Wednesday, 15 February 2006 22:04 (twenty years ago)

let's see, off the top of my head...

dire straits: sultans of swing, skateaway, romeo and juliet, tunnel of love

tom petty: american girl, breakdown, i need to know, listen to her heart, refugee, don't do me like that, even the losers, here comes my girl

the petty albums have more songs i love than the dire straits albums. but it is pretty close, through those three. but making movies was dire straits' peak, where i think petty stayed on form through at least long after dark.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 22:11 (twenty years ago)

(tellingly, i can't remember anything from the second dire straits album. i know there was a minor hit on it, but i'm not sure what it was.)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 22:12 (twenty years ago)

I think "Lady Writer" was the only single off that album so maybe that's what you're thinking of...

― Deluxe (Damian), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 22:31 (twenty years ago)

yeah, i think so. i always liked "let's go down by the waterline" or whatever it was called ("french kisses in a darkened doorway" etc), the second single off the first album. (or was that "once upon a time in the west"? that was okay, too. i should buy that album someday.)

― xhuxk, Wednesday, 15 February 2006 22:34 (twenty years ago)

Is it wrong to hate Dire Straits? To still hate Dire Straits?

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 22:38 (twenty years ago)

"Walk of Life," though, is still one of the worst singles of the '80s (or at least it sure seemed to be at the time. Haven't heard it for years. Maybe now if I heard it I'd say, "hey, this sounds like it could've been on Huey's *Sports* and is therefore great!" Or maybe not.)

― xhuxk, Thursday, 16 February 2006 01:02 (twenty years ago)

Money for Nothing vs. Don't Come Around Here No More

Past the first three albums, they both had really big hits with tunes with over the top 80s production that sound quite unlike the rest of their material. Both tunes also had a guest star from another popular 80s group with Sting on "Money for Nothing" and Dave Stewart from Eurythmics on "Don't Come Around Here No More".

― Earl Nash (earlnash), Thursday, 16 February 2006 01:19 (twenty years ago)

I was most passionate about Dire Straits s/t and Making Movies. Mainly, I'd listen to these by myself where I could really concentrate on Knopfler's playing. Petty's stuff was more likely to be put on when other people were in the room clanging around. Nothing wrong with that, but I got far more attached on a personal level to Dire Straits early stuff. I'd lke to hear "Lions" right about now.

― jim wentworth (wench), Thursday, 16 February 2006 01:36 (twenty years ago)

"Walk of Life," though, is still one of the worst singles of the '80s

"Free Fallin," blows too but at least "Walk Of Life" seems to be relatively confined to sports highlight reels.

― The Equator Lounge (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 16 February 2006 01:42 (twenty years ago)

Free Falling is a great song! it's a really good lyric, I was (perhaps naively) surprised that the song was taken as some sort of life-affirming thing when it's clearly about suicide

― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Thursday, 16 February 2006 01:46 (twenty years ago)

My favorite parts of both Hard Promises and Love Over Gold are actually Stan Lynch's and Pick Withers' drumming. "The Waiting" and "Telegraph Road" esp.

― The Equator Lounge (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 16 February 2006 01:48 (twenty years ago)

This is off-subject, but I've always loved "So Far Away," especially all those weird gremlin-guitar noises.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 16 February 2006 03:02 (twenty years ago)

Geez, 1985 had three boomer-baseball numbers chart: Bruce's "Glory Days," John Fogerty's "Centerfield," and DS' "Walk of Life."

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 16 February 2006 03:03 (twenty years ago)

The eponymous D.S. record was better on the whole than any Petty LP, but Petty's best singles are considerably better.

― Zed Szetlian (Finn MacCool), Thursday, 16 February 2006 03:38 (twenty years ago)

Oh and Love Over Gold is rightly ignored.

― Zed Szetlian (Finn MacCool), Thursday, 16 February 2006 03:39 (twenty years ago)

Petty I knew about but Dire Straits was considered new wave?!

(What's terrible about "Walk of Life"? I'm not even a fan and I kind of like it. It's gotta beat "Runnin' Down a Dream" or "I Won't Back Down".)

― Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 16 February 2006 04:13 (twenty years ago)

I've always really liked Communique. hm.

― derrick (derrick), Thursday, 16 February 2006 05:30 (twenty years ago)

tom petty albums don't have songs that standout but are consistent.dire straits are a single aband with 3 gr8 songs per lp but nothing lese.i couldn't listen to 'brothers in arms' or 'alchemy'.

― retrogurl, Thursday, 16 February 2006 06:25 (twenty years ago)

My kneejerk reaction was Petty, but I just remembered "Industrial Disease" which was as good as faux-Dylan got in the 80s.

― bendy (bendy), Thursday, 16 February 2006 06:36 (twenty years ago)

In a quantum reality...

Dire Tom & Petty Straits are playing...

― Peppy Zimbot, Thursday, 16 February 2006 08:25 (twenty years ago)

Damn the Torpedoes is both better and more consistent than any Dire Straits LP in my book. And "I Won't Back Down" and "Runnin Down a Dream" kick "Walk of Life"'s butt from here to kingdom come. But nah, Dire Straits *weren't* really considered new wave, to be honest -- no more than George Thorogood and the Destroyers were considered new wave. Whoever started this thread must've been confusing them with Sniff N the Tears (who sounded like Dire Straits but WERE new wave.) (Okay, when I first heard Dire Straits name in early 1979, I thought they *might* be a new wave band, I admit. And they get a half page writeup - p. 35, right next to Sniff N the Tears, right after Magazine! - in Glenn Baker and Stuart Coupe's definitive 1980 Aussie new wave guide *The New Music,* so maybe they were considered new wave in Australia, I'm not sure. Petty gets his own half page on p. 48. Neither act is included in B George and Martha Defoe's *Volume: The International Discography of the New Wave,* published in 1982. But.38 Special ARE included in that book, for whatever it's worth.)

― xhuxk, Thursday, 16 February 2006 14:07 (twenty years ago)

According to the All-Music Guide entry, Dire Straits did a tour opening for Talking Heads around '77-78 - so perhaps they were New Wave by association?

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3zhqoalabijr~T1

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 16 February 2006 14:26 (twenty years ago)

Petty I knew about but Dire Straits was considered new wave?!

DS was lumped in with the pub rock crowd though Knopfler never considered himself to be part of it. Although later on he did hire Rockpile drummer Terry Williams after Pick Withers left.

I don't know how apocryphal the story is, but supposedly the video for "Skateaway" was used in the initial network pitch meeting to get MTV going.

― The Equator Lounge (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 16 February 2006 20:49 (twenty years ago)

My kneejerk reaction was Petty, but I just remembered "Industrial Disease" which was as good as faux-Dylan got in the 80s.

And both Petty and Knopfler ended up working with Dylan.

― The Equator Lounge (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 16 February 2006 20:49 (twenty years ago)

Oh, and I think Petty did more damage in that arena.

― Dave will do (dave225.3), Thursday, 16 February 2006 20:52 (twenty years ago)

Although later on he did hire Rockpile drummer Terry Williams after Pick Withers left.
They did indeed, although he was kind of hard to spot behind that humungous drum kit he had.

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Thursday, 16 February 2006 20:54 (twenty years ago)

I actually liked "Twistin By The Pool" when it came out, I just remembered! Wasn't that just on a Dire Straits EP or something, not an actual album? In my head I remember it being a big hit, but it never went Top 40 in the States, so maybe it was a hit in Germany, where I lived at the time? I dunno. Also I get the idea it was like their Stray Cats move or something, but I haven't heard it in forever.

― xhuxk, Thursday, 16 February 2006 20:54 (twenty years ago)

oh yeah, that's a good tune. i used to have that ep. i wonder if that song's on cd anywhere, on a compilation or something.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Thursday, 16 February 2006 23:26 (twenty years ago)

hmm, i see it made the '88 and '98 best-of comps, but was dropped from the '05 one.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Thursday, 16 February 2006 23:29 (twenty years ago)

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