Dire Straits Dire Straits (180g Vinyl LP)

Dire Straits' self-titled debut arrived in the midst of punk's reign but couldn't have been further removed from the era's slash-and-burn style. Here is tasteful, jazz-inflected rock, all smoothly skating on virtuoso guitarist Mark Knopfler's winding guitar lines and the band's laidback rhythms. Equally drawing from country, roots, and folk influences, the British quartet's stripped-down music knew no peers in the 70s, and has never been matched to this day. Part of the reason for the band's uniqueness owes to its clean, vibrant sound. Just as Knopfler's narratives reflect poetic and surrealist texts, the group's arrangements - an intoxicating combination of easygoing shuffles, bluesy boogies, and pop-honed ballads - mirror the old-fashioned soulfulness and spaciousness inherent in the classic recordings of the late 50s and early 60s. Home to the low-key masterworks "Sultans of Swing" and "Southbound Again."