Dire Straits On Every Street (180g Vinyl 2LP) * * *

1991's On Every Street is the sixth and final Dire Straits album, serving as the follow-up to their chart-topping 1985 masterpiece Brothers in Arms. By this time Mark Knopfler and bassist John Illsley were the only remaining original members, supported here by Alan Clark (keyboards, strings) and Guy Fletcher (keyboards, vocals). Home to the handful of singles "Calling Elvis," "Heavy Fuel," "On Every Street" and "The Bug," the six year build up between albums helped make On Every Street one of the biggest selling of Dire Straits career. 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.