Payne's Pretzels

Rating: Dire Straits are a band who were at their best when they focused on elegance, atmosphere and imagery. London music pubs, sweeping northern moors, youth-filled dance halls, rum soaked detectives and forlorn lovers are frequented in some of their most loved songs. All these characters are are present on this excellent reissue of their [...]

With Mark Knopfler recently released his sixth solo album Get Lucky, he's now done as much work solo as he did with Dire Straits. In my oh-so-personal opinion, the last great thing mark did was 2004's Shangri-La. It has some of his most rocking tunes since the early 80s, even with his laid-back approach. However, today's [...]