[SACD-R][OF] Dire Straits – Communiqué - 1978/2012 (Rock)

Communiqué is the second album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in 1979. Communiqué was recorded in November and December 1978, at Compass Point Studios, Nassau and was produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett. The album became the first LP ever to enter the German charts at number 1 in its first week of release (while their debut LP Dire Straits was still at number 3 in that country). Communiqué went on to sell over 7 million copies worldwide; in Europe, it sold 3.6 million copies and in the U.S. it reached gold status.

All Music Review

Rushed out less than nine months after the surprise success of Dire Straits’ self-titled debut album, the group’s sophomore effort, Communiqué, seemed little more than a carbon copy of its predecessor with less compelling material. Mark Knopfler and co. had established a sound (derived largely from J.J. Cale) of laid-back shuffles and intricate, bluesy guitar playing, and Communiqué provided more examples of it. But there was no track as focused as “Sultans of Swing,” even if “Lady Writer” (a lesser singles chart entry on both sides of the Atlantic) nearly duplicated its sound. As a result, Communiqué sold immediately to Dire Straits’ established audience, but no more, and it did not fare as well critically as its predecessor or its follow-up.