(Rock) [LP][24/192] The Best of Mark Knopfler & Dire Straits - Private Investigations - 2LP - 2005, WAVPack (image+.cue), lossless

DIRE STRAITS Private Investigations - The Best Of (2005 German issue limited edition 2-LP vinyl set featuring a 14-track collection of the biggest & best hits from one of the biggest British bands in music history, compiling hits from the classics 'Communique', 'Making Movies', 'Love Over Gold' as well as the 13 times platinum selling 'Brothers In Arms', plus the exclusive recording 'All The Road Running' with Emmylou Harris).

Private Investigations: The Best of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler is a 2005 best of album. Named after their 1982 hit single, it consists of material by Dire Straits, with songs selected from most of the group's studio albums from 1978 up to the group's dissolution in 1995 (excluding the 1979 album Communiqué). It also features work from the solo career of the lead guitarist and singer, Mark Knopfler, including some of his soundtrack material.

Since the 1970s Mark Knopfler has been carving out a niche for himself as a distinctive and much-admired songwriter and guitarist, first with his band Dire Straits and later as a solo artist. This 2-disc set collects many of the highlights from both phases of Knopfler's career. With a deft, fingerpicking style that references bluegrass, jazz, blues, and rock, Knopfler's guitar playing sounds like no one else's. And his literate, evocative pop songs and understated, Dylan-esque vocal delivery are by no means run of the mill either. Nestled between his best-known tunes ("Sultans of Swing;" "Money for Nothing"), are gems like the grooving "Skateaway," the jazzy, minor-key "Your Latest Trick," and the instrumental "Going Home." While PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS is not comprehensive in terms of either the Dire Straits catalogue or its leader's solo output, it is an excellent sampler of Knopfler's talents.

The only previously unreleased track on the album is "All The Roadrunning", a duet with country music singer Emmylou Harris. The US version omits "Darling Pretty", but adds "Skateaway".