Dire Straits Making Movies

Dire Straits muscled up on their third album, building on their lyrical romanticism and blues-meets-pub-rock foundation. The opening duo of “Tunnel of Love” and “Romeo and Juliet” are a breathtaking one-two punch, stretching out with masterful picking and soloing from Mark Knopfler, while his marvelous mumble takes on Springsteen-esque stories—and that’s the E Street Band’s Roy Bittan on piano, too. They augment their sound with cool organ on “Skateaway” and produce a glittering heartland ballad with “Hand in Hand,” pushing their sound to the next level.