The Sophomore Slump. The Difficult Second Album. Just two of the phrases used to describe the trouble some bands and musicians have found in creating a follow up to a successful debut record. And that is what Jim is inviting us to play this week: a song from a second album. Read all about it here.
I gave this one a fair bit of thought. After all, apart from one hit wonders just about everyone has a second album, so the field of choice was extremely large! In the end, I went for a long time favourite band of mine – Dire Straits – and their album Communiqué. This was the only single taken from it (unless you were in those parts of the world where they got a second):
And seeing as this is Song Lyric Sunday, here are the lyrics:
Recording sessions for Dire Straits’ second album, Communiqué, took place in December 1978 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. All of the tracks on Communiqué were written by Mark Knopfler, and it was produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett. It was released on 5 June 1979 as the follow up to Dire Straits’ eponymous debut album, which came out almost exactly a year previously, in June 1978. The album reached #1 in France, Germany, Spain, New Zealand, and Sweden, #11 in the US and #5 in the UK, and was later certified Gold in the US, Platinum in the UK and Double Platinum in France. It sold more than 600k copies in both France and Germany, half a million in the US and 300k in the UK, but despite these sales it has often been compared unfavourably to its predecessor. Of course, that one sold more, but most bands would kill for sales figures like these!
Critics were unkind to it, the general feeling being that the tracks sounded similar to the band’s first album, and that they were a set of songs that weren’t considered good enough for inclusion on that one. As I’ve said many times before, critics tend to talk through their nether orifices, and who cares what they think anyway? This wouldn’t have been the first time that a band had stuck to a winning formula: think Status Quo, who have been accused of making the same album over and over again!
As I said, Lady Writer was the only single from the album everywhere except in N America and, seemingly, in the Antipodes, where Once Upon A Time In The West was also released. Lady Writer reached #45 in the US and #51 in the UK, but fared best in The Netherlands, reaching #18, and in France, where it got to #34. Not hugely impressive, but at this point they were, I think, widely seen as an albums band. Both singles did reach Gold status in New Zealand – I have a couple of regular readers from there and am hoping they can enlighten me as to the sales figures needed for that. I’m guessing they are fewer than here!
Communiqué was the last album to feature David Knopfler, Mark’s brother, who departed during the making of their next record, Making Movies, and thus this one was the last with the original lineup of Mark Knopfler on lead vocals and guitar, David Knopfler on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, John Illsley on bass and BVs, and Pick Withers on drums. Their changed line up expanded membership, and took them on to huge heights with later albums, especially the juggernaut that was Brothers In Arms. But today I’m concentrating, as per the prompt, on their second album, and I thought I’d close by playing another track from it, one that I’ve always liked:
The song describes someone I’m sure Mark Knopfler had seen around the Portobello Road area of London, where he, David and John shared a flat together. It’s a rather sad little tale of someone who had perhaps seen better times – I know that area and that description could be applied to many that you see on the streets there. It’s a nice song, though, and feels like something he wanted her to hear as his way of appreciating her. But that’s just my interpretation.
That’s me done for today, and thank you for joining me in my trip down memory lane. See you again for Tuesday Tunes? 🎶
