Which do you prefer?
Dire Straits - hands down!!
U2 except Sultans of Swing. But I'm not really a fan of U2 either.
I used to listen to both. U2 has more good ones, but Dire Straits has a few that I just like picking better.
Mark Knopfler... with or without Dire Straits 
David Bowie
The Smiths
Joy Division
The Pretenders
Dire straits is up there with Credence for me. Just too cool to describe.
Dire Straits - Mark Knopfler is a much better guitar player, much more versatile, not just a rhythm player.
Whatever - I much prefer the Byrds, whose later lineup included two fantastic pickers, the underrated Roger McGuinn and the amazing Clarence White. (I took this in 1969.)
Hi Paul, "Notorious Byrd Brothers" is one of my all-time faves. But when I read your answer I realized the two bands are almost a generation apart; come to think of, so are the two bands I asked you to compare. And of course, as we age our tastes change.
Both U2 and Dire Straits both got there start in the mid to late 70s so they are from the same generation. Dire Straits lasted into the late 80s, I believe, while U2 is still going strong. That being said, to me they are like apples and bananas; to dissimilar to compare. Both are great bands however, but vastly different. U2 I believe is a better all around “band”, whereas Mark Knoffler was pretty much Dire Straits.
Dire Straits
brothers in arms album
Dire Straits-Communiqué
quote:
Originally posted by flyingsquirrelinlayHi Paul, "Notorious Byrd Brothers" is one of my all-time faves. But when I read your answer I realized the two bands are almost a generation apart; come to think of, so are the two bands I asked you to compare. And of course, as we age our tastes change.
Hey, David, sorry about the thread drift, but Clarence White was one of the most mesmerizing guitarists I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot, including my fave, Michael Bloomfield, and acoustic gems like Norman Blake. I got a real good look at him the second time I saw the Byrds, at Massey Hall in '70, and he just stood rooted in one spot, ripping off incredible solos. Yeah, he's a few years earlier. I wonder if either Mr. Knopfler or Mr. Edge listened to his work, or if they even knew about him.
Paul and 250gibson: Paul, no need to apologize, I bought many a banjo album because the album headline/title said "bluegrass." 250gibby, after I posted I realized that I was wrong, that those two bands really were contemporaneous, but extremely different in their style/approach. Dire Straits/Knofler was very consistent in terms of sweet style and sound, perhaps "political content" while U2 was harder, more edgy, perhaps more techno-geek (see "Achtung Baby").
Bono and the Edge walk into a bar for the umpteenth-millionth time and the bartender says "Not YOU TWO again!"
Edited by - Buddur on 01/16/2020 16:06:46
