Communiqué (Dire Straits album)
Communiqué | ||||
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Studio album by Dire Straits | ||||
Released | 15 June 1979 | |||
Recorded | Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas, 28 November – 12 December 1978 |
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Genre | Roots rock | |||
Length | 42:24 | |||
Label | Vertigo, Warner Bros. (USA) Mercury (Canada) |
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Producer | Barry Beckett, Jerry Wexler |
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Dire Straits chronology | ||||
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Singles from Communiqué | ||||
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Communiqué is the second studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 15 June 1979 by Vertigo Records internationally, and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album produced the single "Lady Writer", which reached the number 45 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 51 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached the number one position on album charts in Germany, New Zealand, and Sweden, the number 11 position in the United States, and the number five position in the United Kingdom. Communiqué was certified gold in the United States, platinum in the United Kingdom, and double-platinum in France.
Contents
Recording
Communiqué was recorded from 28 November to 12 December 1978 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau. The album was produced by Barry Beckett and Jerry Wexler, veteran producers from Muscle Shoals Sound Studio who made legendary recordings with Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, the Staple Singers, The Rolling Stones, Traffic, Elton John, Boz Scaggs, Willie Nelson, and Paul Simon.
Release
Communiqué became the first album ever to enter the German charts at number one in its first week of release. Even more remarkable, this happened while their debut album, Dire Straits was still at the number three position in that country. The album went on to sell over 7 million copies worldwide: in Europe it sold 3.6 million copies, and in the United States it reached gold status.
Communiqué was remastered and released with the rest of the Dire Straits catalogue in 1996 for most of the world outside the United States, and on 19 September 2000 in the United States.
Artwork
The album cover was designed by Phonogram's advertising agency Grant Advertising UK. It won album cover of the year in the NME awards in 1979.
Critical reception
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | B– [2] |
In his review for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann gave the album two and a half out of five stars, writing that the group's sophomore effort "seemed little more than a carbon copy of its predecessor with less compelling material."[1]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Mark Knopfler.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Once upon a Time in the West" | 5:25 |
2. | "News" | 4:14 |
3. | "Where Do You Think You're Going?" | 3:49 |
4. | "Communiqué" | 5:49 |
5. | "Lady Writer" | 3:45 |
6. | "Angel of Mercy" | 4:36 |
7. | "Portobello Belle" | 4:29 |
8. | "Single-Handed Sailor" | 4:42 |
9. | "Follow Me Home" | 5:50 |
Total length:
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42:24 |
Personnel
- Music
- Mark Knopfler – vocals, lead and rhythm guitars
- David Knopfler – rhythm guitar and vocals
- John Illsley – bass and vocals
- Pick Withers – drums
- B. Bear[Note 1] – keyboards
- Production
- Barry Beckett – producer
- Jerry Wexler – producer
- Jack Nuber – engineer
- Thelbert Rigby – tape operator
- Gregg Hamm – mix engineer
- Bobby Hata – mastering
- Paul Wexler – mastering supervisor
- Geoff Halpin – illustrations
- Bob Ludwig – remastering
- Alan Schmidt – art direction[3]
Charts and certifications
Albums
Communiqué spent 30 weeks on the UK Albums Chart.
Chart (1979) | Peak |
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Australia Albums Chart | 5 |
Austria Albums Chart | 7 |
Germany Albums Chart | 1 |
Italy Albums Chart | 17 |
Norway Albums Chart | 2 |
New Zealand Albums Chart | 1 |
Sweden Albums Chart | 1 |
UK Albums Chart | 5 |
US Billboard 200 | 11 |
Singles
Year | Song | Billboard Hot 100 |
UK Singles |
---|---|---|---|
1979 | "Lady Writer" | 45 | 51 |
Sales and certifications
Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
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Canada (Music Canada)[4] | 2× Platinum | 200,000 |
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[citation needed] | Platinum | 50,000 |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[5] | Gold | 25,000[5] |
France (SNEP)[6] | 2× Platinum | 509,000[7] |
Germany (BVMI)[8] | Platinum | 500,000 |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[citation needed] | Platinum | 50,000 |
South Africa (RiSA)[citation needed] | Platinum | 50,000 |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[9] | Platinum | 100,000 |
Sweden (GLF)[citation needed] | Platinum | 100,000 |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[10] | 3× Platinum | 150,000 |
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] | Platinum | 300,000 |
United States (RIAA)[12] | Gold | 500,000 |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
References
- Notes
- ↑ B. Bear is producer Barry Beckett.
- Citations
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External links
- Communiqué at Mark Knopfler official website
- CommuniquéLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- Pages with reference errors
- Use dmy dates from December 2012
- Use British English from December 2012
- Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters
- Certification Table Entry usages for Canada
- Certification Table Entry usages for Denmark
- Articles with unsourced statements from August 2013
- Certification Table Entry usages for Finland
- Certification Table Entry usages for France
- Certification Table Entry usages for Germany
- Certification Table Entry usages for Norway
- Certification Table Entry usages for unsupported region
- Certification Table Entry usages for Spain
- Certification Table Entry usages for Sweden
- Certification Table Entry usages for Switzerland
- Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom
- Certification Table Entry usages for United States
- Articles with MusicBrainz release group links
- Dire Straits albums
- 1979 albums
- Albums produced by Jerry Wexler
- Albums produced by Barry Beckett
- Vertigo Records albums
- Warner Bros. Records albums
- English-language albums