Alchemy: Dire Straits Live

Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
Live album by Dire Straits
Released	12 March 1984
Recorded	23 July 1983 Hammersmith Odeon, London
Genre	Rock
Length	93:59
Label	Vertigo Warner Bros. (US)
Producer	Mark Knopfler
Professional reviews
Allmusic link
Dire Straits chronology
ExtendedancEPlay (1983) Alchemy: Dire Straits Live (1984) Brothers in Arms (1985)

Alchemy: Dire Straits Live is the first live album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music). It features their best-known tracks up to that point, often featuring reworked arrangements and extended improvisational segments.

The album sold, in Europe, 3 million copies^{[citation needed]}.

The cover image is taken from a painting by Brett Whiteley.

Alchemy was remastered and re-released (in the UK only) on May 8, 2001.

Track listing

All songs written by Mark Knopfler except as indicated.

Original release

Side one

1. "Once Upon a Time in the West" – 13:01
   • "Intro: Stargazer" (instrumental from the Local Hero soundtrack)
2. "Romeo and Juliet" – 8:22

Side two

1. "Expresso Love" – 5:41
2. "Private Investigations" – 7:40
3. "Sultans of Swing" – 10:48

Side three

1. "Two Young Lovers" – 4:51
2. "Tunnel of Love" – 14:38
   • includes excerpt from "The Carousel Waltz" (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II)

Side four

1. "Telegraph Road" – 13:19
2. "Solid Rock" – 5:32
3. "Going Home – Theme from 'Local Hero'" – 4:58

CD release

"Love Over Gold", which had been released as a separate single in 1984, was added into the track list for the CD release, and the fade outs between sides 1 and 2 and sides 3 and 4 have been removed. A number of tracks had their length increased for the CD releases.

Disc one

1. "Once Upon a Time in the West" – 13:01
   • "Intro: Stargazer" (instrumental from the Local Hero soundtrack)
2. "Expresso Love" – 5:45
   • Includes outro to "Industrial Disease"
3. "Romeo and Juliet" – 8:17
4. "Love Over Gold" – 3:27
5. "Private Investigations" – 7:34
6. "Sultans of Swing" – 10:54

Disc two

1. "Two Young Lovers" – 4:49
2. "Tunnel of Love" – 14:29
   • includes excerpt from "The Carousel Waltz" (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) – 4.13-4:30 of "Tunnel of Love"
3. "Telegraph Road" – 13:37
4. "Solid Rock" – 6:01
5. "Going Home – Theme from 'Local Hero'" – 6:05

Video release

Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
Video by Dire Straits
Released	1984, 1995 (Digitally remastered)
Length	90 minutes
Label	PolyGram Video
Producer	Limelight Films

Although originally released in Beta, VHS video cassette and Laserdisc formats, and digitally remastered in 1995, the video has yet to be released on DVD. The song "Love Over Gold" is not included in this video, just like the original album, but is contrarily the one performance available on DVD, being included in the compilation Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits.

The video opens with scenes of the band in a pub playing pool, interspersed with concert clips. Playing over this is the song "Saturday Night at the Movies" performed by The Drifters. The music changes to the instrumental "Stargazer", from the film 'Local Hero', over external shots of a sold-out Hammersmith Odeon. The scene switches to the inside of the venue as Dire Straits are announced and walk onstage for the concert.

The closing credits again use the Drifters' "Saturday Night at the Movies".

• A Limelight Films Production
• Director – Peter Sinclair
• Film Editor – Peter Goddard
• Soundtrack produced by Mark Knopfler
• Recorded by Mick McKenna, Rolling Stones Mobile

Personnel

• Mark Knopfler – guitar, vocals
• Alan Clark – keyboard
• John Illsley – bass
• Hal Lindes – guitar
• Terry Williams – drums

Additional personnel

• Mel Collins – saxophone
• Joop de Korte – percussion
• Tommy Mandel – keyboards

Charts

This first live album by Dire Straits stayed 163 weeks in the UK Albums Chart. [1]. In Australia, the album reached the twenty-second position of the best selling albums of 1984.

Album

Certifications