Track Listing

1. Tunnel Of Love
2. Romeo And Juliet
3. Skateaway
4. Expresso Love
5. Hand in hand
6. Solid rock
7. Les Boys

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2938 in Music
• Released on: 1996-06-03
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Running time: 38 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
This is the only Dire Straits album not to feature a rhythm guitarist; instead, an added dimension is given to the sound by the addition of Roy Bittan, Bruce Springsteen's pianist. In fact, there were several Springsteen connections to this album: Jimmy Iovine, the producer, was the engineer on Born To Run and the famous riff of "Romeo And Juliet" is a slowed-down version of the piano intro to that album's "Jungleland". A more general connection is the torrent of imagery centred around the romance of the city, most notably on "Skateaway", but also present in the perfectly-rendered teenage angst of hit single "Romeo and Juliet", and the celebratory tale of tawdriness and passion that is "Tunnel Of Love". Mark Knopfler and drummer Pick Withers were fresh from the honour of recording an album with Bob Dylan after he had seen and been impressed by the band playing in LA earlier in the year; but sadly this was to be Withers' last album with Dire Straits, as he left for a career in jazz shortly after. A fine album, the most truly outstanding song is the devastating lovers' lament of "Hand In Hand". Unfortunately it closes on a low note with "Les Boys", Knopfler's faintly embarrassing and uninventive song about the gay scene in Berlin. --James Swift

CD Description
The last album of their career that sounded as if they weretrying to play, instead of going through the motions. DavidKnopfler had already departed from the band and brother Mark had a free rein, clear from any sibling rivalry. "Solid Rock", "Tunnel Of Love", "Romeo And Juliet" and "Skataway" would be on any decent greatest hits package. Following this artistic triumph they proceeded to release LOVE OVER GOLD, andwe all know what album followed after that, don't we?

Customer Reviews

They're Back...
"Makin' Movies" was the Dire Straits comeback album, following the relatively poor performance of their second LP, "Communique". Starting off a seven-song album with an eight minute song might seem like suicide, but all the tracks are so strong that such a bold move made sense.

The band had to re-invent themselves after a dodgy patch involving a half-empty second US tour and David Knopfler leaving half-way through the recording of this album. The results, though, were a real step up for the band. Mark Knopfler's songwriting moved into a completely different league to that on display on the previous two records. He'd also started taking control of the production with this album too. It's his vision from start to finish.

"Tunnel of Love", the eight-minute opener, moves around like one of the twisters he sings about. The long guitar solo ended up becoming a highlight of the live show and is still an example of how to write innovative guitar music. It's just a great song.

The commercial highlight comes early on in the form of "Romeo and Juliet", which was a successful Top Ten hit here in the UK. The lyrics are standard fare but the whole song works well. The dynamics are excellent, the ebb and flow help the story along.

"Skateaway" is a very American sounding early-eighties pop song. It was a single in the US, but listening to it now, it seems to be stuck in that time. There are some nice ideas (a strong melody, for a start) and Pick Withers' drumming is as impressive as ever.

"Expresso Love" is probably the most sexist song in Knopfler's notepad. There's some good riffing going on, but those lyrics...! "I was made to go with this girl just like the saxophone was made to go with the night." Hello? Not even the green giant has this much corn...

That track is followed by an absolute gem. "Hand in Hand" has to be the best track on the album. "Romeo & Juliet" may have made the charts, but "Hand in Hand" has got great lyrics (Elmore James' influence shown in the opening line, blues fans!), brilliant playing and from start to finish is a powerful and emotional piece of writing.

"Solid Rock" probably states most clearly Mark Knopfler's vision of the band. Strip away all the glitz and glamour and you have a band that is really determined to make it. And after the two albums that followed this, you couldn't argue with that vision.

The final track "Les Boys" is fairly funny, but seems to be hindered by Knopfler's lack of confidence in this area. Whereas Dylan would have knocked a song like this off with suitable camp, Knopfler seems to be confused as to whether to ham it up or tone it down.

Overall, the concepts, sounds and songwriting are beyond what Knopfler could have achieved just twelve months before and the addition of the keyboards really lifts the whole set. The attitude and character shown here is what gives that album four rather than three stars.

Quality over Quantity
In the current climate of artists squashing 16 songs on one release(plus a couple of "bonus" tracks), "Making Movies" at first sight looks like a half-hearted attempt at an album. But each of the tracks on here is a real gem, with as much thought put into the lyrics as the accompaniment. "Tunnel of Love" is an exhilarating ride on the rollercoaster of lust (the Spanish City is a fairground in Newcastle by the way) while "Hand in Hand" thuds to the crashing rythmn of an angry broken heart. "Les Boys" is perhaps the weakest song on the album, but an enjoyable, smoky ditty nonetheless... "Romeo & Juliet" is (in my opinion) the jewel in the crown - an explosive, heartfelt love song which anyone who listens to it will feel was written just for them to tell their story. "Making Movies" may perhaps have been overshadowed by "Brothers in Arms" and "Love over Gold" but it is nonetheless an effortlessly brilliant album, a must for anyone who enjoys good music that makes sense.

Underrated
I feel this is one of the most underrated albums by the Dire Straits, all the songs being distinctive, with a few classics thrown in for good measure. My personal favourite is the opener, 'Tunnel Of Love', with its incredible guitar work towards the end of the song, and 'Hand In Hand' and 'Romeo And Juliet' are also the Dire Straits at their best.