On Every Street in Bloomington, MN

It took
Mark Knopfler
more than six years to craft a followup to
Dire Straits
' international chart-topper,
Brothers In Arms
, but though
On Every Street
sold in the expected multi-millions worldwide on the back of the band's renown and a year-long tour, it was a disappointment.
Knopfler
remained a gifted guitar player with tastes in folk (
"Iron Hand"
), blues ("Fade To Black"), and rockabilly ("The Bug"), among other styles, but much of the album was low-key to the point of being background music. The group had long-since dwindled to original members
and bassist
John Illsley
, plus a collection of semi-permanent sidemen who provided support but no real musical chemistry. The closest thing to a successor to "Money For Nothing," the big hit from
, was the sarcastic rocker "Heavy Fuel." It became an album rock radio favorite (though not a chart single), and fans still filled stadiums to hear "Sultans Of Swing," but
was not the comeback it should have been. ~ William Ruhlmann