Dire Straits really don’t have a single bad song. Six albums, even less than Mark’s personal work (nine solo albums, nine soundtracks). An underrated lyricist, best in the business.
I like this track. It's not a guitar symphony like Telegraph Rd., but the lyrics are sharp, the humor is on point, and the tune is bouncy. It slots well where it is on the album.
Just an FYI: the music is a blues boogie woogie shuffle, a'la Texas stamp (think ZZ Top). Done in a Dylan-esque fashion, this tune is unique to the Dire Straights sound.
Mark was a journalist, so his lyric writing was always pretty intelligent, and often descriptive. This was one of the rarer examples where he used a lot of wit and humour. There’s numerous phrases and cliches peppered around the song that can be taken multiple ways, like “experience just talks” or “there’s a leaking in the washroom”. It is a reasonably basic blues structure, and Mark feels most at home with a country/rockabilly feel, although he was trying to delve into jazz around this album - you’ll hear that more clearly in the next song, the title track Love Over Gold. When you said you heard something in his vocal delivery I wasn’t expecting Ziggy Stardust; I thought you were going to say Bob Dylan. I hear a lot of Bob in Mark’s songs, and that’s to be expected as he was a big fan. In fact the final track on this album has a very big Dylan feel to it. One other thing worth mentioning on this track is the main guitar sound. It’s a Wah Wah effected guitar track, with little to no change in the pedal position. This creates a filtered effect that Mark explored further after this album and eventually turned into the iconic sound on Money For Nothing off the follow up Brothers In Arms album. In fact, Mark was trying to emulate Billy Gibbons’ guitar sound, which Mark believed was the best rock guitar sound of that era. He, or one of his management or recording people, contacted Billy and asked if he would divulge the secret to his guitar tone, but Billy declined, so they went their own way.
This song ALWAYS puts a smile on my face! The British have that certain humor that I like. This song was not meant to be taken seriously, but it’s still well done 👍🏻
Lyrics still relevant today, a blistering critique of society, the media, religious beliefs, politics, using the workplace as a metaphor...Knopfler's sarcasm really rings true....musically pleasing, the guitar riff interchanging with the piano/ organ licks is spectacular, John Illsley's bass very tasty... Bowie?! No, Knopfler's vocal style is a cross between Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen
It shares similar basic themes to Synchronicity II by The Police. I think it's also poking some fun at the "diagnosis of the week" idea, and that a doctor will just latch on to a popular new diagnosis in order to push pills.
Fun fact. Mark Knopfler wrote Private Dancer for this album which was later to given to Tina Turner. He didn't want two songs on the album that had "Private" in the title. The vocal melody in the middle 8 of the title track ("Love Over Gold") is the same as Private Dancer's chorus.
Absolutely brilliant lyrics that show the humour of the band it’s greatest effect all wrapped up in a great fun rock song , a great contrast to the serious commentary of the first two tracks, what’s not to like. I think it is more broadly aimed at the de industrialisation of the UK particularly in the NE that was very high profile at the time this song was written
Yes, I would agree with that, early eighties was all about Thatcherism, she took on the unions who had strangled the life out of British industry in the 70s. The treatment came with some pain but the patient was chronically ill with “industrial disease”.
I've always enjoyed this song, I love the lyrics. It's a fun song that lightens the mood after the first two tracks. Others have mentioned that this song fills a similar role as 'Walk of Life' on 'Brothers in Arms'. Is this the best Dire Straits song ever? Certainly not, but it's not one that I skip over when listening to the album.
I think this is a very underrated track, the whole tongue in cheek nature of it is brilliant in my opinion. I think most people would compare the singing style to Bob Dylan, which makes sense as Mark produced for Dylan. In context in the UK at this time there was a lot of labour unrest with Margaret Thatcher's very anti-union approach at the time. My interpretation of the song is it is kind of a humorous look at how we are basically being worked into the ground. (both workers and managers) - The media dance around the issue rather than talking about it, Philosophy and Theology claim they can help but can't, and sociologists invent new words to define it, but offer no relief. The protest singer says that the "system" is avoiding the problem by distraction, either by telling you there is an outside enemy, cheep holidays (which did start to emerge at this time), booze and boobs (Sunday striptease and page 3) - and frankly the protest singer was probably right. "Brewers Droop" was the name of a band that Mark used to be in, and you can guess what it means. The reference to "ITV and BBC" was the two TV broadcasters that existed in the UK at the time. (There were 3 channels back then BBC 1, BBC 2 and ITV (ITV was a bit more complicated than that as it had regional variants back then, but lets not worry about it) ... Channel 4 came a couple years later. The reference to "Page 3" was about page 3 of tabloids such as "The Sun" which would feature pictures of topless women.
The "two men say they're Jesus.." line...I played that for an evangelical preacher and he doubled over in hysterics...same with my devout Catholic Mom...FWIW.
Great fun song. An excellent counterpoint to the album's seriousness and density. Much clever and interesting than subsequent pop tunes Knoffler would write on the next years. As some others said in the comments, it has a perfect place in the album, between the first two deep songs and the last two equally deep tracks. Very good reaction, as always.
So glad you have been playing Love Over Gold.I bought in on vinyl in the early 80s, and have been playing it ever since.One line in Industrial Disease which always makes me laugh is , "I don't know how you came to get the Bette Davis knees" :)
I always liked this. Perhaps you have to have lived in Britain through the 70s and experienced the strike culture and high absence level from sickness that people claimed were due to their work environments.
I just discovered you the other day. I saw your reaction of the epic Telegraph Road. I had to see your reactions to the rest of Love over Gold.I needed to see if you "got" them, since they were very cerebral. Yes they had pop hits, but it was always about Mark's songwriting. If they got a hit, so be it. I'm, subscribing. Looking forward to catching up! Dire Straits has been my favorite group since I saw them on the Love Over Gold Tour in November of 1982 (I was 15 y/o). They had me hooked since Sultans in '79, and I continue to follow Mark's solo endeavors because his songwriting is without compare. BTW, this has always been my 2nd favorite song on the album. It's basically a commentary on the downsides of industrialism. I hope you hit all the songs on the Making Movies album.
It’s got a nostalgic upon nostalgic feel. The Farfisa 99 tears organ, with the actual time this tune was a MTV staple. Bowie, no, sorry don’t hear it. Made me feel younger while hearing this goofy song. Had forgotten of its existence. As far as the job, stressful at times, but, I get to hear anything I want musically… first time anywhere. Can’t be all bad aye. Peace and Music and Rhythm
A brilliant, hilarious romp. Knopfler's amazing lyrical journey is such a joy. Killer guitar, as always. Always brings a smile to my face. This has always been a strong #3 on list of my favorite Dire Straits albums. With "Making Movies" #1, and the debut a solid #2.
I think lyrically, on this track, Knopfler has taken cues from Bob Dylan and Ray Davies from The Kinks. There's definitely a Britishness about his Dylanesque rhymes.
Best movie depiction of Industrial Disease is in the movie "Joe Vs. The Volcano", where Joe, played by Tom Hanks, is working at a factory office, in the sickest work environment one could imagine.
Top 5 Dire Straits song, just for the lyrics. It was a successful single in my part of the U.S. in 1982, when a lot of retro-rock (Stray Cats, etc.) was dominating the charts. IMO the vocal style is more Dylan than Bowie. Lots of singers were on the Dylan bandwagon at the time (Springsteen, Tom Petty, etc.)
Thinking about the time period my guess is this was made to get radio play. Telegraph Road did not make them money to do what they wanted to do which was to record more albums. It’s hardly a bad song but it’s not the Dire Straits we were accustomed to hearing. I played it on my 3pm Friday radio show because it was upbeat. I’d say those killing it because it’s not as moody as the rest of the album are not applying the necessary context. It’s fun, well-constructed and the lyrics are hysterical. The title track will get everything here righted though, and right quick.
Not the most interesting song on the album, but it works quite well in context. Fun fact: the "Brewers Droop" diagnosis in the middle is also the name of a pre-Dire Straits Mark Knopfler band in the 70's.
Just found your channel, very entertaining reactions! Especially enjoyed "Telegraph road" and "Private investigations". If you liked the lyrical wittiness but would enjoy a bit more musical approach, I would recommend the song "My parties" by Dire Straits from their album "On every street". And of course there's a ton of other great songs there too, like my personal favorite Dire Straits song "Planet of New Orleans ".
Do you need to start putting warning labels on some reviews? or best before dates (referring to songs that are past their prime)? A song and a great review.
This is a jaunty tune, they sound more English on it. It was released as a single with the non-album song 'Badges, Posters, Stickers and T-Shirts' as the b-side. Knopfler also wrote 'Private Dancer' which he gave to Tina Turner, it was a hit for her. The song 'The Way It Always Starts' wound up on his own solo album "Local Hero", a film soundtrack.
This is the "OK, we've done the intense opener and second track, now for some fun" track. I think the mood change rather caught you off balance. Personally, once I'd dived into the lyrics, it really connected with me. Maybe something to do with the humour and particularly UK-referenced segments. Give this one time and it'll turn into an ear-worm that you just can't ignore.
When I first heard this song l thought that this is a song that I am going to enjoy for years to come, what's not to love about it! 😉 Catchy melodies and humourous lyrics.
Sultans of Swing has classic guitar playing by Mark Knopfler but Industrial Disease is my favourite Dire Straits tune. Cheeky, intelligent and imaginative lyrics loaded with social commentary, great guitar work and organ.
I really never thought of which album or song from Dire Straits is the best or my favorite. I just bought them one by one and played them in my car enjoying the ride song by song... but that’s me of course. Saw them once in the early 90s and geez was that a concert. Not one tune wrong, they had the audience in their hands.... one of my best concert memories
@@keithjones6023 I Just Wanted To Give A Wider Variety Of Their Music & I Agree With Your Choice,, Trust Me,, I Would Liked To Have Named Many More..Including In Honor & Memory Of Dave Greenfield,, "And If You Should See Dave"...R.I.P.
This is one of those songs that make sense musically and lyrically if one listens to album straight through. To my ears it serves an important purpose on the album, if one treats the entire album as a complete whole. This can be missed if one explores the album one song at a time (which is often unavoidable in a reaction video). I do hope after you've gone through the rest of the album that you will go listen to it straight through for the complete experience, if time and inclination allows. (These videos must be time consuming! I hope the work you put into this enriches you're life as much as it enriches ours). Why do "they" so often make electrical cords so short on so many things?! Is the extension cord lobby so powerful, more powerful than (dare I say it) the air conditioning repair cartel? :-)
Love the new intro graphics JP! I just love this track and shill it to my circle all the time. Can’t get enough of the guitar effects at the intro and throughout. Great lyrics and love Knofler’s delivery. Hope you never catch Brewers Drip! 💧😎👍
Disposable, throwaway blues rock number after the perfection that is side 1. Hints at some of the sound on 'Brothers In Arms' to come. Not a favourite. Thankfully back on track with the title track. According to Wikipedia, "The background and subject matter of the lyrics was ostensibly the decline of the British manufacturing industry in the early 1980s, describing strikes, clinical and economic depression, and societal dysfunction. However, the song is an extended metaphor, with the idea of the dehumanising routine and repetition of the nine-to-five itself as the real culprit of society's malaise. About halfway through the song, the narrator goes to the doctor, only to be told his own illness is diagnosed as industrial disease."
Mildly entertaining satire from Knopfler. Just a generic song at the musical level. I also really dislike that keyboard theme: so cheesy and 80s. Springsteen similarly abused early 80s keyboards. They'd have been better off sticking with technology from the 70s that had more tonal warmth to them. Sigh. But in many ways that is a hallmark of the 80s, which is also when digital recording and effects came into practice. Knopler has gotten a lot of flack over the years for some fluffy work, both from the critics searching for something deep and the public wanting something more banging and less twee from their guitar heroes. I'm ambivalent.
I think you don’t know about the UK back then. I don’t know all but here goes. Back then, all sorts of industries there merged, but didn’t work together to emerge stronger. Instead they competed internally as divisions. So the UK fell through as an industrial force. Nearly all big companies were paralysed by strikes day in day out. And then Maggie went to the Falklands, basically to say ‘we’re still great’. This is a tongue-in-cheek protest song, it’s just funny where others were serious. The message is the same
It's weird, I remember this track note for note, line by line, sound by sound... and I haven't listened to this song in maybe 25 years. And it's far from being any of my favourites of theirs, I even remember not really liking it at all. But since I had the record on vinyl, couldn't be bothered to skip the track. I guess I must have listened to DS a lot back in the day. Oh, wait; that's right, I did. Nice reaction Justin 👌
Re: the "sixties" sound: now that you say it, yeah, it's got a "surf rock" vibe... To me, this is the Dire Straights equivalent of "Cool for Cats" by Squeeze. And the cool piano hook reminds me of "Rushing" from Moby's PLAY album...
As I remember around that time Industrial Disease was a common phrase in the UK media when talking about the country's failing industry. I think this was the single on the album put on to please the record company, they all had them, so why not make it funny,
I could see Bowie as part of the vocal blueprint here, although like others below, my mind first went to Bob Dylan. I've never really listened to Dire Straits before because I had them mentally filed as "dad rock", and this song at least fits the bill, in that it sounds like a dinky pastiche of 50s, 60s, and 70s rock styles just slightly slicked up for the 80s. It's certainly catchy, but I'm not convinced yet that it brings anything interesting to the table.
Another prog fan who likes Knopfler's avuncular vocals and creative guitar. He did several movie scores including Local Hero and Princess Bride. Check the 9/11 song If This Is Goodbye by him and Emmylou Harris, it will break your heart.
Nothing really too stand out in this song. And as a long time music aficionado - artists/albums/songs have a high bar to reach my already seriously crowded 'playlist.' Nothing embarrassing by this band yet also nothing to separate their music from so many other 'medium' acts to necessitate much further exploration. Maybe - perhaps - there could be that 'extra time' to listen to artists that I haven't fully fleshed out - I'll be able to seek out their - at least to me - hidden gem. Don't hear Bowie on this track - but as I have in the past with Dire Straits - I do often hear a confluence of Dylan and Springsteen. As a fan of one and not the other it would make sense that I'm lukewarm about Dire Straits.
This was our "go -to" song for playing hackey-sack. My friends and I would put this on repeat and kick some bag around for hours. This track always felt like it belonged on a different album, but that's OK.
@@keithjones6023 I was thinking the same. Or even the EP that has Twisting By The Pool and Two Young Lovers. They could have expanded that and made an LP.
Bette Davis Knees (is that a joke on Bette Davis eyes ?). Dr Parkinson (could be either Michael Parkinson as a TV interviewer asking questions of guests or as in the shakes of Parkinson''s Disease)
This song was okay I suppose I don’t have this cd for that long so I can’t really give it what I think of it, but you’re right with the tone of the song it doesn’t pull me in like the other 2 have onto the next song. 🎵🎶🎹🎸
It's a terrific sock dance tune! Plus, the lyrics are frighteningly portentious of the coming AI pandemic! But for now, friends, let's just have fun with it!
Good one JP. Rather than Bowie, how about think Squeeze? ... Same time, (loosely) same feel and early eighties social commentary in Britain in the time of Thatcher's industrial strife.
@@BrianR. While we are on the subject of the great Making Movies album, l have to come clean and say I'm not mad about Romeo and Juliet either 😒. Tunnel of Love and Skateaway more than make up for those two though! Just a few more of their best songs for me are Once Upon a Time in the West, Where Do You Think You're Going? (an all time favourite) Water of Love, Southbound Again. Many fans argue that BIA album is the best one they did, l personally think it's great, but some of the songs are maybe a bit too long. I can forgive them for that with the superb title track, but one of my favourite DS songs ever is The Man's Too Strong, just love it! Iron Hand has a similar feel to it on On Every Street album, a little bit underrated that album, love title track and the superb Planet of New Orleans. A shame they disbanded, who knows what might have come next, I've got a couple of Mark's solo albums, but not quite as good 😔.
Love this fun song. I think the doctor is hilarious! No epic here, Telegraph Road and Private Investigations were. Just a fun song to lighten the mood :-)
Yes a fun song, some commenters in my view have a different take on the song and not seen it for what it is, as you said, just a fun song, simple really 😏
This song is the most "commercial" of the tracks on the album, dominated by the synthesizer hook.. It does live in the mountain-like shadow of Telegraph Road's greatness though, in my opinion. Great lyrics, biting wit and cynicism by Knopfler with his story telling ability.
Nice review, but you didn’t get all the references because you didn’t live in Britain in the 70s and 80s! It was a time of high inflation, and frankly the management of companies was often incompetent, so there was a lot of conflict between management and workers. Dr Parkinson is a reference to C Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993) who came up with “Parkinson’s Law”: “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. Speakers’ Corner is in Hyde Park in London, where anybody can speak about anything (even if it’s nonsense).
If you are looking for humourous lyrics, look no further than first two 10cc albums. The Hospital Song, Sand in my Face, Hotel and Baron Samedi great tunes, Speed Kills though is one of my favourites.
I suspect that this song may not hit with you as the lyrics don't connect with you... This isn't so much about Health and Safety as the Workers against the Management/Owners. This is very much of its time. In the UK there was a lot of Industrial unrest around the time that this was written so the lyrics chime so well with that. You are to young to be aware of it so I get why it doesn't connect. As you say, great production and I think it needs to be seen as an album song as a whole.. It's a little bit of light relief. A fun song even though it's quite topical. This always made me smile when I listened to it back when it was released.. Keep on rocking..
![Hip Hop Head Reacts To Dire Straits - Industrial Disease [REACTION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HCGcVwbPOes/mqdefault.jpg)
Dire Straits really don’t have a single bad song. Six albums, even less than Mark’s personal work (nine solo albums, nine soundtracks). An underrated lyricist, best in the business.
I like this track. It's not a guitar symphony like Telegraph Rd., but the lyrics are sharp, the humor is on point, and the tune is bouncy. It slots well where it is on the album.
It's a fantastic sock dance song!
This song has always been a pleasure to me. Lyrically, it tickles my fancy. And musically on point. Plus, I believe I've suffered from it.
Just an FYI: the music is a blues boogie woogie shuffle, a'la Texas stamp (think ZZ Top). Done in a Dylan-esque fashion, this tune is unique to the Dire Straights sound.
Mark was a journalist, so his lyric writing was always pretty intelligent, and often descriptive. This was one of the rarer examples where he used a lot of wit and humour. There’s numerous phrases and cliches peppered around the song that can be taken multiple ways, like “experience just talks” or “there’s a leaking in the washroom”.
It is a reasonably basic blues structure, and Mark feels most at home with a country/rockabilly feel, although he was trying to delve into jazz around this album - you’ll hear that more clearly in the next song, the title track Love Over Gold.
When you said you heard something in his vocal delivery I wasn’t expecting Ziggy Stardust; I thought you were going to say Bob Dylan. I hear a lot of Bob in Mark’s songs, and that’s to be expected as he was a big fan. In fact the final track on this album has a very big Dylan feel to it.
One other thing worth mentioning on this track is the main guitar sound. It’s a Wah Wah effected guitar track, with little to no change in the pedal position. This creates a filtered effect that Mark explored further after this album and eventually turned into the iconic sound on Money For Nothing off the follow up Brothers In Arms album.
In fact, Mark was trying to emulate Billy Gibbons’ guitar sound, which Mark believed was the best rock guitar sound of that era. He, or one of his management or recording people, contacted Billy and asked if he would divulge the secret to his guitar tone, but Billy declined, so they went their own way.
This song ALWAYS puts a smile on my face! The British have that certain humor that I like. This song was not meant to be taken seriously, but it’s still well done 👍🏻
Lyrics still relevant today, a blistering critique of society, the media, religious beliefs, politics, using the workplace as a metaphor...Knopfler's sarcasm really rings true....musically pleasing, the guitar riff interchanging with the piano/ organ licks is spectacular, John Illsley's bass very tasty...
Bowie?! No, Knopfler's vocal style is a cross between Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen
I can completely superimpose "the pumps don't work 'cause the vandals took the handles" over this.
Love over gold is simply perfection , each song an individual masterpiece
"They gonna have a war to feed the factories"
In 1982 they did have a war, btw.
Shout out to John Illsley and his bass runs on this one. I heard this song on the radio one day and ran out and bought the album.
It shares similar basic themes to Synchronicity II by The Police. I think it's also poking some fun at the "diagnosis of the week" idea, and that a doctor will just latch on to a popular new diagnosis in order to push pills.
Synchronicity II is a GREAT track! Musically and lyrically!
Fun fact. Mark Knopfler wrote Private Dancer for this album which was later to given to Tina Turner. He didn't want two songs on the album that had "Private" in the title. The vocal melody in the middle 8 of the title track ("Love Over Gold") is the same as Private Dancer's chorus.
Absolutely brilliant lyrics that show the humour of the band it’s greatest effect all wrapped up in a great fun rock song , a great contrast to the serious commentary of the first two tracks, what’s not to like.
I think it is more broadly aimed at the de industrialisation of the UK particularly in the NE that was very high profile at the time this song was written
Yes, I would agree with that, early eighties was all about Thatcherism, she took on the unions who had strangled the life out of British industry in the 70s. The treatment came with some pain but the patient was chronically ill with “industrial disease”.
I've always enjoyed this song, I love the lyrics. It's a fun song that lightens the mood after the first two tracks. Others have mentioned that this song fills a similar role as 'Walk of Life' on 'Brothers in Arms'. Is this the best Dire Straits song ever? Certainly not, but it's not one that I skip over when listening to the album.
I think this is a very underrated track, the whole tongue in cheek nature of it is brilliant in my opinion.
I think most people would compare the singing style to Bob Dylan, which makes sense as Mark produced for Dylan.
In context in the UK at this time there was a lot of labour unrest with Margaret Thatcher's very anti-union approach at the time.
My interpretation of the song is it is kind of a humorous look at how we are basically being worked into the ground. (both workers and managers) - The media dance around the issue rather than talking about it, Philosophy and Theology claim they can help but can't, and sociologists invent new words to define it, but offer no relief. The protest singer says that the "system" is avoiding the problem by distraction, either by telling you there is an outside enemy, cheep holidays (which did start to emerge at this time), booze and boobs (Sunday striptease and page 3) - and frankly the protest singer was probably right.
"Brewers Droop" was the name of a band that Mark used to be in, and you can guess what it means.
The reference to "ITV and BBC" was the two TV broadcasters that existed in the UK at the time. (There were 3 channels back then BBC 1, BBC 2 and ITV (ITV was a bit more complicated than that as it had regional variants back then, but lets not worry about it) ... Channel 4 came a couple years later.
The reference to "Page 3" was about page 3 of tabloids such as "The Sun" which would feature pictures of topless women.
The "two men say they're Jesus.." line...I played that for an evangelical preacher and he doubled over in hysterics...same with my devout Catholic Mom...FWIW.
Its a pretty good line :D
Great fun song. An excellent counterpoint to the album's seriousness and density. Much clever and interesting than subsequent pop tunes Knoffler would write on the next years. As some others said in the comments, it has a perfect place in the album, between the first two deep songs and the last two equally deep tracks. Very good reaction, as always.
So glad you have been playing Love Over Gold.I bought in on vinyl in the early 80s, and have been playing it ever since.One line in Industrial Disease which always makes me laugh is , "I don't know how you came to get the Bette Davis knees" :)
It's a bit of musical satire, not meant to be a musical masterpiece. I love it. Makes me smile.
I always liked this. Perhaps you have to have lived in Britain through the 70s and experienced the strike culture and high absence level from sickness that people claimed were due to their work environments.
I just discovered you the other day. I saw your reaction of the epic Telegraph Road. I had to see your reactions to the rest of Love over Gold.I needed to see if you "got" them, since they were very cerebral. Yes they had pop hits, but it was always about Mark's songwriting. If they got a hit, so be it. I'm, subscribing. Looking forward to catching up!
Dire Straits has been my favorite group since I saw them on the Love Over Gold Tour in November of 1982 (I was 15 y/o). They had me hooked since Sultans in '79, and I continue to follow Mark's solo endeavors because his songwriting is without compare.
BTW, this has always been my 2nd favorite song on the album. It's basically a commentary on the downsides of industrialism. I hope you hit all the songs on the Making Movies album.
It’s got a nostalgic upon nostalgic feel. The Farfisa 99 tears organ, with the actual time this tune was a MTV staple. Bowie, no, sorry don’t hear it. Made me feel younger while hearing this goofy song. Had forgotten of its existence.
As far as the job, stressful at times, but, I get to hear anything I want musically… first time anywhere.
Can’t be all bad aye.
Peace and Music and Rhythm
A brilliant, hilarious romp. Knopfler's amazing lyrical journey is such a joy. Killer guitar, as always. Always brings a smile to my face. This has always been a strong #3 on list of my favorite Dire Straits albums. With "Making Movies" #1, and the debut a solid #2.
I think lyrically, on this track, Knopfler has taken cues from Bob Dylan and Ray Davies from The Kinks. There's definitely a Britishness about his Dylanesque rhymes.
That's what I thought as well
Best movie depiction of Industrial Disease is in the movie "Joe Vs. The Volcano", where Joe, played by Tom Hanks, is working at a factory office, in the sickest work environment one could imagine.
You can die of infected wound paper cuts.
@@highpath4776 "I'm not asking if he could GET the job, I'm asking if he could DO the job!"
Top 5 Dire Straits song, just for the lyrics. It was a successful single in my part of the U.S. in 1982, when a lot of retro-rock (Stray Cats, etc.) was dominating the charts. IMO the vocal style is more Dylan than Bowie. Lots of singers were on the Dylan bandwagon at the time (Springsteen, Tom Petty, etc.)
Thinking about the time period my guess is this was made to get radio play. Telegraph Road did not make them money to do what they wanted to do which was to record more albums. It’s hardly a bad song but it’s not the Dire Straits we were accustomed to hearing. I played it on my 3pm Friday radio show because it was upbeat. I’d say those killing it because it’s not as moody as the rest of the album are not applying the necessary context. It’s fun, well-constructed and the lyrics are hysterical. The title track will get everything here righted though, and right quick.
Not the most interesting song on the album, but it works quite well in context. Fun fact: the "Brewers Droop" diagnosis in the middle is also the name of a pre-Dire Straits Mark Knopfler band in the 70's.
This is one of my favoriteDire straits songs
Just found your channel, very entertaining reactions! Especially enjoyed "Telegraph road" and "Private investigations".
If you liked the lyrical wittiness but would enjoy a bit more musical approach, I would recommend the song "My parties" by Dire Straits from their album "On every street". And of course there's a ton of other great songs there too, like my personal favorite Dire Straits song "Planet of New Orleans ".
I really like this cut - a little lighter, more fun, almost a novelty song.
Do you need to start putting warning labels on some reviews? or best before dates (referring to songs that are past their prime)?
A song and a great review.
This is a jaunty tune, they sound more English on it. It was released as a single with the non-album song 'Badges, Posters, Stickers and T-Shirts' as the b-side. Knopfler also wrote 'Private Dancer' which he gave to Tina Turner, it was a hit for her. The song 'The Way It Always Starts' wound up on his own solo album "Local Hero", a film soundtrack.
This was a great summer driving song. Lyrics make me laugh.
Lyrical masterpiece...
Some of my favorite Knofler guitar. I agree with a previous statement "Making Movies" is my favorite DS album.
This is the "OK, we've done the intense opener and second track, now for some fun" track. I think the mood change rather caught you off balance. Personally, once I'd dived into the lyrics, it really connected with me. Maybe something to do with the humour and particularly UK-referenced segments. Give this one time and it'll turn into an ear-worm that you just can't ignore.
When I first heard this song l thought that this is a song that I am going to enjoy for years to come, what's not to love about it! 😉 Catchy melodies and humourous lyrics.
Sultans of Swing has classic guitar playing by Mark Knopfler but Industrial Disease is my favourite Dire Straits tune. Cheeky, intelligent and imaginative lyrics loaded with social commentary, great guitar work and organ.
Love the lyrics to this one.
I really never thought of which album or song from Dire Straits is the best or my favorite. I just bought them one by one and played them in my car enjoying the ride song by song... but that’s me of course. Saw them once in the early 90s and geez was that a concert. Not one tune wrong, they had the audience in their hands.... one of my best concert memories
ABSOLUTE MUST HEARS,, THE STRANGLERS "WALK ON BY",, "SKIN DEEP" & "STRANGE LITTLE GIRL"
I agree with your first two choices, but Strange Little Girl? 😒 5 Minutes for me is one of the best!
@@keithjones6023 I Just Wanted To Give A Wider Variety Of Their Music & I Agree With Your Choice,, Trust Me,, I Would Liked To Have Named Many More..Including In Honor & Memory Of Dave Greenfield,, "And If You Should See Dave"...R.I.P.
I love this song live in Sydney Final Concert 1986 you find on UA-cam. Great Live band
Great song. 82 was the year I graduated high school. Special song for me
My favorite dire straits song EVER
The Next song Love over gold has always been one my favourites. Mark Knophler is such a great lyricisit.
This is my favorite Dire Straits song. I like the music and the lyrics are brilliant!
The keys in this song are god like ethereal.
i love the light heatred side of knopflers writing.
The Song That Started It All,, DIRE STRAITS "SKATEAWAY"...Toro,, Toro Taxi.
Love this album.. You need to check out Tunnel of Love from the Making Movies album. It has some of Mark's best guitar playing.
Beautiful melody, I like it.
This is one of those songs that make sense musically and lyrically if one listens to album straight through. To my ears it serves an important purpose on the album, if one treats the entire album as a complete whole. This can be missed if one explores the album one song at a time (which is often unavoidable in a reaction video). I do hope after you've gone through the rest of the album that you will go listen to it straight through for the complete experience, if time and inclination allows. (These videos must be time consuming! I hope the work you put into this enriches you're life as much as it enriches ours).
Why do "they" so often make electrical cords so short on so many things?! Is the extension cord lobby so powerful, more powerful than (dare I say it) the air conditioning repair cartel? :-)
This song has so much meaning Today
Love the new intro graphics JP! I just love this track and shill it to my circle all the time. Can’t get enough of the guitar effects at the intro and throughout. Great lyrics and love Knofler’s delivery. Hope you never catch Brewers Drip! 💧😎👍
Brewers Drip sounds like beer draft lol
@@JustJP impotence caused by imbibing to much of the amber nectar
It’s brewers droop
Simply put, Knopfler is couching his real anger with humor.
I have this bands box set and I need to listen to them haha this is getting me wanting to delve in. Thanks JP!
Even when he's being funny his vision is spot on.
Disposable, throwaway blues rock number after the perfection that is side 1. Hints at some of the sound on 'Brothers In Arms' to come. Not a favourite. Thankfully back on track with the title track.
According to Wikipedia, "The background and subject matter of the lyrics was ostensibly the decline of the British manufacturing industry in the early 1980s, describing strikes, clinical and economic depression, and societal dysfunction. However, the song is an extended metaphor, with the idea of the dehumanising routine and repetition of the nine-to-five itself as the real culprit of society's malaise. About halfway through the song, the narrator goes to the doctor, only to be told his own illness is diagnosed as industrial disease."
Brothers in Arms doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Love Over Gold.
@@magicbrownie1357 Fully agree, although this track does veer in that direction unlike the rest of the other, sublime material on Love Over Gold.
Mildly entertaining satire from Knopfler. Just a generic song at the musical level. I also really dislike that keyboard theme: so cheesy and 80s. Springsteen similarly abused early 80s keyboards. They'd have been better off sticking with technology from the 70s that had more tonal warmth to them. Sigh. But in many ways that is a hallmark of the 80s, which is also when digital recording and effects came into practice.
Knopler has gotten a lot of flack over the years for some fluffy work, both from the critics searching for something deep and the public wanting something more banging and less twee from their guitar heroes. I'm ambivalent.
@@jeremyb5640 You make a good point0. But often when the lyrics are the point of a song, the music takes somewhat of a back seat.
Just a fun song by a great band
I agree, but some commenters don't seem to have a sense of humour! 🙄
Heavy Dylan influence on this track the delivery and the lyrics
I think you don’t know about the UK back then. I don’t know all but here goes. Back then, all sorts of industries there merged, but didn’t work together to emerge stronger. Instead they competed internally as divisions. So the UK fell through as an industrial force. Nearly all big companies were paralysed by strikes day in day out. And then Maggie went to the Falklands, basically to say ‘we’re still great’. This is a tongue-in-cheek protest song, it’s just funny where others were serious. The message is the same
It's weird, I remember this track note for note, line by line, sound by sound... and I haven't listened to this song in maybe 25 years. And it's far from being any of my favourites of theirs, I even remember not really liking it at all. But since I had the record on vinyl, couldn't be bothered to skip the track. I guess I must have listened to DS a lot back in the day.
Oh, wait; that's right, I did.
Nice reaction Justin 👌
Hey Justin! Now just don't lose the remote! Lol!😎
Oh man can you imagine 😅
Re: the "sixties" sound: now that you say it, yeah, it's got a "surf rock" vibe...
To me, this is the Dire Straights equivalent of "Cool for Cats" by Squeeze.
And the cool piano hook reminds me of "Rushing" from Moby's PLAY album...
Trivia: Mark Knopfler was in a band called Brewers Droop in his early days.
This is my second favorite Dire Straits song . Of course Sultans Of Swing is number 1. Then comes Skateaway number 3
As I remember around that time Industrial Disease was a common phrase in the UK media when talking about the country's failing industry. I think this was the single on the album put on to please the record company, they all had them, so why not make it funny,
I could see Bowie as part of the vocal blueprint here, although like others below, my mind first went to Bob Dylan. I've never really listened to Dire Straits before because I had them mentally filed as "dad rock", and this song at least fits the bill, in that it sounds like a dinky pastiche of 50s, 60s, and 70s rock styles just slightly slicked up for the 80s. It's certainly catchy, but I'm not convinced yet that it brings anything interesting to the table.
Dire straits full of surprises not sure if you have checked out making movies yet. I feel their zenith album love you love Dire straits
Now you have a remote, how about a mains lead for the camera, I believe it saves on batteries! Just a thought.
Another prog fan who likes Knopfler's avuncular vocals and creative guitar. He did several movie scores including Local Hero and Princess Bride. Check the 9/11 song If This Is Goodbye by him and Emmylou Harris, it will break your heart.
Nothing really too stand out in this song. And as a long time music aficionado - artists/albums/songs have a high bar to reach my already seriously crowded 'playlist.' Nothing embarrassing by this band yet also nothing to separate their music from so many other 'medium' acts to necessitate much further exploration. Maybe - perhaps - there could be that 'extra time' to listen to artists that I haven't fully fleshed out - I'll be able to seek out their - at least to me - hidden gem. Don't hear Bowie on this track - but as I have in the past with Dire Straits - I do often hear a confluence of Dylan and Springsteen. As a fan of one and not the other it would make sense that I'm lukewarm about Dire Straits.
Oh man...JP....please do 'Skate away' by Dire Straits...
I'd say his presentation is more like Dylan, than Bowie. Definitely check out "6 Blade Knife" and "Calling Elvis"
This was our "go -to" song for playing hackey-sack. My friends and I would put this on repeat and kick some bag around for hours. This track always felt like it belonged on a different album, but that's OK.
Yes, the song would have fitted well on Making Movies album.
@@keithjones6023 I was thinking the same. Or even the EP that has Twisting By The Pool and Two Young Lovers. They could have expanded that and made an LP.
No idea why, but this song (which I've always liked) always brings Lilly The Pink by The Scaffold to mind. Odd.
I also see something of Marc Bolan TRex in the music style.
Bette Davis Knees (is that a joke on Bette Davis eyes ?). Dr Parkinson (could be either Michael Parkinson as a TV interviewer asking questions of guests or as in the shakes of Parkinson''s Disease)
Cue the old joke: Did you hear about the guy with Parkinson's Disease - he kept trying to interview people.
I consider industrial disease to be their best song
Opening similar to 'Walk of Life' from the next album.
Cheque out
Twisting by the pool (EP)
This was released in between
Makin Movies & Love over Gold
This was Walk of life before walk of life.
This song was okay I suppose I don’t have this cd for that long so I can’t really give it what I think of it, but you’re right with the tone of the song it doesn’t pull me in like the other 2 have onto the next song. 🎵🎶🎹🎸
My favourite Dire Straits song -- so funny!
I agree, but some commenters don't seem to have a sense of humour! 🙄
I'm surprised UA-cam didn't put a Wikipedia warning banner under your video.........
Sounds like you liked the song more than you think you did. BTW, you always have the most interesting shirts.
Haha ty Quintin😃
It's a terrific sock dance tune! Plus, the lyrics are frighteningly portentious of the coming AI pandemic! But for now, friends, let's just have fun with it!
I'm ok with it being the shortest track on the album.
Good one JP. Rather than Bowie, how about think Squeeze? ... Same time, (loosely) same feel and early eighties social commentary in Britain in the time of Thatcher's industrial strife.
What is a Betty Davis sneeze? Is it something narley?
U should react 2 "The Ikon" by Todd Rundgren's Utopia!!
“Two men say they’re Jesus, one of them must be wrong!”
Love your facial hair! Mark Knopfler is a guitar God
Ty so much Deb! :D :D
At some point, you really should consider reacting to Dire Straits Making Movies. Such a great one of theirs.
Making Movies a superb album, that is until you come to the last track. HATE IT!!!
@@keithjones6023 can't argue that, but it's a rare album that just has one mediocre song on it.
@@BrianR. While we are on the subject of the great Making Movies album, l have to come clean and say I'm not mad about Romeo and Juliet either 😒. Tunnel of Love and Skateaway more than make up for those two though! Just a few more of their best songs for me are Once Upon a Time in the West, Where Do You Think You're Going? (an all time favourite) Water of Love, Southbound Again. Many fans argue that BIA album is the best one they did, l personally think it's great, but some of the songs are maybe a bit too long. I can forgive them for that with the superb title track, but one of my favourite DS songs ever is The Man's Too Strong, just love it! Iron Hand has a similar feel to it on On Every Street album, a little bit underrated that album, love title track and the superb Planet of New Orleans. A shame they disbanded, who knows what might have come next, I've got a couple of Mark's solo albums, but not quite as good 😔.
Love this fun song. I think the doctor is hilarious! No epic here, Telegraph Road and Private Investigations were. Just a fun song to lighten the mood :-)
Yes a fun song, some commenters in my view have a different take on the song and not seen it for what it is, as you said, just a fun song, simple really 😏
@@keithjones6023 I still have the Dance EP of Twisting By The Pool. Another just for fun project by Dire Straits :-)
This song is the most "commercial" of the tracks on the album, dominated by the synthesizer hook.. It does live in the mountain-like shadow of Telegraph Road's greatness though, in my opinion. Great lyrics, biting wit and cynicism by Knopfler with his story telling ability.
Nice review, but you didn’t get all the references because you didn’t live in Britain in the 70s and 80s! It was a time of high inflation, and frankly the management of companies was often incompetent, so there was a lot of conflict between management and workers. Dr Parkinson is a reference to C Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993) who came up with “Parkinson’s Law”: “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. Speakers’ Corner is in Hyde Park in London, where anybody can speak about anything (even if it’s nonsense).
If I had to compare this song to another band, it would be 10CC... future reaction?
If you are looking for humourous lyrics, look no further than first two 10cc albums. The Hospital Song, Sand in my Face, Hotel and Baron Samedi great tunes, Speed Kills though is one of my favourites.
I suspect that this song may not hit with you as the lyrics don't connect with you... This isn't so much about Health and Safety as the Workers against the Management/Owners. This is very much of its time. In the UK there was a lot of Industrial unrest around the time that this was written so the lyrics chime so well with that. You are to young to be aware of it so I get why it doesn't connect. As you say, great production and I think it needs to be seen as an album song as a whole.. It's a little bit of light relief. A fun song even though it's quite topical. This always made me smile when I listened to it back when it was released.. Keep on rocking..