Love Over Gold is the fourth album by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 20 September 1982 by Vertigo Records internationally, and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album produced two singles: “Private Investigations”, which reached the number 2 position on the UK Singles Chart, and “Industrial Disease”, which reached the number 9 position on Billboard’s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks in the United States. The album reached the number one position on album charts in Australia, Austria, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom, and the number 19 position in the United States. Love Over Gold was certified gold in the United States, platinum in France and Germany, and double-platinum in Canada and the United Kingdom.
Following the end of the On Location Tour on 6 July 1981 in Luxembourg, Mark Knopfler began writing the songs for Dire Straits’ next album. Alan Clark (keyboards) and Hal Lindes (guitar), who joined the band for the On Location Tour, would also be involved with the new album.
Love Over Gold was recorded at the Power Station in New York from 8 March to 11 June 1982. Knopfler produced the album, with Neil Dorfsman as his engineer—the first in a long line of collaborations between the two.
Knopfler used several guitars during the sessions, including four Schecter Stratocasters—two red, one blue, and one sunburst—a black Schecter Telecaster, an Ovation classical guitar on “Private Investigations” and “Love Over Gold”, a custom Erlewine Automatic on “Industrial Disease”, and his 1937 National steel guitar on “Telegraph Road”. Knopfler also used Ovation twelve- and six-string acoustic guitars during the recording.
Several songs were written and recorded during the Love Over Gold session that were not released on the album. “Private Dancer” was originally planned for the album, with all but the vocal tracks being recorded. Knopfler decided that a female voice would be more appropriate and handed the song to Tina Turner for her comeback album, Private Dancer. “The Way It Always Starts” ended up on Knopfler’s soundtrack to the film Local Hero, with vocals sung by Gerry Rafferty. “Badges, Posters, Stickers and T-Shirts” was cut from the album and later released in the UK as a B-side to “Private Investigations”. It was subsequently released in the United States as the fourth track on the ExtendedancEPlay EP.
Love Over Gold was released on 20 September 1982 on vinyl LP and cassette. “Private Investigations” was released as the lead single from the album in Europe, It reached the number 2 position in the United Kingdom. “Industrial Disease” was released as a single in the United States, reaching the 75 position on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983.
The album was remastered and released with the rest of the Dire Straits catalogue in 1996 by Vertigo Records internationally, and in 2000 by Warner Bros. records in the United States. The remastered CD features slightly altered cover art; the album title is rendered underneath the band name, both in larger type, rather than arranged across the top. The image of lightning is also somewhat zoomed in and made brighter, making for a more purple colour. It is the only remastered Dire Straits CD with altered cover art.In his review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars, noting that the addition of a new rhythm guitarist “expands its sounds and ambitions”.Erlewine added, “Since Mark Knopfler is a skilled, tasteful guitarist, he can sustain interest even throughout the languid stretches, but the long, atmospheric, instrumental passages aren’t as effective as the group’s tight blues-rock, leaving Love Over Gold only a fitfully engaging listen.”
In 1986, Love Over Gold had sold 4.4 million copies in Europe, whereas the album had only reached gold status in the United States by that stage.
Track listings
All songs were written by Mark Knopfler.
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Telegraph Road” | 14:20 | |
| 2. | “Private Investigations” | 6:47 | |
| 3. | “Industrial Disease” | 5:50 | |
| 4. | “Love Over Gold” | 6:18 | |
| 5. | “It Never Rains” | 8:00 | |
|
Total length:
|
41:15 | ||
