1978, Dire Straits makes a smashing entry in the European hits by reappropriating the bases of a good old rock n' roll carried by the elegant guitar of Mark Knopfler. Two albums follow, "Communiqué" and "Making Movies", which successfully repeat the recipes of their first opus. Then in 1982 "Love Over Gold" is released, and with this album, the first changes in the band occur. David Knopfler is no longer in the line up, a keyboard player, Alan Clark, appears, and it was Pick Withers' last collaboration on drums.
The addition of keyboards will greatly change the sound orientation of Dire Straits, until now quite basic, bringing an unexpected richness in the arrangements. An atmospheric coloration appears, with as a highlight the unforgettable 'Private Investigations', totally atypical in the band's production (and yet a worldwide success). The song is almost spoken here, which confers to the piece a very touching confidential tone, whose extreme sensitivity is carried to the paroxysm in the instrumental part stripped to the extreme.
The same obvious will to change is present in 'Telegraph Road', an unusually long track for Dire Straits (14 minutes), with its unexpected intro of soaring keyboards and piano preluding the setting up of the good rock that Mark Knopfler is particularly fond of. There is in this long piece a clear will to show all that the group can do, calm or faster passages, impeccable integration of the piano in the rhythmic and the soli, final with the guitar in conformity with what one expects from Mark Knopfler, a progressive launching all in accelerations and a model of effectiveness. Hard to resist to the relentless rhythmic!
The three other tracks are more in the line of the previous productions with notably a big effort of melodic arrangements on a blues background in the eponymous track, foreshadowing what will follow in "Brothers in Arms". 'Industrial Disease' and 'It Never Rains' are less striking.
"Love Over Gold" appears as a transition album for Dire Straits, between the simple, efficient and elegant rock of the beginnings and the relative sophistication of the last two albums. The A side of the vinyl still keeps a special place among the fans for the exceptional quality of the music delivered.