Communiqué (Dire Straits album)

Communiqué is the second studio album by the British rock band Dire Straits released on 15 June 1979 by Vertigo Records internationally, Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Mercury Records in Canada. The album produced the single "Lady Writer", which reached #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #51 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached #1 on album charts in Germany, New Zealand, and Sweden, #11 in the United States and #5 in the United Kingdom. Communiqué was later certified gold in the United States, platinum in the United Kingdom and double-platinum in France.

Communiqué
Studio album by
Dire Straits
Released15 June 1979
Recorded28 November – 12 December 1978
StudioCompass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas
GenreRoots rock
Length42:24
Label
ProducerBarry Beckett, Jerry Wexler
Dire Straits chronology
Dire Straits
(1978)		 Communiqué
(1979)		 Making Movies
(1980)
Singles from Communiqué
  1. "Lady Writer" / "Where Do You Think You're Going?"
    Released: 13 July 1979

Recording

Communiqué was recorded from 28 November to 12 December 1978 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, and mixed in January 1979, in New York. The album was produced by Barry Beckett and Jerry Wexler, veteran producers from Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.

Release

Communiqué became the first album ever to enter the German charts at number one in its first week of release, while their debut album, Dire Straits was still at the number three position.

Communiqué was remastered and released with the rest of the Dire Straits catalogue in 1996 for most of the world outside the United States and on 19 September 2000 in the United States.

Artwork

The album cover was designed by Hothouse, art directed by Alan Schmidt with the cover illustration by Geoff Halpin.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]
Christgau's Record GuideB-[2]

In a 1979 review for the Birmingham Daily Post, Jonathan Daümler-Ford called it a "competent record", but wrote that "the songs sound like pale imitations, or the cuts which were not good enough for Dire Straits".[3] In his retrospective review for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann gave the album two and a half out of five stars, writing that the second album "seemed little more than a carbon copy of its predecessor with less compelling material."[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mark Knopfler.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Once Upon a Time in the West"5:25
2."News"4:14
3."Where Do You Think You're Going?"3:49
4."Communiqué"5:49
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Lady Writer"3:45
2."Angel of Mercy"4:36
3."Portobello Belle"4:29
4."Single-Handed Sailor"4:42
5."Follow Me Home"5:50
Total length:42:24

Personnel

Dire Straits

Additional personnel
  • Barry Beckett (credited as B. Bear) – keyboards and producer
  • Geoff Halpin – illustrations
  • Gregg Hamm – mix engineer
  • Bobby Hata – mastering
  • Bob Ludwig – remastering
  • Jack Nuber – engineer
  • Thelbert Rigby – tape operator
  • Alan Schmidt – art direction[4]
  • Jerry Wexler – producer
  • Paul Wexler – mastering supervisor

Charts

Albums

Communiqué spent 32 weeks on the UK Albums Chart. [5]

Chart (1979) Peak
Austria Albums Chart [6] 7
Germany Albums Chart [7] 1
Spanish Albums Chart[8] 1
UK Albums Chart[9] 5
US Billboard 200 [10] 11

Sales and certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[11] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[12] Gold 25,000[12]
France (SNEP)[13] 2× Platinum 509,000[14]
Germany (BVMI)[15] Platinum 500,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[16] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[17] Gold 7,500^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[18] Platinum 100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[19] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[20] 3× Platinum 150,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[22] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

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References
Notes
    Citations
    1. Ruhlmann, William. "Communiqué". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
    2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: D". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 24 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
    3. Daümler-Ford, Jonathan (18 August 1979). "Spin Off". Birmingham Daily Post. Retrieved 30 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
    4. Communiqué (booklet). Dire Straits. Burbank, California: Warner Bros. Records. 1979. p. 11. 947770-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
    5. "Dire Straits - Albums". Official Charts. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
    6. "Dire Straits - Communique". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
    7. "Dire Straits - Communique". Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
    8. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959-2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
    9. "Dire Straits - Albums". Official Charts. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
    10. "Dire Straits - Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
    11. "Canadian album certifications – Dire Straits – Communique". Music Canada.
    12. "Dire Straits" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
    13. "French album certifications – Dire Straits – Communiqué" (in French). InfoDisc. Select DIRE STRAITS and click OK. 
    14. "Les Albums Double Platine :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
    15. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Dire Straits; 'Communiqué')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
    16. "Dutch album certifications – Dire Straits – Communiqué" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Communiqué in the "Artiest of titel" box.
    17. "New Zealand album certifications – Dire Straits – Communique". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
    18. "Sólo Éxitos 1959-2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979-1990" (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. ISBN 8480486392.
    19. "Swedish Gold For Straits" (PDF). Cash Box. 12 January 1980. p. 26. Retrieved 17 February 2020 – via American Radio History.
    20. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Dire Straits; 'Communique')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
    21. "British album certifications – Dire Straits – Communiqué". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Communiqué in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
    22. "American album certifications – Dire Straits – Communique". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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