The first foray into the album world for Dire Straits takes place in 1978.

I remember walking down the road at 18 with my reasonably bulky radio jammed up against my ear (against my mother's wishes, against my arm's wishes and before the more discreet Sony Walkman was born) listening avidly to "Sultan's Of Swing". It certainly put a bounce in the step.

Mesmerised by this new sound that had been wrung out of a guitar, I dashed off the buy the album.

I wasn't disappointed then,although "Setting Me Up" has for some reason always grated on me, but looking back over their illustrious career I realise that this isn't necessarily the best indicator of what was to come.

"Water Of Love" is swayingly seductive in a tropical-rhythm type way. "Wild West End" is very soothing listening. "Sultans of Swing" is, thank the Lord, "Sultans Of Swing", probably their defining track. The rest are made up of toe-tappy numbers and the occasional tune I can only describe as jerky rock.

A must for all die hard Dire STraits fans, but then if you are a die hard Dire Straits fan you'll have this already. For others, I would suggest a quick skim through the tracks to see if it's what you're looking for.