Private Investigations
Compilation album by
Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler
Released11 November 2005 (2005-11-11)[1]
GenreRoots rock
Length77:12 (CD)
135:52 (2CD)
137:57 (2CD-U.S.A.)
Label
Dire Straits chronology
Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits
(1998) 		Private Investigations
(2005) 		The Honky Tonk Demos
(2015)
Mark Knopfler chronology
One Take Radio Sessions
(2005) 		Private Investigations
(2005) 		All the Roadrunning
(2006)

Private Investigations: The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler is the third compilation album by Dire Straits and Scottish-born British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler, released in 2005 by Mercury and Vertigo internationally, and Warner Bros. in the United States. Named after their 1982 hit single, the album consists of material by Dire Straits, with songs selected from the group's six studio albums (excluding the 1979 album Communiqué) from 1978 up through the group's dissolution in 1995. It also features work from the solo career of the group's singer, songwriter, and guitarist Mark Knopfler, including some of his soundtrack material.

The only previously unreleased track on the album is "All the Roadrunning", a duet with country music singer Emmylou Harris. It was released as a single, reaching #8 in the UK.[2] The United States version omits "Darling Pretty", but adds "Skateaway".

Release

Private Investigations was released in four different versions:

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]

In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek gave the album four out of five stars and praised the 2CD release, describing a 1CD version as "a silly thing at best and a hopelessly frustrating one at worst." He concluded that "This is not only a fine collection for fans because of its wonderful sequencing, but the best introduction to the man and the band that one could ask for."[3]

Track listing

All songs were written by Mark Knopfler, except where indicated.

Single disc version

No.TitleArtist; original albumLength
1."Sultans of Swing"Dire Straits; Dire Straits, 19785:48
2."Love over Gold"Dire Straits; Love over Gold, 19826:16
3."Romeo and Juliet"Dire Straits; Making Movies, 19806:00
4."Tunnel of Love" (Extract from "The Carousel Waltz" by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II)Dire Straits; Making Movies8:10
5."Private Investigations" (Edit)Dire Straits; Love over Gold5:57
6."Money for Nothing" (Single edit, featuring Sting; Knopfler, Gordon Sumner)Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms, 19854:04
7."Brothers in Arms"Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms6:57
8."Walk of Life"Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms4:08
9."On Every Street"Dire Straits; On Every Street, 19915:03
10."Going Home (Theme from Local Hero)"Mark Knopfler; Local Hero soundtrack, 19835:00
11."Why Aye Man" (Radio Edit) (featuring Jimmy Nail & Tim Healy)Mark Knopfler; The Ragpicker's Dream, 20024:09
12."Boom, Like That"Mark Knopfler; Shangri-La, 20045:49
13."What It Is"Mark Knopfler; Sailing to Philadelphia, 20004:56
14."All the Roadrunning" (featuring Emmylou Harris)Mark Knopfler; All the Roadrunning, 20064:49
Total length:77:13

Two-disc version

Disc one
No.TitleArtist; original albumLength
1."Telegraph Road"Dire Straits; Love over Gold14:20
2."Sultans of Swing"Dire Straits; Dire Straits5:48
3."Love over Gold"Dire Straits; Love Over Gold6:16
4."Romeo and Juliet"Dire Straits; Making Movies6:00
5."Tunnel of Love" (Extract from "The Carousel Waltz" by Rodgers and Hammerstein)Dire Straits; Making Movies8:10
6."Private Investigations" (Edit)Dire Straits; Love over Gold5:57
7."So Far Away"Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms5:07
8."Money for Nothing" (featuring Sting)Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms8:24
9."Brothers in Arms"Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms6:57
10."Walk of Life"Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms4:08
11."Your Latest Trick"Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms6:29
Disc two
No.TitleArtist; original albumLength
1."Calling Elvis"Dire Straits; On Every Street6:24
2."On Every Street"Dire Straits; On Every Street5:03
3."Going Home (Theme from Local Hero)"Mark Knopfler; Local Hero soundtrack5:00
4."Darling Pretty"Mark Knopfler; Golden Heart4:43
5."The Long Road (Theme from Cal)"Mark Knopfler; Cal soundtrack7:17
6."Why Aye Man" (Radio Edit) (featuring Jimmy Nail & Tim Healy)Mark Knopfler; The Ragpicker's Dream4:09
7."Sailing to Philadelphia" (Extended Album Version) (featuring James Taylor)Mark Knopfler; Sailing to Philadelphia5:53
8."What It Is"Mark Knopfler; Sailing to Philadelphia4:56
9."The Trawlerman's Song"Mark Knopfler; Shangri-La5:02
10."Boom, Like That"Mark Knopfler; Shangri-La5:49
11."All the Roadrunning" (featuring Emmylou Harris)Mark Knopfler; All the Roadrunning4:49
Total length:135:52

Two-disc American version

Disc one
No.TitleArtist; original albumLength
1."Telegraph Road"Dire Straits; Love Over Gold14:20
2."Sultans of Swing"Dire Straits; Dire Straits5:48
3."Love Over Gold"Dire Straits; Love Over Gold6:18
4."Romeo and Juliet"Dire Straits; Making Movies6:00
5."Tunnel of Love" (Extract from "The Carousel Waltz" by Rodgers and Hammerstein)Dire Straits; Making Movies8:10
6."Skateaway"Dire Straits; Making Movies6:35
7."Private Investigations" (Edit)Dire Straits; Love over Gold5:59
8."So Far Away"Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms5:07
9."Money for Nothing" (featuring Sting)Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms8:24
10."Walk of Life"Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms4:08
11."Your Latest Trick"Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms6:29
Disc two
No.TitleArtist; original albumLength
1."Calling Elvis"Dire Straits; On Every Street6:24
2."On Every Street"Dire Straits; On Every Street5:03
3."Going Home (Theme from Local Hero)"Mark Knopfler; Local Hero soundtrack5:00
4."The Long Road (Theme from Cal)"Mark Knopfler; Cal soundtrack7:21
5."Why Aye Man" (Radio Edit) (featuring Jimmy Nail & Tim Healy)Mark Knopfler; The Ragpicker's Dream4:09
6."Sailing to Philadelphia" (Extended Album Version) (featuring James Taylor)Mark Knopfler; Sailing to Philadelphia5:53
7."What It Is"Mark Knopfler; Sailing to Philadelphia4:56
8."The Trawlerman's Song"Mark Knopfler; Shangri-La5:02
9."Boom, Like That"Mark Knopfler; Shangri-La5:49
10."Brothers in Arms"Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms6:57
11."All the Roadrunning" (featuring Emmylou Harris)Mark Knopfler; All the Roadrunning4:49
Total length:137:57

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[36] Platinum 70,000^
Belgium (BEA)[37] Platinum 50,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[38] Platinum 40,000^
Germany (BVMI)[39] Platinum 200,000‡
Ireland (IRMA)[40] 2× Platinum 30,000^
Italy (FIMI)[41] Platinum 50,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[42] Platinum 15,000^
Poland (ZPAV)[43] Platinum 20,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[44] Platinum 20,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[45] Platinum 80,000^
Sweden (GLF)[46] Gold 30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] 4× Platinum 1,200,000‡
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[48] Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ [1][dead link]
  2. ^ "Mark Knopfler ••• Top Songs as Writer ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts".
  3. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Private Investigations: The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  4. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler – Private Investigations - The Best of". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler – Private Investigations - The Best of" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
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  7. ^ "Ultratop.be – Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler – Private Investigations - The Best of" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
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  9. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler – Private Investigations - The Best of" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
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  24. ^ "Lescharts.com – Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler – Private Investigations - The Best of". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  25. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
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External links

Dire Straits
Mark Knopfler
Authority control databases
Categories