"Love over Gold" | |
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Song by Dire Straits | |
from the album Love over Gold | |
Released | September 20, 1982 |
Recorded | 1982 |
Genre | |
Length | 6:15 |
Label | Vertigo |
Songwriter(s) | Mark Knopfler |
Producer(s) | Mark Knopfler |
"Love over Gold" | ||||
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Single by Dire Straits | ||||
from the album Alchemy: Dire Straits Live | ||||
B-side | "Solid Rock" [1] | |||
Released | 10 February 1984 [2] | |||
Recorded | 1983 | |||
Length | 3:36 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Mark Knopfler | |||
Dire Straits singles chronology | ||||
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"Love over Gold" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits. It is the fourth track and title track from the band's 1982 album. [3] A shorter live version of the song, taken from the album Alchemy: Dire Straits Live, was released as a single. [4]
The protagonist of the text is a fragile, inconsistent and standoffish female figure. [5] Musically, the song has an elegant jazz-influenced arrangement, built around the dialogue between Knopfler's guitar and the Mike Mainieri's vibraphone. [5] [6] Rolling Stone describes "Love over Gold" as "a whispery ballad that plays the jazzy tingle of vibes against an almost classical piano air and the violinlike pluck of a synthesizer to heighten its images of a casual, even cavalier, sex life." [7]
"Love over Gold" reached its highest position in France (No. 15), [6] while peaking at No. 29 in New Zealand, No. 43 in the Netherlands [8] and No. 50 in the band's native United Kingdom. [9]
The live version of the song was included on the 1998 compilation Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits, [10] while the original album version was included on the 2005 compilation Private Investigations: The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler. [11]