Can we talk about... My Parties :)

[dmg]

Ticket to Heaven always reminds me of the character Professor Joe from the James Bond film Licence to Kill! 

As a album though, I think it's great and probably agree that I enjoy it more than BIA too.  Tracks like PONO, Y&YF, FTB, CE, and the title track and all brilliant.  Then things like WICTY, IH and so on are very good too!

I like that it has a little bit of country rock in places because that's something Mark does really well I think.  Chet's influence there maybe.

[burgerkalif]

Well, while maybe not most interesting piece, musical-wise, the lyrics are to die for at times:

Let's hear it for the dolphin
Let's hear it for the trees
Ain't runnin' out of nothin' in my deep freeze

Still relevant today. Maybe even more than in '91.

[dustyvalentino]

and "My Parties" is a cross between Randy Newman and Rodney Dangerfield-a singing tour of a rich moron's house: "Step inside my home/That's a brass toilet tissue holder with its own telephone/That's a musical doorbell-it don't ring, I ain't kiddin'/it plays `America the Beautiful' and `Tie a Yellow Ribbon.' "

Knopfler has decided to drop "My Parties" from the album because he thinks the joke will get old after a couple of listens. This is appalling to the others, who consider "My Parties" a great track. The final decision's not open and shut; for this album, Knopfler has for the first time shared record production with Illsley, Fletcher and Clark.

Quoted from an article about Dire Straits in Q-Magazin, Oct 1991. Here (http://www.odabasi.net/dsint1.htm) you can read the full article, which is very interesting (I've read it hundred years ago, but couldn't remember it anymore)

MK was right, the joke got old quickly

[Knut]

I suspect it might have been a decent live song to throw in now and then. Room for some licks and small solos here and there.

I'd be surprised if it wasn't rehearsed for the tour. But it's not my fav on the album, too low key and the outro is just too long.

[burgerkalif]

Not my favorite either, musically it's too fad. But is has that certain Knopfler underplayed sarcasm to it, which I've always adored.
Just listened to the title track again, and it's a downright brilliant song.
As a whole I think the album is a bit underrated, as it's stylistically the most varied DS album.

[the visitor]

I like ticket to heaven if only for the strings arrangements, which don't feature on any other DS song. They sound lush.

My Parties is awful. Really bad.

Some great tunes on the rest of the album, a lot of growers. OES itself is a great song.  It's sad and kind of embodies the general feeling for me of DS in that era.

[Matchstickman]

Including My Parties while leaving Millionaire Blues and Kingdom Come off the album...

MP and MB are very similar thematically, but the latter is bluesier and has an edge to it. No doubt, many fans would have preferred it. Frankly, MP sounds like elevator music.

[Love Expresso]

My Parties is a great song, perfectly placed before Planet of New Orleans, great sounding recording with great lyrics, the most cynical from the cynical ones from the cynical MK era. I like it a lot. So, there you have it. 

LE

[Pottel]

always loved it, full stop :-)

[ds1984]

My Parties, minor song to me but I don't skip it.
The only one I use to  skip on the album is Heavy Fuel.