Private Investigations: The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler is the third compilation album by Dire Straits, 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. The United States version omits "Darling Pretty", but adds "Skateaway".
Release Private Investigations was released in four different versions: A single disc (grey cover) A two-disc compilation (blue cover) A two-disc compilation with a booklet (gold cover) A two-disc LP with tracks from the single disc CD version
Critical reception
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."
Track listing All songs were written by Mark Knopfler, except where indicated.
Single disc version
Two-disc version Disc one
Disc two
Two-disc American version Disc one
Disc two
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2005) Peakposition French Compilations Chart Search for Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler under the drop-down menu and click Ok. 4 Greek Albums (IFPI) 8 Irish Albums (IRMA) 10 Chart (2010) Peakposition Chart (2016) Peakposition Chart (2026) Peakposition Greek Albums (IFPI) 1
Year-end charts Chart (2005) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 94 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 42 UK Albums (OCC) 87 Chart (2010) Position Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 56 UK Albums (OCC) 173 Chart (2011) Position UK Albums (OCC) 159 Chart (2012) Position UK Albums (OCC) 181 Chart (2013) Position UK Albums (OCC) 200 Chart (2016) Position Polish Albums (ZPAV) 81 Chart (2019) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 140 Chart (2025) Position UK Albums (OCC) 97
Certifications
References
External links Private Investigations at Mark Knopfler official website