Following the launch of the Universal “Deluxe Edition” range in 2001, it has become increasingly normal practice for classic albums – and sometimes not-so-classic albums – to be reissued in an expanded format.
At the affordable end of the deluxe reissue scale, such releases normally take the form of a 2CD set, combining the original album of the chosen release with a disc’s worth of b-sides and/or rare and unreleased material. Most of the big bands of the 70s, 80s and 90s have been awarded deluxe reissues, but for years, there had been one very notable absence: Dire Straits.