He played his 1938 National Style O 14 fret guitar (serial number B1844)[nb 1] on "Water of Love" and "Wild West End".

[7] "Sultans of Swing" was re-released as a single in the UK in November 1988 to promote the greatest hits compilation Money for Nothing, released in October that year.

[8] The album was remastered and reissued with the rest of the Dire Straits catalogue in 1996 to most of the world excluding the U.S. and on 19 September 2000 in the United States.

[10] In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album "remarkably accomplished for a debut".

[11] Erlewine praised Knopfler's "spare, tasteful guitar lines and his husky warbling" and his "inclination toward Dylanesque imagery, which enhances the smoky, low-key atmosphere of the album".

[11] In his review for Rolling Stone, Ken Tucker wrote that the band "plays tight, spare mixtures of rock, folk and country music with a serene spirit and witty irony.