| "Setting Me Up" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Dire Straits | |
| from the album Dire Straits | |
| Released | 7 October 1978 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:18 |
| Label | Vertigo |
| Songwriter(s) | Mark Knopfler |
| Producer(s) | Muff Winwood |
| "Setting Me Up" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Highway 101 | ||||
| from the album 101² | ||||
| B-side | "Long Way Down" | |||
| Released | January 1989 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:49 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Mark Knopfler | |||
| Producer(s) | Paul Worley Ed Seay | |||
| Highway 101 singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Setting Me Up" is a song written by Mark Knopfler. It was originally recorded by British rock group Dire Straits on their self-titled debut album but not released as a single. Ken Tucker in Rolling Stone described the song as a "heavenly number" combining humor with bitterness, despite having a typical messed-up romance theme. [1] Tucker noted that the song's impact is enhanced by the growling tone in Knopfler's singing voice and by the song's country music-style guitar solo. [1] Carly Darling in Billboard Magazine praised the song's rockabilly guitar but criticizes the lyrics. [2]
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The song appeared on Eric Clapton's 1980 double live album Just One Night , with Albert Lee singing lead vocals. [3] Albert Lee also covered the song on his album Hiding, with backing harmonies sung by Don Everly. [4]
"Setting Me Up" is one of five songs that Knopfler's publisher made country demos of without the songwriter's approval, leading to a number of country covers of this and other songs. [5] American country music group Highway 101 covered the song for their 1988 album 101² and released it as the album's third single in January 1989. The song reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in April 1989. [6] Their version features a shared lead vocal by Paulette Carlson and bassist Curtis Stone. [7]
