Berlin [Remaster]

Performer: Lou Reed
Artist: Steve Winwood; Michael Brecker; Randy Brecker
Engineer: Robin Black; Peter Flanagan; Robin Black; Peter Flanagan
Producer: Bob Ezrin
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Lou Reed (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards); Lou Reed; Steve Hyden, Dennis Ferrante, Elizabeth Marsh (vocals); Jon Peirson (trombone); Allan MacMillan (piano, keyboards); Allan Macmillan (piano); Tony Levin , Jack Bruce (bass instrument); Gene Martynec (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, synthesizer); Dick Wagner (vocals, guitar, electric guitar, background vocals); Steve Hunter (guitar, electric guitar); Michael Brecker (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Randy Brecker (trumpet); Jon Pierson (trombone, bass trombone); Bob Ezrin (piano, Mellotron, drums); Blue Weaver (piano, keyboards); Steve Winwood (harmonium, organ, keyboards); Aynsley Dunbar, B.J. Wilson (drums). Liner Note Author: Michael Hill. Recording information: Morgan Studios, London, England. Photographer: St.Jivago de Sanges. Arrangers: Bob Ezrin; Allan MacMillan. After the success of his glam-rockish TRANSFORMER, the expectation was that Lou Reed would plow deeper into commercial territory. As usual, Reed delighted in confounding expectations. BERLIN is a song cycle that uses the decadence of its namesake and some Brecht/Weill-esque orchestrations to tell a story of two psychically damaged people and their doomed relationship. (Aided by Berlin producer Bob Ezrin, Pink Floyd would attempt a similar feat several years later on THE WALL). Far from the rock-star poses of TRANSFORMER, BERLIN is lyrically and musically frank and blunt. The arrangements move from sophisticated, arch orchestration to naked-sounding acoustic sparseness, but the words are uniformly unflinching in their depiction of violence, addiction, and desperation. Not for the faint of heart, BERLIN is a harrowing journey through the aforementioned tribulations, and one of Reed's most unusual, demanding, but ultimately rewarding albums.

Q (5/92, p.103) - 5 Stars - Indispensable - "...a melancholy masterpiece...places Reed's dry narrative in sophisticated settings..." The Wire (6/00, p.37) - "...Fascinating....Detailing a couple's breakup, a woman's breakdown and her eventual suicide.....succeeding despite itself..." NME (Magazine) (9/18/93, p.19) - Ranked #33 among The Greatest Albums Of The '70s. NME (Magazine) (8/12/00, p.29) - Ranked #28 in The NME "Top 30 Heartbreak Albums" - "...Heartbreak. Heroin. Dubonnet on ice. Reed poured all this badness into this bitter and twisted masterpiece..."

Lou Reed is among the most literate wordsmiths in rock & roll history. His first decade of post-Velvet Underground work included some undeniable high points (BERLIN, the David Bowie-produced TRANSFORMER) but he was plagued by inconsistency. Reed came back with a vengeance in the '80s and '90s, though, producing some truly powerful work (THE BLUE MASK, NEW YORK). Throughout his solo career he's collaborated with everyone from former bandmate John Cale to avant garde theater king Robert Wilson. Through it all, Reed remains the quintessential urban poet, and undoubtedly one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century.

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