Thanks for the info...Listening to this, I literally found myself saying aloud, "Wow." I'm baffled at how I missed this whole Lou Reed phase. Really amazing stuff. I see myself buying the catalog soon. And it all came from the movie trailer. Go figure.

From Financial Times:

'Why do I have to go through this?'
By Ludovic Hunter-Tilney

Published: June 21 2008 01:35 | Last updated: June 21 2008 02:30

If for some masochistic reason you wish to experience the full force of Lou Reed's contempt, then try mentioning his concept album Berlin's reputation as the most depressing album ever made.

There is an ominous pause. "You know, I don't like to have to sit through interviews and hear that," the notoriously irascible Reed finally growls. "I consider it illiterate."

Berlin, which was made in 1973 and is being staged in a European tour starting next week, tells the story of a promiscuous junkie mother with a violent boyfriend who kills herself after her children are taken into care. It is hardly designed to put a spring in the step of the listener, even by the standards of a songwriter whose work is amply versed in nihilism and depravity. Yet Reed argues, ill-temperedly but not altogether unreasonably, that Berlin is no gloomier than many books, plays or films.

"What do you think the ending of Hamlet is?" he bristles. His laconic drawl rises pettishly. "I don't want to have to defend myself. Why do I have to go through this? I didn't write it for critics, I don't read critics and I don't want to have to respond to people I don't read or like in the first place. How much clearer can I make it?"

Phew. Reed is a famously antagonistic interviewee whose booze- and drug-fuelled bouts with gonzo rock critics such as Lester Bangs in the 1970s are the stuff of legend. Even at the age of 66, tai chi and clean-living having long ago replaced the excesses of youth, the Velvet Underground singer maintains an almost pathological suspicion of journalists, who are assumed to be hostile, or, failing that, soft, contemptible.

In Berlin's case, his habitually prickly air of defensiveness is sharpened by the album's decades of neglect. Greeted by savage reviews when it came out in 1973 – Rolling Stone magazine labelled it "patently offensive" and predicted it would end Reed's career – the album flopped and plans to stage it were shelved.

Over time it acquired cult status as Reed's "lost" masterpiece and was finally performed in New York in 2006 in a lavish production featuring an orchestra and a children's choir. The stage set was designed by the artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel, and there was an accompanying film made by Schnabel's daughter that starred the French actress Emmanuelle Seigner .

Speaking from New York (asked for a more precise location, the gnarled godfather of underground rock offers: "Downtown. Always downtown"), he bridles at my description of the album's rehabilitation. "Brought back to the fore," he suggests. "Revisited. We didn't change anything, it wasn't brought up to date. 'Rehabilitate' means there was something wrong with it in the first place."

Berlin occupies a curious point in Reed's solo career. Between 1965 and 1970, he experienced crushing commercial failure in the Velvet Underground, one of the most important bands in rock history yet also, in their lifetime, one of the worst-selling. It was not until 1972, when he released his solo album Transformer and its hit single "Walk on the Wild Side", that he tasted chart success.

His decision to follow Transformer with a rock opera about suicide, drug abuse and domestic violence was characteristically, magnificently obdurate. Unsurprisingly, his brief tenure as a pop star evaporated. "Did it ever," he laughs. "Yes. It certainly did. Boy, did that put an end to that."

The urge to create a concept album was not so eccentric, however. Reed has always been a superb narrative songwriter, recounting stories in a hard-boiled, conversational singing style . It was not much of a leap to taking a whole album to tell a story. "I'm the guy with a BA in English who's studying drama, so it's not far-fetched to think what I might do given half the chance. That kind of writing, but with drums and guitars. There you have it."

Reed grew up in a middle-class Jewish household in suburban Long Island and attended Syracuse University. He identifies a short story by one of his tutors, the poet Delmore Schwartz, as a turning-point in his own development as a writer. "'In Dreams Begin Responsibilities'", Reed says, "changed my life entirely and shaped the way I write, and everything along with it". It taught him the virtue of simplicity. "I don't think there's a single polysyllabic word there. The world shook for me when I read it."

Berlin's lyrics recount its protagonists' grim story in a detached, numbed fashion. Caroline and Jim are American expats in Berlin, a city Reed had never visited but whose cold war dividedness appealed to him. Caroline, the speed-freak, "should have the word 'trouble' on her forehead", he explains of his characters. The vile Jim, who exults after Caroline's death that he should have broken both her arms, is condemned mildly by Reed as "not a winner by any stretch".

"Be careful who you throw a rock at when you're taking the higher ground," he adds. "I think everybody tries to do the best they can with the cards they're dealt. That's about as many clichés as I can put together in one sentence." He laughs. The earlier thunderclouds have disappeared as suddenly as they formed.

As well as being rehabilitated – sorry, revisited – on stage, Berlin has been turned into a concert film by Reed's old friend Schnabel, director of last year's Oscar-nominated The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, who filmed the New York concert in 2006. The film opens with Schnabel telling the audience that Reed's proud mother is in attendance; a suggestive introduction, considering the album's theme of tragic or bad mothering. Reed is astonished into laughter by the linkage. "That's completely invalid," he says. "Julian did that because my mother was there ... It wasn't done for that reason, put it that way. Nice thought, though."

The compliment is not to be mistaken as a green light to probe his tumultuous personal history. Interviews with Reed in 1973 when he was about to make Berlin depict him as pallid, puffy, whisky-sodden and remote. His marriage to his first wife was collapsing as he made the album. (He is now married to Laurie Anderson, a performance artist and musician.) It is hard to ignore autobiographical echoes in Berlin, with its themes of sexual jealousy, self-destruction and emotional breakdown. Yet Reed rejects any links between his private life and his work. "That's right," he says in a dangerous sing-song voice, like a Hollywood serial killer.

So does he think there is a kind of Berlin Wall separating his life from his art? "Very clever," he allows (we are on volatile ground). "I ... write. It should all be very real. And I've done it long enough now that I am what I am." A gnomic pause brings the shutters down on the topic.

I mention something he said in one of those interviews in 1973. Reed initially is horrified ("You're going to ask me to comment on a so-called interview from 30 years ago?") but the quote itself amuses him. "I would like to live to a ripe old age," his younger self told Bangs, "and raise watermelons in Wyoming."

"That's not a bad goal," he laughs. He thinks for a bit, and then updates it. "I would love to have a tai chi meditation ranch somewhere in upstate New York with a couple of Harleys and not have to charge people any money to learn it. And just put music out and hope that someone gets as much out of listening to it as I got out of making it. It's the only thing I know how to do."

The 'Berlin' tour begins in the Marquee, Cork, on Monday. Julian Schnabel's film 'Berlin' opens in UK cinemas on July 25

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cc
nice pick-up, jomo. It's one of his heavier rocking albums, sort of a 70s rock sound with noisier guitars. My favorite album, The Blue Mask from 1982, is also a great guitar album, but with a more Velvets-y edge, and tighter songwriting.

going back into the post-Berlin 70s, Coney Island Baby, Street Hassle, and The Bells are all creative and interesting listens and have held up really well. All more gritty and serious than "WOWS" but with their mellow moments too.

Yeah, Street Hassle with it's unbelievable mix of Jazz, Trash, chamber music, Velvets-style, live recordings and studio work, wrapped in this strange Binaural Sound. Just listen to "Dirt"! Would anybody dare this approach today?? Sorry for going OT, but I just played Street Hassle many times recently, and I think it holds up extremely well.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2008-06-27 15:25 by Greenblues.

If there's just one Lou Reed album overdue for a CD reissue, it's STREET-HASSLE. The original CD has been out of print for years and was, unbelievably, not included in the set of Arista albums reissued a few years back. It was by far his most celebrated Arista album so I can't figure why they didn't reissue it -- I think they reissued every one of his titles *except* that one (even his "comedy" album TAKE NO PRISONERS). There must be some snag holding it back (Springsteen perhaps? though I can't imagine he would have any say in the matter at this late date...).

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Glam Descendant
If there's just one Lou Reed album overdue for a CD reissue, it's STREET-HASSLE. The original CD has been out of print for years and was, unbelievably, not included in the set of Arista albums reissued a few years back. It was by far his most celebrated Arista album so I can't figure why they didn't reissue it -- I think they reissued every one of his titles *except* that one (even his "comedy" album TAKE NO PRISONERS). There must be some snag holding it back (Springsteen perhaps? though I can't imagine he would have any say in the matter at this late date...).

Lou's entire 70s/80s back catalogue was reissued in Japan in those lovely "album replica sleeves" (including New Sensations and Growing Up In Public, both of which had been out of print on Cd for a good while). The sound was substantially improved on Street Hassle, The Bells, New Sensations et al.

But I agree, Street Hassle is a masterpiece. I don't have a favourite song there, because they're all superb - every one of them a revelation, every one of them unique. Wish he'd play that album top to bottom next.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-06-27 10:22 by Nikolai.

Thanks for that info Nikolai. I bought all the other Arista albums on cd on a mid-90s trip to Amsterdam, just about a year before they were reissued in the US with new remastering, liner notes, etc. The only ones I don't own are S-H and NEW SENSATIONS.

So, do I need to replace any of my original Arista albums on CD do you think? Also do you know if the last BERLIN remaster included the instrumental section at the end of the title track, that I remember from my 8-track copy?

edited to add: I know NS wasn't an Arista title but it may read like I thought that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-06-27 10:17 by Glam Descendant.

I just remember the first CD-release of "Street Hassle" here in Germany happened in the early Nineties, shortly after the Box set "Between Thought and Expression" came out. I didn't like the artwork, though (they had altered the front, placing a donwsized front pic placed on a colour font. Luckyly I already head an American Edition with the "real" front (I'm very fond of it) and the LP of course.

And Glam Descendant, my latest reissue item of "Berlin" (Digipack-Cover with original Artwork) is no remaster, but merely a retro-design (more faithful to the original colouring, compared to the previous edition (still widely available)). This previous edition to my knowledge is the only remaster of Berlin, at least here in Germany. The re-packed edition just came out because of the current Berlin tour.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-06-27 15:24 by Greenblues.

Thanks for that info. All of the artwork on my copies sucks. Even if BERLIN doesn't reinstate the instrumental bit from the 8-track (do you know if it does?) I should get it if it reproduces the photo booklet.

No it doesn't include the instrumental :-( But it still looks much nicer than the standard edition. I'm quite sure the whole booklet is included (I'm at work right now and can't take a look, though)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-06-27 15:29 by Greenblues.

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Glam Descendant
Thanks for that info Nikolai. I bought all the other Arista albums on cd on a mid-90s trip to Amsterdam, just about a year before they were reissued in the US with new remastering, liner notes, etc. The only ones I don't own are S-H and NEW SENSATIONS.

So, do I need to replace any of my original Arista albums on CD do you think? Also do you know if the last BERLIN remaster included the instrumental section at the end of the title track, that I remember from my 8-track copy?

edited to add: I know NS wasn't an Arista title but it may read like I thought that.

If you've got the remastered Arista albums - Growing Up In Public, The Bells and Rock N Roll Heart (Street Hassle wasn't remastered/included in the series) which appeared on the Buddha label with extra tracks around 1999/2000, then you won't need to replace them with the Japanese copies. Ok, I bought the Japanese versions too, but they don't have extra tracks. And they don't sound as good as the remasters.

The Berlin remaster doesn't include the 8 Track instrumental. Lou is rumoured to be remastering Berlin for an expanded reissue next year, but, as with all rumours, take it with a crate of salt. New York was meant to be getting reissued this year, but that hasn't happened.

New Sensations ad SH are well worth getting. They sound great. Punchy.

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Glam Descendant
Thanks for that info. All of the artwork on my copies sucks. Even if BERLIN doesn't reinstate the instrumental bit from the 8-track (do you know if it does?) I should get it if it reproduces the photo booklet.

The Japanese "mini lp" edition reproduces the full booklet. It's NIIIIICE.

I may have said this before, but I would love to hear a "broken-down" version of Street Hassle, with comparisons of the original live tracks and the layers of overdubs he added to get that disorienting sound on the finished album. There are a number of decent bootlegs from '77, but surprisingly few where he plays songs that would be on the album...? You'd think he would have done them repeatedly so that he had more performances to choose from.

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cc
I may have said this before, but I would love to hear a "broken-down" version of Street Hassle, with comparisons of the original live tracks and the layers of overdubs he added to get that disorienting sound on the finished album. There are a number of decent bootlegs from '77, but surprisingly few where he plays songs that would be on the album...? You'd think he would have done them repeatedly so that he had more performances to choose from.

Indeed. He barely played any of those songs on the 77 tour.

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Baboon Bro
Yeah, I keep on 'atin'him, I've done that since Day One.
He once said on Jim Morisson:
"I didnt feel sorry for him not even when he died."
Thats the words of a jealous man.

I remember this story - something like: "I couldn't care less about that stupid California person. When we all heard it was like, 'Oh, in Paris? In a bathtub? Oh,how fabulous!"

I am excited for this though. Love Lou, love Berlin ("The Kids" in particular is absolutely harrowing); and I like Schnabel's style - Basquiat was fantastic. Thanks, GD.

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cosmoprim

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Baboon Bro
Yeah, I keep on 'atin'him, I've done that since Day One.
He once said on Jim Morisson:
"I didnt feel sorry for him not even when he died."
Thats the words of a jealous man.

I remember this story - something like: "I couldn't care less about that stupid California person. When we all heard it was like, 'Oh, in Paris? In a bathtub? Oh,how fabulous!"

I am excited for this though. Love Lou, love Berlin ("The Kids" in particular is absolutely harrowing); and I like Schnabel's style - Basquiat was fantastic. Thanks, GD.

You're a fan of Basquiat, the film, too? I love it. I watch it a couple of times a year. All the performances were great - Jeffrey Wright was incredible.

Great show yesterday. I never saw him before. The show lasted 2h15min.
And this is always a nice souvenir:

Where did you see him? Brussels? Catching the pick you must have been one in the front rows, I reckon...

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Greenblues
Where did you see him? Brussels? Catching the pick you must have been one in the front rows, I reckon...

I had 7th row seats. At the end of the show he threw the pick away on stage
After the show, while everybody was leaving, a went in front, asked a rodie if he could pick it up for me and lucky for me he did.
Impossible to do at a stones show

Yeah, absolutely impossible at a stones show... Your experience reminds me of seeing Chris Spedding in Hamburg playing in front of 40-50 people. Afterwards I went to the stage where Spedding was about to pick up his gear (!). I payed him my compliments and asked him to sign a Stratocaster back plate I'd brought along. He was in a very bad mood..."erm...why not" and finally signed it. Now, this kind of reaction is what you'd expect normally from Lou... But I'd have loved to see him on this tour. I sadly missed his German gigs this time. So, great to hear you had fun in Brussels! ;-)

Saw Lou at the Albert Hall last month. Great gig. A tad better than the Hammersmith shows last year, I thought, because the backing vocalist was a lot more understated. The children's choir were exceptionally plummy too - minded their ps and qs, dotted every i, crossed every t - in a Harry Potteresque kind of way, which actually provided a great counterpoint to what was coming out of Lou's mouth.

Power of the Heart was the final encore. Much better live than the version you can download via his site.

Im gonna see him this sunday.What can I expect??I never saw him live. I heard that he got an choir of kids...thats doesnt sound good to me...

the kids are amazing, at least the group who did Berlin in NYC in 2006 were. They only sing on a couple of songs, but they nailed the segue from "The Bed" into "Sad Song." It was intense! I hope someone keeps the mood light for them offstage.

Riffbuk, you might want to listen to the Berlin album before Sunday, if you've never heard it before.

Yeah, Riffbuck, then you'll agree that the children's choir is essential to certain tracks... it's not the usual stuff you'd expect from a choir.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-18 11:26 by Greenblues.

Thanks for your tips cc and Greenblues! I will tell you on monday.Btw did anyone seen Leonard Cohen on this tour?? He playing in Lisbon this saturday!!

Lou says there may be more Berlin:

[www.nme.com]

Saw him here in Virginia USA at the end of April. He wasn't doing Berlin at these shows, which were apparently warm-ups for his current European tour. Good show although the pacing suffered from a couple of protracted slow-song stretches. Interesting that he brought back Steve Hunter who was playing some very nice lead guitar.