Released: Fri, 2008/07/25
ARTROCKER RATING:

lou reed's berlin

by Polly Rappaport
With an etheral light bathing the lowered cinema curtain, the audience falls silent and a man takes to the stage to introduce tonight’s event. Meanwhile, Lou Reed paces restlessly in the wings; he’s been waiting a while for this evening – 33 years, actually – and tonight even his mum is here to bear witness. The gentleman making introductions is director Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) and the event is his filmed performance of Lou Reed’s ‘Berlin’.

Originally released in 1973, the record failed to be a hit in the wake of it’s commercially successful predecessor ‘Transformer’ - and thus was never performed live.
even stoic Reed’s stern face eventually blooms into a blissful smile as he exclaims at one of many stunning guitar riffs, "Do that again! Oh my goodness gracious…"
The film picks up in December 2006 in St. Anne’s Warehouse, Brooklyn. It’s here that Reed’s tale of Caroline, her lovers and their ultimate self-destruction is being brought to life and filmed under Schnabel’s direction. The stage is dressed as the green hotel room in which tragic heroine, Caroline, lives. Also occupying the performance space is a seven-piece orchestra, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, a small flock of vocalists including Antony (of the Johnsons) and musicians such as Tony “Thunder” Smith and Steve Hunter. The performance is intimately captured, focusing in on hands playing instruments and shared glances of glee: most of the musicians are grinning from ear to ear and even stoic Reed’s stern face eventually blooms into a blissful smile as he exclaims at one of many stunning guitar riffs, “Do that again! Oh my goodness gracious…” Photobucket As the narrative turns to despair, Reed is palpably moved as he speaks rather than sings ‘Caroline Says II’, barking angrily, “Why is it that you beat me?” Other notable songs include the poignant (and, unfortunately, timeless) ‘Men of Good Fortune’ and ‘The Kids’, which is underscored by the notorious cries of children begging for their mother. Following the end of ‘Berlin’, the audience is treated to ‘Candy Says’, presented as a duet between Reed and Antony, and, in closing, the startlingly graphic Rock Minuet. Schnabel’s film is one of the most beautiful rock documentaries out there at the moment. It’s also a loving tribute to an album that has taken far too long to receive the respect it deserves. LOU REED’S BERLIN IS AT SELECTED CINEMAS FROM JULY 25
  • Ric Rawlins Thu, 2008/05/29 - 1:11pm

    nicely done Polls

    did you actually catch site of Mr Reed in the wings? Did he come out to talk at all?

    • Post new comment

    The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

MORE STORIES ABOUT

Best of 2009

more

Rabbit, Rabbit All Day Long...

Have You Read?

  • Penalties, Brel et Moi, and Kevin Keegan and Alan Curbishley resign

    PARSLEY'S COMMLOCK Travel News : Penalties When I got to the First Capital Connect ticket office there was nobody serving. The one member of staff had left his position to go and tell another (who...

  • Demo kitchen with iLiKETRAiNS

    istavan.jpgiLiKETRAiNS DEMO OF THE WEEK: ISTVAN & THE KOSMAS / DISCO CLUB IMPERIAL DAVE: The song started out pretty promisingly, but it didn’t really develop. It could be just me! Having said...

  • Joe Gideon & The Shark - Civilisation

    Joe Gideon & The Shark - Civilisation from Bronzerat Records on Vimeo. Awesome video from Joe Gideon & The Shark. Sharp white suits, Mark E Smith style monologues and NoMeansNo heavy...

  • Volcano Choir - Unmap

    What we know about Justin Vernon: he’s a fantastic songwriter with a soulful voice, which has slowly but surely found widespread acclaim with Bon Iver. We also found out from the Blood Bank EP...

  • Delia's Gig Guide: 19 November

    Sunday 18th November Monkey Chews – Friend Of The Bride, Looker, Jon byrne, Marcus Mumford Cargo – Wire doo dah – Jackie-o motherfkkkccer5, polly shang kuan band

  • Magazine at the Forum

    PARSLEY’S COMMLOCK Concert Review: Magazine, The Forum 12/02/09 Before I describe what it was like to be at a Magazine concert in 2009, I feel I should let you in on what it was like to be at...

  • Skinny Jeans Can F*** Off

  • Free Papers on Diana, Ryan Air, Private Eye, and Which? (Consumers Association) AGM

    PARSLEY'S COMMLOCK Media News : Free Papers report Diana Inquest When people complain about the media's prurient interests, they often say 'if people didn't buy it then the papers wouldn't print it...

Photos

  • In Pictures: Steve Gullick retrospective

    Legendary rock photographer Steve Gullick has a retrospective at Manchester’s KRAAK Gallery running from March 12th til March 27th, featuring shots taken for NME and Melody Maker as well as his...

  • In Pictures: Tune-Yards, Trash Kit and Think about Life

    To accompany the review of tUnE-yArDs’ Monday gig at Cargo, a few tasty shots of Think about Life, Trash Kit and New England native Merrill Garbus aka tUnE-yArDs. Read the review of the night...

  • In Pictures: Worst Record Covers of the Year

    We have collected some truly heinous examples of recent album covers, from Empire of the Sun’s Star Wars travesty to the banal evil that is Razorlight’s Slipway Fire. Discretionary...

  • In Pictures: Best record covers 2009

    Album art in this gallery was selected based on several simple traits: strong concept, fine graphics including creative typography and general lushness. The first three of ‘The Best Record...

  • In Pictures: Placebo

    Placebo pictures: just in - some photos of Placebo and Brian Molko from last week’s gig at the Glasgow SECC. Also check out the review here

chart

  • the Dirty Dishes - In the Clouds EP

    Ahhhh. I love this. When Jenny Tuite of the Dirty Dishes emailed us at Artrocker.com, there was no extended press drivel or desperate pleadings for promotion, just a simple "Hey there!...

  • Cutting Some Shapes

    Not Squares From: Belfast, Northern Ireland On debut single ‘Asylum’ (Richter Collective) Irish punktronic (we really do love inventing these meaningless genres !) trio Not Squares...

  • Turning Japanese

    The Japanese War Effort From: Scotland, United Kingdom The Japanese War Effort is a one man band, based in Edinburgh. Martin Moog (surely an adopted name otherwise baby he was born to moog...

  • Mondrian, Cakes, Pastries and Mille-Feuille

    There’s a tiny town to the north-east of Paris called Peronne. It’s in the Somme, so it rains a lot, and both the buildings and surrounding countryside are deeply gashed with marks from...

  • Wu Lyf (Finally) and The Great BBC 6Music Sham

    I knew something didn’t add up. The BBC 6Music kerfuffle drags on and on – with more and more music fans, politicians and BBC bigwigs all competing to see who can yelp their opinions...

  • Sleeping With The NME

    Yes Giantess Boston, Massachusetts, United States The current incarnation of the NME may be a pale shadow of itself and struggling with it’s identity, not knowing whether to...

  • EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: Egyptian Hip Hop - Round Pot (This is Horseflesh's Rad Pitt Reincarnation)

    According to This is Horseflesh (the nom de guerre of Egyptian Hip Hop drummer Alex Pierce) this fantastic ‘reincarnation’ of the band’s own "Rad Pitt" was written to...

  • Bromheads: Dedicated mp3

    Bromheads are continuing their free monthly download singles with a genius reworking of ‘Dedicated to the One I Love’, a song made famous by the Shirelles.  Unsubtle mix tape...

  • Japanese Voyeurs new single, track giveaway

    If Wyldman’s recent live review has picqued your interest in Japanese Voyeurs, then you might be interested in their free download track ‘Dumb’.  They’re biffing it out...

  • Sissy And The Blisters, and The Folly Of Rock And Roll Adoration

    Forming a rock ‘n’ roll band is one of the more deceptive and fickle actions a group of young men (and it’s almost always young men) can take. It seems so easy: get a self-...
More MP3s

Blogs