Lou Reed, Berlin revisited
Added 7/8/2009
This dvd captures a performance of searing power and sobriety. From Heroin to Berlin to Magic and Loss what marks Lou Reed out is his ability to handle tragedy, Tragedy as the Greeks understood it, as Shakespeare did, the ability to take you down to the depths and somehow leave you purged and exalted.
If you don't know the original album 'Berlin' from 1973, buy both and listen to the original first. If you didn't get to see him do it live, this dvd offers some compensation. If you were one of the lucky ones, well, you've already got a copy by now, haven't you?
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Excellent DVD, incredible sound (even if "Berlin" is not a favorite of yours)
Added 6/11/2009
I'm going to assume that if you've clicked thru to this product description, you are at least familiar with Lou Reed's "Berlin" album, so I'll dispense with a critique of the album itself. While it was never one of my personal favorites in his catalogue (I favor "Transformer", "The Blue Mask" and "New York" over "Berlin"'s exceptional bleakness/depressing themes, but that's my own opinion), if "Berlin" IS one of YOUR favorites, then you should consider this review to be a five-star rating, and go out and get this DVD immediately. The reason I say that is that this DVD has not only a good-to-great performance, but the sound quality (in 5.1) has a ton of presence and sounded terrific on my home theater, and is extremely well-produced. Nice camera work, but the double exposure/projections sometimes rendered it a bit too arty for my tastes (though I `get' what they were going for, since there's a story here, so this was probably never going to be a `straight concert film' esp. with someone like Schnabel directing). Reed's band this time out is comprised of alumni of his band over the years, including Steve Hunter (wow!), Rob Wasserman, Fernando Saunders, and Antony Hegarty (who takes a nice turn on vocals on "Candy Says", which is also performed), Jane Scarpantoni, etc, so the chops are in the house, plus there are horns and a choir (so the songs are completely fleshed out). As I said before, the sound is excellent - but I would've expected no less from Bob Ezrin and Hal Willner (who have also previously worked with Reed) - excellent mix and you can really hear each instrument in sharp detail, so make sure you play this on a system that's worthy. Reed and band play "Berlin" in its entirety, then add on a couple of songs ("Candy Says", "Rock Minuet" and "Sweet Jane") for good measure. I guess one of the best things I can say about this (aside from everything I've already said) is that it has me reaching for my copy of "Berlin" on my shelf, to give it another spin/reconsideration. (There are also a couple of extras on the disc - the trailer, some tour footage, and a brief clip of Reed and Schnabel on Elvis Costello's talk show).
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Uncle Lou
Added 5/15/2009
Have long been Lou fan. This album was pretty hard to get in to way back. to see it performed live with his great band [ Fernando Saunders is so cool], backing vocals, strings and the angelic voice of Antony, is a sound and visual delight
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Excellent!
Added 5/14/2009
I'm not going to go into any deep anaylsis of Berlin or it's creator Lou Reed. Let me just say this is the best rock and roll dvd I've seen in a long time (and I've seen a lot!). Do yourself a favor! Go get this one!
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Mr.New York is still rockin'
Added 1/15/2009
Short and sweet.This DVD is excellent from start to finish.Berlin is done with brilliance.Lou has a top notch band behind him,along with the director Julian S.,who is as intense as the music.I'm so glad Lou did this live DVD because it is truly a remarkable piece.If you are familiar with the original.Get it,you definately will not be disapointed.I watched it from start to finish 4X already,with the surround sound cranking(My B&W's never sounded better)Lou is the original Transformer.Cheers..............
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