Berlin
	Produced by Bob Ezrin
	Released on October 1973
	UK CHART POSITION #7 . . . US CHART POSITION #98
	Find it at GEMM
AYL1-4388 cover [high resolution photo]

O pinion is still divided as to whether Berlin is a brilliant, harrowing journey into hell on earth or simply an overblown bummer. This loose concept album, produced by master of the genre Bob Ezrin, never reaches any real conclusion; bad things happen to people, and both the users and the used are painted with the same brush by Reed. With an impressive array of studio musicians, Ezrin creates a mix of rock and small orchestra that casts Reed’s bleak narrative in an unconventional but evocative setting. Good songs abound, some giddy in their own warped way (“Caroline Says I,” “Oh, Jim,” “How Do You Think It Feels,”), others heart-renching (“Caroline Says II,” “The Bed”), and none of them less than powerful. Reed’s delivery is a study in understatement; like Bob Dylan, subtle inflections speak volumes. Berlin also marks the beginning of Reed’s brief but fruitful relationship with guitarists Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner, whose skills would be put to better use on the subsequent live album, Rock ‘N’ Roll Animal. While the whole effect is draining, Berlin is argubaly Reed’s finest artistic moment. He’s never been more compelling as a singer, with subtle shades of emotion couched in protective detachment. The result is an album with characters that feel real. As a culmination of the dark storytelling that Reed explored with VU and on his own, listeners had gazed at the belly of the beast before, but some were still unprepared for Berlin’s long, unblinking stare.

AYL1-4388 back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. BERLIN    3:23
2. LADY DAY    3:40
3. MEN OF GOOD FORTUNE    4:37
4. CAROLINE SAYS I    3:57
5. HOW DO YOU THINK IT FEELS    3:42
6. OH, JIM    5:13
7. CAROLINE SAYS II    4:10
8. THE KIDS    7:55
9. THE BED    5:51
10. SAD SONG    6:55
    
    All songs written by Lou Reed. Arranged by Bob Ezrin.

CREDITS

LOU REED -- vocals and acoustic guitar, choir
MICHAEL BRECKER -- tenor sax
RANDY BRECKER -- trumpet
JACK BRUCE -- bass
AYNSLEY DUNBAR -- drums
BOB EZRIN -- piano and mellotron, choir
STEVE HUNTER -- electric guitar
JON PIERSON -- bass trombone
DICK WAGNER -- background vocals and electric guitar, choir
STEVE WINWOOD -- organ and harmonium
Dennis Ferrante -- choir, engineering
Steve Hyden -- choir
Tony Levin -- bass (8)
Allan Macmillan -- piano (1)
Elizabeth March -- choir
Gene Martynec -- acoustic guitar, synthesizer, vocal arranging, bass
Blue Weaver -- piano (3)
B.J. Wilson -- drums
Robin Black -- engineer
Peter Flanagan -- engineer
Richard Kewzey -- overdubbing
Pacific Eye & Ear -- album concept & design

For more discographies visit...

© 2005 Connolly & Company. All rights reserved.