Berlin (album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Berlin | ||
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| Studio album by Lou Reed | ||
| Released | 1973 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 49:26 | |
| Label | RCA | |
| Producer(s) | Bob Ezrin | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| Lou Reed chronology | ||
| Transformer (1972) |
Berlin (1973) |
Rock N Roll Animal (1974) |
Berlin is a 1973 album by Lou Reed, his third solo album and the follow-up to the widely accessible and upbeat glam rock classic Transformer. What was surprising about this release was that it is in direct contrast to its predecessor: Berlin is a very bleak and sad album, widely believed to be among the most depressing albums ever recorded. In 2003, the album was ranked number 344 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
On the other side of the coin, it is also ranked among the best of the concept albums the 1970s had to offer, a tragic, loose musical tale about a doomed couple amid themes of drug use and depression. Response was not good upon its release, as fans and critics were expecting another upbeat glam outing. As time has gone by, a growing number of Reed's fans have come to believe this album to be among his best as a solo artist.
"The Kids", a very sad song telling of a woman having her children taken from her into care, contains a particularly upsetting mid-section featuring the sounds of children shouting for their mother. This segment is so harrowing that a legend has arisen telling how producer Bob Ezrin went home one night and told his children that their mother had (in different versions) either left them or died, and recorded their response. Later, Ezrin dispelled this myth, stating that he had just asked them to cry for the recorder, and that his younger child got carried away with the game. In actuality, Joshua Ezrin, Ezrin's youngest son, was locked out of the recording studio by his mother Arlene Sarner, and while he was pleading to be let back inside, his cries were recorded and put on the album. The Waterboys take their name from a line in this song.
"Sad Song" references Mary I of Scotland in its initial verses:
- Staring at my picture book
- She looks like Mary, Queen of Scots
- She seemed very regal to me
- Just goes to show how wrong you can be
[edit] Track listing
Side One:
- "Berlin" – 3:23
- "Lady Day" – 3:40
- "Men of Good Fortune" – 4:37
- "Caroline Says (I)" – 3:57
- "How Do You Think It Feels" – 3:42
- "Oh, Jim" – 5:13
Side Two:
- "Caroline Says" (II) – 4:10
- "The Kids" – 7:55
- "The Bed" – 5:51
- "Sad Song" – 6:55
[edit] References:
Reed, Lou. Berlin. RCA, 1973.
Produced by Bob Ezrin for Nimbus 9 Productions Ltd.
Arranged by Bob Ezrin and Allan Macmillan
[edit] Personnel:
Michael Brecker, tenor sax
Randy Brecker, trumpet
Jack Bruce, bass (except "Lady Day" and "The Kids") [appears courtesy of Columbia/Windfall Records]
Aynsley Dunbar, Drums (except "Lady Day" and "The Kids")
Bob Ezrin, piano and mellotron
Steve Hunter, electric guitar
Tony Levin, bass on "The Kids"
Allan Macmillan, piano on "Berlin"
Gene Martynec, acoustic guitar, synthsizer and vocal arranging on "The Bed," bass on "Lady Day"
Jon Pierson, bass trombone
Lou Reed, vocals and acoustic guitar
Dick Wagner, background vocals and electric guitar
Blue Weaver, piano on "Men of Good Fortune" [appears courtesy of A&M Records, Inc.]
B.J. Wilson, drums on "Lady Day" and "The Kids" [appears courtesy of Chrysalis Records Ltd. and Strongmand Productions Ltd.]
Steve Winwood, organ and harmonium [appears courtesy of Island Records Ltd.]
Choir: Bob Ezrin, Dennis Ferrante, Steve Hyden, Elizabeth March, Lou Reed, Dick Wagner.
