from Berlin

And Berlin is closer to a good book then a traditional rock and roll album.

Despite these unfair labels, we can clearly see that the musicians are having a ball performing. There’s a lot of interplay between them. And yes, even Reed himself is smiling and playful at times. And there’s great chemistry him and the other musicians, especially during a duet between Reed and the singer known as Antony. On Candy Says, there is a back and forth between the otherworldly vocal style of the one and the grit and rasp of the other.

There’s even a band leader at the helm of a makeshift cabaret. And it’s hard to top the sheer sweep of the choir arrangement on Sad Song.

Berlin is Lou Reed at his best. Singing songs about people wallowing in, not only the filth and decay of the city but often of their very souls. The city can be Berlin; it can be NYC. It can be people living in the 1970’s or the 1870’s. It’s about people finding out who they really are, often at their lowest point. It’s dirty and it’s brutal and coming from Reed, you wouldn’t want it any other way.

from Berlin