Berlin
Lou Reed
1973
Album Summary
Berlin is the third solo studio album by American musician Lou Reed, released in October 1973 by RCA Records. A concept album, Berlin tells the story of a couple's struggle with drug addiction and abuse. Initially, critical reception was mixed but appraisals of the album have warmed over the years: in 1973 Rolling Stone declared the album "a disaster", but by 2012 the album was ranked No. 344 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
WikipediaLove VU but Lou Reed's solo stuff is real hit or miss with me. Love the album before this, Transformer, with Bowie's production. I'm sure we'll get around to that one. This one is a little too bleak for me though. I found The Kids to be unbearable, skipped the fucking track when it got to the kid crying. He's recycling a fair amount old unused VU material in places. Like the prominent bass by none other than Cream's Jack Bruce, but that's about it.
Casualidades que haya tocado White Light primero de Velvet, todavía sin el debut y ahora aparece primero Berlin antes de Transformer. Está dejando en un lugar extraño al pobre Lou Reed para quien no lo conoce mucho. Creo que este disco puede verse ya sea como una obra de arte de genio macabro o un pozo sin fondo de desesperanza y sonido estridente. No sorprenderé a nadie al decir que mi opinión está en el primer campo. Cuando la gente quizá esperaría otro disco hacia el rock glam después de Transformer este inicia totalmente barroco, con un sonido justamente como si fuera un cabaret de Berlin en los 20s y de ahí comienza musicalmente a saltar, con ese sonido característico en toda canción que se puede saber inmediatamente que, a pesar de ser unas caóticas, otras más romanticonas otras hacia rock, tienen ese sonido de Lou Reed. Puedo entender cierta parte de lo que algunos pudieran criticar en esa inflexión un poco repetitiva y cortada que tiene siempre al cantar y que se nota mucho en este disco pero debo decir que ahí de manera personal me agrada y nunca he tenido problema con ella. Líricamente ha quedado patente que me agradan los proyectos llenos de desolación y de historias trágicas (mira se enamoraron... ahora son drogadictos... ahora les quitaron a sus hijos.... ahhh ahora se suicido! AAAH vale madre que se vaya a la chingada otra persona se hubiera roto los dos brazos!) e incluso fuera de la historia literal tanto la prosa como rima de Lou Reed es como siempre inmejorable hacia lo que se puede interpretar de manera personal al ver el disco como la metáfora de un rompimiento y lo personal que pueden hacerse estas canciones. Un disco concepto que funciona de manera perfecta en su concepto y de manera separada. No tengo ningún punto malo personalmente, es musicalmente variado, atrevido e hipnótico y en su contenido temático perfectamente ejecutado. Como mencioné, puedo entender quizá algo de la crítica y por qué a alguien podría no gustarle (o incluso sentirse repelido de primera instancia y no terminar de escuchar el fondo real del disco), pero para mí es de esos discos que son prácticamente perfectos.
Holy shit this album is sad. As a follow up to transformer I was expecting something along the same lines, but I can honestly say I was caught off guard and also extremely impressed. This album is the definition of “gauntly beauty”- I bet Tim Burton loves it. A really solid listen, but don’t listen to it if you’re depressed cause it won’t make things better
This one is completely and utterly new to me. Have not heard a single Lou Reed song. I don't even think I've actually heard a Velvet Underground song. This is probably the most "difficult" album so far (after 3 days). Some atonal melodies, some depressing subject matter. I, for one, love when a band or an artist is fronted by someone who kind of can't sing. Reed's vocals are the highlight here for me. I can hear how he influenced Bowie, and a handful of other artists. I can even hear a bit of Waters-era Pink Floyd in this. You can also see this being an early form of a rock opera or concept album. I can also hear how Reed influenced a lot of the punk scene. These songs maybe don't 'sound' like punk, but the lyrics are filled with anger, rage, shame, and malaise. I don't think Reed was in a good place when he produced this. The Caroline tracks really stand out to me, as does Oh, Jim and also The Bed. Interesting to end the album with Sad Song, probably the least sad song on the album, and the most heavily produced. I'll have to sit with this a while, but I could see myself coming back to it.
When Spotify finished this album, it jumped to Nick Drake, which I thought was appropriate, because it has the same feeling of sadness and down-and-outness. Nick is more whimsical and poetic while Lou is gritty, blunt and degrading. The arrangements and muddy production add to the feeling of gloom. Kudos for even attempting something like this.
I was expecting this to be much more dirge-like than it was. The subject matter and story is unrelentingly bleak, and I expected there to be no way I could enjoy hearing it set to music. But Lou's voice is the perfect vessel for the unsettling journey, in equal turns sneering, snide, vulnerable and broken. And musically, there's a lot to enjoy here. Orchestral arrangements! Wild drums! That soaring guitar solo in How Do You Think It Feels! Caroline Says I is actually a catchy-number. Others (Berlin, Lady Day) feel like show-tunes in their instrumentation and delivery. Producer and arranger Bob Ezrin would go on to work on Pink Floyd's The Wall, which this feels a lot like a precursor to (especially the wonderful Sad Song's Comfortably Numb-ish strings). Overall I enjoyed this album a lot, dark and devastating as it was.
Je suis sincèrement désolé Lou Reed mais je me suis levé du mauvais pied et tu vas prendre pour tous tes petits camarades à qui j'ai mis 3 alors que je n'étais pas franchement emballé. Maintenant écoute-moi bien petite merde, ce que tu fais est nul à chier, tu n'as pas une once de talent. Que cette critique te serve de leçon mais serve aussi d'exemple à tous ceux qui oseraient s'aventurer dans un style proche du tien.
It was folk rock not really singing but kinda talking o er the music , still good stuff
WOW. I love velvet and have some of his solo stuff ( I even like metal machine music). Never heard this. Fucking masterpiece. Tragic and bleak. Full of emotion, tells a clear story and has amazing instrumentation/ production.
ME voy a arriesgar con éste disco y ponerlos entre los mejores que he escuchado en mi vida. Me gustan los discos conceptuales, tristes, grises, lúgubres y esté definitivamente lo es. Le vi mucho parecido a The Wall, no se si Waters estuvo esvuchando a Lou
I'm partial to storytelling, so I like the concept of a rock opera. I also really like Lou Reed as a lyricist and storyteller, although some of his songs leave me wanting the rest of the story. This album provides that. In my mind, I pictured the songs portrayed by puppets a la the rock opera that Jason Segel's character composes in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." But maybe puppets playing Caroline and Jim would make the tale even more tragic. Listening to the progression of characters through different songs does require a more concentrated effort. And "The Kids," with actual children crying and calling for their mother was really effective at selling the sad tale of Caroline. It also really grabbed the attention of my three year old.
Lou knocks it out of the park with the Storytelling and ambience of this one. Excellent job.
First time listening to this album, I’m a fan of transformer and the VU albums. Wow this was a bleak and haunting masterpiece. Great story telling throughout the album.
Oh, this was great - I've mainly listed to "Transformer" before, but this is much more consistent in tone and quality. I definitely want to revisit it more. Fave track - "The Bed", maybe? There's one hell of a suckerpunch in the lyrics...
Some people just exude coolness. Lou Reed is one of those people. I feel like I should hate this album. It is depressing, but it's not a style I usually like... But it's so fucking good!
Classic Lou Reed album. I am sticking to general consensus here and rate this album as his best one. "Berlin", "Transformer", "Street Hassle" and "New York" are all 5-star albums.
5.0 + Lou Reed set out to create a novel-like album and to me this reads like "Thérèse Raquin" by Emile Zola. He offers us an unflinching look at the insanity of drug addiction - we hear children crying out for "mommy" ("The Kids"), delve into messy sexual liaisons ("Oh, Jim"), feel the humiliation ("How Do You Think It Feels") and witness the violence ("Caroline Says II"). Listening to this record, I can almost inhale the stench of these NYC hovels and see the grime on the counters and walls.
I prefer transformer, but theres beauty to be found here among all the death and sadness.
Thought this would be harder to like than it was but the musicianship is on point here
It’s all over the place and a bit of a mess tbh. But it’s Lou, so it’s still gripping.
Lou Reed is always interesting at least. I don’t love all of his work, but overall this album is very good. Caroline Says II in particular is beautiful.
My loo read this week has been 'Jade: Fighting to the End' by Jade Goody. A terribly heartbreaking account of her winless battle with cancer. As erotic fiction goes, it was a right let down. Her earlier work of being naked and racist on Big Brother was much more stimulating. How am I supposed to keep an erection whilst reading about a dying woman? I'll tell you how - by simultaneously watching Fireman Sam whilst reading. Naughty Norman Price and dying Jade Goody. What a combo.
The opening tune is a great way to start an album. The listener is immediately taken to Berlin. Allan Macmillan's piano playing on the song Berlin has always been among my favourites. It's not the technical ability as much as the sound of his piano. If I bought the same piano would simple notes sound that good? Life's great mysteries. I quite like Lou Reed. The songs on his early albums are much better live since I find his band at that time didn't really let go in the studio. It's still fabulous as Lou always is but the 5 stars will have to wait for his later records. (as I cross my fingers that 1001 will include those later albums)
Heard it, lol. Depressing album for sure when I first heard it. Not my fave Lou Reed. Its fine though.
I used to have this on tape but I never really liked it at the time. 20 years or so on, I quite like this rictus grin dark glam cabaret. I still don't like Ezrin's glossy production which seems at odds with the dark subject matter. I still can't really find a narrative in the songs but it doesn't matter tbh.
Gillar Lou Reed så detta blir säkert nice! Inte alls som hans bästa, hade satt 3,5 om det gick, tror dock sad song väger över så d blir 4
Dakle, evo ga nakon dugo dugo vremena idem slušati, jer mi je ovo propušten album, inače 85. album, a mi smo sad na 418. albumu. Uglavnom, to je Lou Reed, il ga voliš il ne - nakon Velvet Undergrounda se okušao u solo vodama, prije ovog albuma je napravio Transformer jači od ovog albuma, međutim ovaj album se po meni više ističe tema koja govori o upotrebi droge, prostitucija, depresija, obiteljsko nasilje i samoubojstvo. Milina za pročitat a? Uglavnom, Reed u svom punom sjaju (Transformer - Berlin - New York), jedino sam te preslušao, vidit ćemo kasnije.
I liked the album although I haven't listensedto the whole thing, it was definitely interesting and cool. I had never listened to Lou Reed before, but I definitely like it and want to listen to more.
What’s not to like about Lou Reed. As an album it dances between big band rock and roll and ballad style blues, which fits pretty much perfectly with the themes of drug addiction and abuse that run through the album.
I love how dry and sad his voice is. the songs were all really great and “How Do You Think It Feels” was the perfect kind of catchy. a really solid album. 4.5
Loved most of it. The baby crying was absolute torture though. And the parts of songs that were just kind of noise? No thanks. But his voice is perfect and, for the most part, the songs made me feel like I was in a dream.
I think this might just be a work of genius. Ambitious, poetic, fascinating. I leaned five stars but wouldn’t be fair after just one lesson. But the potential is there.
Great album. Seems very maximalist and I love the vocals and instrumentals. It had aged beautifully and sounds like it could’ve come out in the past decade.
Reed sings almost without emotion, and his album has the character of a reportage. Reed's monotone voice and light boogie rhythm practically created a new kind of singer-songwriter, who can be a distant observer and an engaged protagonist at the same time. (7/10) Favourite Tracks: Caroline Says II, Sad Song
Lou Reed certainly has an odd sensibility, but he manages to pull it off somehow. His desire to pull you into some of the darkest corners of the world and force you to look directly at it mixes in an interesting way with his desire to play beautiful music. 4/5
Loved it! Lou Reed has a fantastic voice. The fact that it tells a story is cool, and it ranges across genres. I can see how the critical reception would have been bad due to the cross genre nature of the album, but I thought it was cool how the songs ranged from rock to folk to jazz
Rough around the edges, and a little patchy in places. But this album delivers an amazing story, funky wild and artsy vibes, and some verifiable bangers. It ain’t perfect by a long shot but it’s going to be rattling around in my head for a long while.
This was really good! Added to the list of purchases! Love this generator for bringing me stuff I’d never have actively sought out prior! Really good album!
I'm glad I didn't have this album when I went through the really rough patches in my life.
I'm liking Lady Day. But I feel like this isn't necessarily the best of Lou Reed. Caroline Says and How Do You Think it Feels also decent. Oh Jim also is pretty good. Okay, actually getting into the second half of the album more than the first--Caroline II basically is just Stephanie Says, but slowed down, but it's a great song so I'm willing to overlook it. I like Sad Song a lot too.
Low key... I kinda love Lou Reed (as long as he's not making an album with Metallica). Not quite on the level as his iconic album, but this is damn good.
i really enjoyed the instrumentation here, which imo made up for some weak lyrics from lou reed.
Loved how the cripplingly depressing lyrical content was offset by the beautiful and mostly upbeat arrangements.
Heard before: not entirely Very cinematic, mainly good. Some questionable lyric choices. Sounded very cinematic. Lou Reed is best when he’s not trying to be experimental to be honest - he’s not good at it.
Thé Americanized version of Bowie crossed with Leonard Cohen. One of a kind and equally minimal and lush simultaneously. I particularly love the unexpected turns of images, music and vocals. “Sad Song” starts with beautiful strings and why this song hasn’t exploded onto a cinematic soundtrack is an opportunity waiting to happen.
Well the baby crying and the kid screaming "Mum!" was very disconcerting but I liked most of it
It just sounds epic. Listened for the first time only a few months back. Couldn't believe I'd left it so long. I would watch the imaginary stage show that all these songs are taken from, and have a good cry, I'm sure. The Kids is a real tough listen.
I'm assuming it's not a hot take that I like Lou with Velvet Underground a lot more than his solo career that's been pretty all over the place qualitywise. This is enjoyable, and I use the term loosely because it's a downer of an album if you pay attention to the lyrics. He has better stuff, he has a lot worse stuff. It's worth a listen. A 3.5 I'm bumping up to a 4.
This was a new Lou Reed entry to me - but loved it - same cheery tone musically as Transformer but with a deeper and darker intellectual seedy underbelly lyrically - the characters are real and fully dimensional and the outlook is 30 years ahead of its time. And emotionally Lou takes you down quite some sorrowful alleyways - it’s an artful record.
I really like Lou Reed, his voice is great and his stuff is always so unique. Didn't really know this album despite being one of his big ones. Not as good as Transformer but still good
The first time I heard this album, I thought it was a grim, sad depressing record. I had this on 8-track and the only player was in our windowless, cargo van and when the song, The Kid played, I swear to god I thought there was an actually baby crying inside the van. A haunting song, this didn't help my option of the album at the time. Fast forward 40 years or so, I would put this in the category of Lou Reed's better album, as he's released a handful of duds, sprinkled in with some classics. I wouldn't say it's a classic, but my option of the record has softened and it's definitely more listenable than it was then. It's actually quite good! The 8-track is long gone, all the 8-tracks were stolen when the van was broken into, but I did buy it on vinyl, so I'm not too heartbroken.
Love a concept album and this has all the coolness you'd expect. Caroline says is a great tune
Not too bad, I don't think I'll ever actually be a Lou Reed fan (he can't sing for shit and his songwriting is that clunky "it was acceptable in the 70s" just-before-punk stuff), but at least this isn't going to make me want to kill myself rather than wait for it to finish... unlike some of the albums on this list. 3/5.
It was a dark album. I thoroughly enjoyed it though I doubt I would listen to it often due to the lyrical content.
A few stand out tracks but overall, not something I would listen to start to back on a regular basis.
If you didn't know, you probably wouldn't think this was a Lou Reed album. Mellow, but interesting.
This album is one that needs to be listened to as a whole and not as individual tracks. The story is depressing and covers some dark subject matter (from drug addiction, abuse, getting your children taken away and suicide). I was not a fan of it the first listen (its slow, the music comes in short bursts and the singing is not at all melodic) but after diving into the lyrics you can see how this approach lends itself to the subject of the album. Not the greatest album from lou reed but a great story(though extremely sad)
Not terribly excited by this album. I imagine there will be other Lou Reed albums on the list that I will enjoy more. The tracks that most caught my attention were "The Kids" and "Sad Song."
I just don’t see how this is anything special. Maybe I need to be on heroin. It’s not terrible but nothing I need to hear again.
Not bad, not amazing. Lou Reed reminds me a little of David Bowie. This album was sadder than I expected.
I was hoping I would like this more than I did. It wasn't terrible, but not really great either.
Dark and bleak. Not my favourite album! I know some of the tracks but hadn't ever listened to this in its entirety. Could benefit from more listens. Covid recovery might not be the best time for this one!
Lou Reed tem semelhanças com Bob Dylan a meu ver, a maneira como expõem as ideias é semelhante. Contudo, Lou Reed musicalmente é mais interessante, com instrumentais mais complexos e interessantes. No geral um bom álbum mas não a minha praia. Nota: 5/10
je me suis tormpé lors de mon commentaire precedent, rupwert n'existe pas je parlais evidemment du detestable robwuppert
I liked this one more so than transformer, but it's still a solid 3 to me. Not a bad album, by any means. but not super my style.
The tempo is slow, but has a good build up, and that makes it interesting to listen to 3/5
I love Lou but this one is not my favorite. It has its moments but the arrangements and production are so farcfrombthe velvets as to be almost unrecognizable. Ii does have its moments but just a 3 for me .
Interesting. Completely new to me. I heard a lot of similarities to other rock operas.
There are a few hints of greatness here and there, but I mostly couldn't get into it. Treat it like the concept album it is, and you'll get more out the experience. I probably wouldn't revisit most of these tracks individually. I liked "Men of Good Fortune" and "Caroline Says II" the best.
Talk-singing piano dirges. Liked it but some misses, wasn't feeling Caroline Says. Had a rock opera feel to it. Overall ok, one of those musician names I heard a lot but never really knew the music. Interesting concept album I think.
Un disco difícil pero del que reconozco su valor, mezcla por un lado elementos musicales muy estándares y bonitos (casi pop) con letras súper crudas y desgarradoras y su propia voz que nunca es fácil. Me gustaron algunos arreglos de bajo y el solo de guitarra de Oh Jim.
Bueno... este disco tiene una letra y una temática super densas. Fue un poco como escuchar “wish you were here”, pero con tema de pareja en lugar de tema de padre-hijo, pero no sólo por la letra, sino también musicalmente. Llama la atención el uso de elementos como el llanto, los gritos, etc. Algo muy conceptual, pero que ayuda a la atmósfera sombría del disco. Aunque sí me gustó, lo calificaré con 3 porque no me imagino escuchándolo muy seguido, creo que me deprimiría. Sólo guardé “sad song”, que fue mi canción favorita del disco.
On my own I don't really listen to Lou Reed. In general, there are a few things that I like from Reed, and a bunch of stuff that I would be fine not listening to. This was an interesting listen. Most of the music was okay. A few of the songs had some odd background audio, and I wasn't sure what I thought of some of the backing from instruments from the orchestra. Maybe I'd get more out of it on a second listen. The album probably hangs on to an official "okay"
Weird, strange, and offbeat in a way that only Lou Reed truly ever was. Unfortunately, he never really clicked with me, and this album is no different. It's fine, and I enjoy it in spots, just not as a whole. Favorite tracks: "Caroline Says I", "How Do You Think It Feels"
A very interesting album. Lou reed never does things the traditional way, which is what made him pretty special. This album probably required more listens than I gave it but what I heard it felt ok. Pretty average. 5.2/10
I like Lou Reed's voice, but this album doesn't seem particularly special. I listened and didn't mind it, but it never fully arrested my attention.
On Berlin, old school Lou Reed sings in his crackly drawl It was very nice Candlelight and Dubonnet on ice We were in a small cafe You could hear the guitars play It was very nice Oh honey, it was paradise
Lou has a great voice. Some brilliant songs are written in 5 minutes. Some songs sound like they were written in 5 minutes. I'm sure this album has both.
Wow. Raw and painful and awful and so important. I didn’t enjoy the first half; I HATED the second half and that’s why it’s so good. I need a warm bath.
3.5/5 Love a concept album. The songs on their own are nothing special but together they make a great album.
Better than I expected, 'Men of Good Fortune' and 'The Kids' and 'The Bed' stuck out. Still feels like a 3.5 to me. I am glad I listened and respect the influence, but just not a 4 in terms of my music taste.
Weird Lou but it did get musical. Crying baby freaked me out. Thought it was someone still logged on Teams. I'm a Lou Reed fan from afar.
You have to be in the mood for some Lou Reed, otherwise it just sounds like a dude trying desperately to halftalkhalfsing about bleak shit in order to seem edgy maaaaaaaan.
Nice, would listen again I liked it a lot; extremely torn between a 3 and a 4 Didn't enjoy the vocals though; they felt much too lazy and dispassionate for the really good music. I have a hard time remembering any specific songs after listening, but I remember it being pleasant. I'll come back one day
Lou Reed is one of those artists who is very hit or miss for me. Also depends a lot on my mood that day. Today I was digging this. Not the worst thing he has done but not the best either. 3.5/5
It was similar to Transformer with it's use of orchestra/piano/genre hopping but the songs are nowhere near as memorable. It was pleasant to listen to and I like Lou Reed's voice (he's not a great singer but knows his limit and how to make it an effective instrument). Not bad.
An interesting listen, where Lou Reed's poet conversationalist approach makes the songs compelling without them necessarily being catchy. They are sparse, but do well with a dark tone and style. Lou Reed does "cool" well.
Oooo, I like this one. Dark and intriguing to me. I'll come back to it to listen better to the lyrics, but musically I found it rather engaging.
Good musicianship from the stellar band. Bit overly sad and depressing towards the end. Better than expected, but not going to be playing in the future. 3 for music, but 2 for overall enjoyability.
Mostly solid but unremarkable throughout, but the last couple songs are kind of annoying. I absolutely do not want to hear whining children when listening to music, thank you very much.
I wanted to like it but the production was a little rough around the edges and I didn’t think the lyrics were as compelling as other Lou reed songs
Kolejny Lou Reed na liscie w kolejnosci chronologicznej pojawia z Berlinem z 1973, ktory jest czyms atakujacym w sztuke wyzsza, wiec nie ma tutaj latwosci odsluchu jak u Transformera i zabiegow Bowiego jesli chodzi o produkcje, bo nagrywany byl w skladzie Lou na wokalach i gitarce, w tym wypadku na akustyku i poteznej ekipie muzykow sesyjnych, zaopatrzonych glownie w instrumenty srednio rokowe, wiec klawisze beda pianinowe czy organowe, trumpety, saksy, puzony, znajdzie sie jakis synth na traku lub dwoch i elektrykowe gitary, ale jednak plyta ma charakter mocno akustyczny, a odsluchem lekkim z pewnoscia nie jest, bo jest to cos na ksztalt rokowej opery, ktora jest dramatem pary ukochanych i znienawidzonych osob i ich dramatycznych walkach problemami, wszelakimi, bo od narktykow w naduzywanie przemocy, czy sutenerstwo po utrate dzieckow i samobojstwa, wiec zycia cud na 10 trakach i 49 minutach, jakos nie moglem sie wczuc w ten odsluch, czy moze on ma byc tak szorstki i odpychajacy, wokalnie pan Reed jest nie do poznania tutaj w porownaniu do Transformera czy czasow Velvetowego podziemia, malo jest tutaj spiewania i radosnego chorkowania, a wiecej prostej liryki rzucanej do akompaniamentu instrumentalnego, na plejke dodam traka men of good fortune, ktory jest niby banalny w swojej prostocie, ale tak jak cala plyta swietnie sie zestarzala pod wzgledem lirczym i w dalszym ciagu watki na niej poruszane sa aktualne, ale jednak nie jest to moj ulubiony krazek w dyskografii pana Reeda
Berlin is Lou Reed's third solo album, and it's also a tragic rock opera concept album telling a story about a couple's struggle with drug abuse/addiction. The dark lyrics can be heavy at times, but some of the album's tracks' beats are too infectious to forget about. This is an interesting concept album, but the music doesn't disappoint.