Lou Reed's Berlin. An album that divided critics and fans back in 1973, but which is now considered to be perhaps Lou's greatest album. An uncompromising descent into the story of Caroline, the hapless protagonist of these songs, in the final months of her sad life. It's a stunning, if harrowing work.
Over the years there have been many suggestions that Berlin was intended to be a double album, although there's never been any sign of any extra songs. However, recently an acetate record has come to light containing longer and differently mixed versions of some of the songs. This gives some credence to Lou's comments that basically they'd over-recorded and had to trim, quite drastically in some cases, most of the songs to bring the whole album in under 50 minutes.
These tracks are very nearly finished, the vocals for example are the finished takes, the orchestral overdubs are just about the same as the eventual album apart from a few noticeable differences on songs like "Sad Song" and "Caroline Says… I", but the overall sound is slightly muddy as it's clearly a cassette copy of the actual disc, and quite probably a few cassettes down from that.
The acetate begins with "Caroline Says… I" - the same as what we are used to, until the dizzying orchestral conclusion which goes on much longer than on the finished album until that sudden ending and cymbal crash which leads into "How Do You Think It Feels?". This also has a longer outro. Then "Oh Jim", which is split in two, the opening body of the song dissolving into a longer guitar workout which actually ends rather than fading out. Part two, the strummed "Oh Jim, How could you treat me this way?" part starts from scratch. On the final album the guitar and horn duel dissolves into the strummed intro of the second part.
Then we get "Berlin" itself which has a whole new ending. Instead of that final downbeat piano chord leading into "Lady Day" the final note is replaced by a whirling organ and guitar part which riffs on the basic "Berlin" melody for about a minute and a half. It's oddly jolly, and quite Scott Walkerish (somewhat like "The Girls From Streets") and good though it is you can see why it was cut, as it doesn't really fit the mood. The acetate is missing "Lady Day", Men Of Good Fortune" and "Caroline Says… II" - whether these were actually on the disc or not, or just not recorded onto cassette I don't know, but the recording continues with the last three songs on side two.
"The Kids" is near enough the same, the children's voices are perhaps slightly more strident, and therefore slightly more disturbing. "The Bed" - the echo and ghostly organ sounds different to me, and the song comes to an end with the otherworldly choir effects that usually end the song being tracked separately. This heavenly choir conclusion is also longer and sounds more similar to the unearthly choir effects in 2001 - specifically the Ligeti piece that Kubrick used whenever the Monolith appeared. Can't be a coincidence.
And finally "Sad Song" which begins cleanly, no segue from "The Bed". Same track, same marvellous arrangement, some little orchestral differences I think, but nothing terribly dramatic. I've no idea where the missing songs are, or where this acetate recording came from - it appeared to surface about a year ago, and since then it's been widely spread around the internet. Google 'Berlin Acetate' and you'll find all sorts of references to it. Wonder where it's been for the past 40+ years?
In the same vein - I also played Lou Reed live in Copenhagen September 1973. The band is rock solid, the same band as on Rock And Roll Animal and Lou Reed Live, so you know how solid that is! But Lou is all over the place - it's very early on the Berlin European tour and yet Lou is sometimes forgetting words, getting the timing all wrong, and slurring badly. But it's weird, you get a sloppy, wasted "Walk On The Wild Side". then, all of sudden, he snaps into focus for a killer, razor sharp "Oh Jim". He's suddenly like a different person, all angry and snarly and full of that Lou Reed attitude, yet just minutes before he'd been a dribbling waste of space, ruining a good song. But in the mid 1970s that was Lou!
Over the years there have been many suggestions that Berlin was intended to be a double album, although there's never been any sign of any extra songs. However, recently an acetate record has come to light containing longer and differently mixed versions of some of the songs. This gives some credence to Lou's comments that basically they'd over-recorded and had to trim, quite drastically in some cases, most of the songs to bring the whole album in under 50 minutes.
These tracks are very nearly finished, the vocals for example are the finished takes, the orchestral overdubs are just about the same as the eventual album apart from a few noticeable differences on songs like "Sad Song" and "Caroline Says… I", but the overall sound is slightly muddy as it's clearly a cassette copy of the actual disc, and quite probably a few cassettes down from that.
The acetate begins with "Caroline Says… I" - the same as what we are used to, until the dizzying orchestral conclusion which goes on much longer than on the finished album until that sudden ending and cymbal crash which leads into "How Do You Think It Feels?". This also has a longer outro. Then "Oh Jim", which is split in two, the opening body of the song dissolving into a longer guitar workout which actually ends rather than fading out. Part two, the strummed "Oh Jim, How could you treat me this way?" part starts from scratch. On the final album the guitar and horn duel dissolves into the strummed intro of the second part.
Then we get "Berlin" itself which has a whole new ending. Instead of that final downbeat piano chord leading into "Lady Day" the final note is replaced by a whirling organ and guitar part which riffs on the basic "Berlin" melody for about a minute and a half. It's oddly jolly, and quite Scott Walkerish (somewhat like "The Girls From Streets") and good though it is you can see why it was cut, as it doesn't really fit the mood. The acetate is missing "Lady Day", Men Of Good Fortune" and "Caroline Says… II" - whether these were actually on the disc or not, or just not recorded onto cassette I don't know, but the recording continues with the last three songs on side two.
"The Kids" is near enough the same, the children's voices are perhaps slightly more strident, and therefore slightly more disturbing. "The Bed" - the echo and ghostly organ sounds different to me, and the song comes to an end with the otherworldly choir effects that usually end the song being tracked separately. This heavenly choir conclusion is also longer and sounds more similar to the unearthly choir effects in 2001 - specifically the Ligeti piece that Kubrick used whenever the Monolith appeared. Can't be a coincidence.
And finally "Sad Song" which begins cleanly, no segue from "The Bed". Same track, same marvellous arrangement, some little orchestral differences I think, but nothing terribly dramatic. I've no idea where the missing songs are, or where this acetate recording came from - it appeared to surface about a year ago, and since then it's been widely spread around the internet. Google 'Berlin Acetate' and you'll find all sorts of references to it. Wonder where it's been for the past 40+ years?
In the same vein - I also played Lou Reed live in Copenhagen September 1973. The band is rock solid, the same band as on Rock And Roll Animal and Lou Reed Live, so you know how solid that is! But Lou is all over the place - it's very early on the Berlin European tour and yet Lou is sometimes forgetting words, getting the timing all wrong, and slurring badly. But it's weird, you get a sloppy, wasted "Walk On The Wild Side". then, all of sudden, he snaps into focus for a killer, razor sharp "Oh Jim". He's suddenly like a different person, all angry and snarly and full of that Lou Reed attitude, yet just minutes before he'd been a dribbling waste of space, ruining a good song. But in the mid 1970s that was Lou!
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