By: David Schultz

In 1972 Lou Reed, the iconoclastic leader of the Velvet Underground, kick started his solo career with Transformer and its hit single "Walk On The Wild Side." In line with his truly individualistic flair, Reed followed up Transformer with Berlin, arguably the most depressing album ever recorded.

Using the stark, frank language that has always characterized his work, Reed populated Berlin with characters that are either on the edge or well past it. Initially reviled by critics, Berlin even baffled Reed's staunchest fans. Over the years, popular opinion caught up with the genius of Reed's unflinching narrative. Today, Berlin customarily appears amongst comprehensive lists of the greatest rock albums ever recorded. Following in the footsteps of Roger Waters and Brian Wilson, who respectively gave cover-to-cover performances of Dark Side Of The Moon and Smile during their recent tours, Reed has returned to Berlin, gathering the album's original producer Bob Ezrin, musical producer Hall Willner and stage director Julian Schabel to resurrect the classic album.

In lovingly reproducing Berlin, which featured Jack Bruce on bass and Steve Winwood on organ, Reed left no note untouched. For the slate of shows at St. Ann's Warehouse in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, Steve Hunter joined Reed, recreating his guitar solos and riffs from the original album. In addition to the returning Hunter, Reed enlisted long time band members bassist Fernando Saunders and drummer Tony "Thunder" Smith, former band member Rob Wasserman on stand-up bass, Antony of Antony and the Johnsons, keyboardist Rupert Christie, a brass section led by trumpeter Steven Bernstein, a string section featuring cellist Jane Scarpantoni and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.

Reed has a penchant for paying little regard to his older material: when the mood strikes him, he's been known to rush through lyrics or modify them on the fly. For the Berlin performances, he's not only hitting all his cues, he's playing with a renewed energy. Cutting through the hushed silence that accompanied the drawing of the curtain, the show opened with a brief overture comprised of the chorus of "Sad Song." Reed walked onto Julian Schnabel's sparse but ornate set during the delicate piano strains of "Berlin" and immediately recaptured the song's bygone decadence. Reed primarily played rhythm guitar, leaving the leads in the hands of Hunter, who played them on the album. With cameras occasionally stationed in his lap, Hunter played with relish, invigorating "Caroline Says - Part 1" and "How Do You Think It Feels." Reminiscent of the days when Andy Warhol showed movies on the Velvet Underground, domestic scenes filmed by Lola Schnabel were projected onto the set's back wall during "The Kids" and "The Bed," contrasting and giving pathos to the songs' desolate, harrowing imagery.

After the featured performance, Reed and the band returned sans orchestra and brass for a brief closing set comprised of Velvet Underground classics "Sweet Jane" and "Candy Says," disappointingly finishing with Reed’s later-era "The Rock Minuet." Given their choice, the predominantly Baby Boomer audience would have likely cheered triumphantly throughout the entire performance. However, the theater-style environs, which provided excellent acoustics, combined with Reed's authoritarian demeanor and legendary short temper had the crowd a bit cowed, wavering between reverence and wild appreciation. With Reed's approval, they got a chance to cut loose during "Candy Says." After being relatively silent during Berlin, Antony took center stage on the Velvet's classic, his ghostly falsetto transcending the four decade old tune. After a couple verses, Reed gave an awed expression to Antony and then the crowd before gesturing them to give the singer his due.

After his four night stay at St. Ann's Warehouse, Reed will bring Berlin to the Sydney Festival in Australia for a three night run in January of 2007. In leaving Germany off of the schedule, you can only wonder where Reed will take New York when he gets around to recreating it sometime in the future.

Labels: Lou Reed