Lou Reed
London Hammersmith Apollo
1st July, 2007

It took 34 years, but Lou Reed and producer Bob Ezrin’s original vision for Berlin materialised. The world may now be ready for Reed’s tale of addiction, physical abuse and despair, but nothing could quite prepare you for its manifestation. With a full band including original guitarist Steve Hunter, seven of the London Metropolitan Orchestra, and 12 New London Children’s Choir singers, Berlin reached heights of power the album only grasped at. Before a film projection bearing witness to the story, Reed and Hunter drove the band to crescendos and a grace-throughnoise that threatened discomfort. But the choir pulled everything together to create a work of unimaginable beauty. Most remarkable was The Bed; Reed’s streetwise vocal blending with the choir to create something jarring yet perfect. The choir’s swirling vortex gave vent to emotions from pleasure to despair, while Sad Song closed. An incredible 60 minutes, it was a shame that the three-song encore of Sweet Jane, Satellite Of Love and Walk On The Wild Side were configured as clapalong crowd-pleasers.