#344 - Lou Reed - Berlin (1973)

MUSIC HISTORY COMPILED BY ADAM BERNARD:

LOU REED BIO

Few rock artists have been more influential without achieving superstardom than Lou Reed. While he flirted with mainstream success between 1970 (when he left the Velvet Underground) and 2013 (when he succumbed to liver disease), he most often played to a large cult following that only occasionally expanded into mainstream visibility. Reed was born in Brooklyn, and grew up in New Jersey. He was regularly targeted by bullies and developed a variety of phobias and anxieties. At the age of 16 he started to experiment with drugs. Hoping to deal with his problems, Reed's parents followed the advice of a psychiatrist and submitted him to electroconvulsive therapy; many years later, he would write about the traumatic effects of the treatments in his song "Kill Your Sons." He found solace in music, formed a band called The Jades, and had his first single at 16. He then took a job at Pickwick Records and wrote and recorded songs to help fill out albums on the label. It was there that he met musician John Cale (bass). He recruited a college friend, Sterling Morrison to play guitar, and then later on brought in Maureen Tucker to play drums in a new band called "The Velvet Underground" in the mid 1960s. Velvet Underground released 4 studio albums before Reed left the band in 1970. He was ready to start making music again in 1971, released two albums in 1972 ("Lou Reed" & "Transformer") before beginning to work on today's album, "Berlin." 

BACKGROUND – BERLIN

This was Reed's third solo studio album and came out in October 1973. This is a concept album/rock opera that tells the story about a couple's struggle (named Jim & Caroline, but really about Lou and his then wife Bettye Kronstad) with drug addiction. The album was not initially received well (Rolling Stone called it a "disaster" when it came out), but aged like a fine wine. The concept was created when producer Bob Ezrin mentioned to Lou Reed that although the stories told by Reed's songs had great beginnings, they never really had an ending. Specifically, Ezrin wanted to know what happened to the couple from "Berlin" – a song from Reed's first solo album. The session band included Jack Bruce (Cream),  Steve Winwood, Aynsley Dunbar - RnR HOF member - too many artists to name, and Tony Levin - Peter Gabriel, King Crimson). Reed does not play electric guitar on this album. This has been described as one of the most depressing albums of all time. Despite the conceptual idea behind Berlin, the album still hit too close to Reed. He did not listen to the album for years to come after the release. 

Berlin reached No. 7 on the UK album chart (Reed's best achievement there until 1992's Magic and Loss). Poor sales in the US (No. 98) and harsh criticism made Reed feel disillusioned about the album. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. 

The reason for naming this album Berlin had nothing to do with the city itself, in fact, Reed never even visited the city. “I love the idea of a divided city,” Reed famously stated. “It was purely metaphorical,” he once commented