Neil Young In Berlin
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Movie Reviews of Neil Young In Berlin
Movie Review: Trans(it) to Berlin
Summary: 5 Stars
Being a "moderately serious" Neil Young fan I bought this DVD for completeness and for "nostalgic reasons" (this Tour I experienced my first ever Neil Young concert). I did expect to get some kind of a "bootleg" with moderate quality and was surprized to find both a rather high quality sound and video, given this is a low price DVD and a rather simple recording back in 1982 (1983?).
What I do remember from that concert are blow-away versions of Hey Hey My My and Like a Hurricane, a rather "embarrassing" Transformer Man "ballet" and a Nils Lofgren jumping across the stage like some crazy "Hampelmann" (whatever that is in English). However Nils Lofgren did play a couple of own "classic" songs during the concert. I do not know if he "was allowed" to do that internationally, but he had a good name in Germany because of an excellent "Rockpalast" concert on German TV televised live over most of Europe.
Most of this can be seen and heard (about from the Nils Lofgren part) on this DVD and I think that some of the songs (including for example the other songs from the TRANS-Album) can still blow you away.
One thing I find rather strange is that the editorial of Amazon places the concert in 1983, where as all other sources say it was the the 1982 tour. I am however quite sure that I did own the Trans LP (bought in January 1983 according to my "library card") when I saw the concert which would place at least the Cologne concert in early summer 1983?!?
Whatever - an excellent concert considering time and effort - and the only chance to see and hear songs from the TRANS-period. As an added bonus the encore is a song called "Berlin", which apparently never appeared again yet (let's all hope for the NY archives!). Berlin is actually an excellent song, it alone justifies the expenditure.
Movie Review: Mr Young - a master of different styles
Summary: 5 Stars
This DVD is a welcome addition to any music library - excellent sound quality and very well photographed. The video is a documentary of the last show of the 1982 European "Trans Band" Tour (which supported the release of Neil Young's "Trans" LP), held on 10-19-1982, Deutschlandhalle, in West Berlin. The actual concert features 21 songs, with 11 of them selected for the DVD. Mr Young and his band , ( Bruce Palmer(of Buffalo Springfield), bass, Ralph Molina(Crazy Horse) drums, Joe Lala congas, Ben Keith, pedal steel/keyboards and Nils Lofgren on guitar and keyboards) play with absorbed intensity, and are very, very "tight".
The highlights for me include the performances of the songs from Trans featuring the "vocoder", a device developed by Mr Young which gives his voice a mechanical/robotic tone, so that when he sings "Transformer Man", and "Sample and Hold", he sounds alienated and cold, appropriately expressing the inability of a human being to actually communicate with another human being via a keyboard or video screen.
The performance of "Like a Hurricane" is out-of-this-world, and Ben Keith is special with his steel-guitar work on "Old Man".
However, the best is left for last, where the song "After Berlin" is performed for the first and last time. This is a poignant song and the feeling Mr Young conveys with his singing and playing visibly moves the audience in Berlin.
I highly recommend this DVD to any one who loves music
Movie Review: NEIL YOUNG AND THE TRANS BAND LIVE IN WEST BERLIN
Summary: 5 Stars
NEIL YOUNG AND THE TRANS BAND LIVE IN WEST BERLIN ORIGINALLY RELEASED IN 1982 IS ONE OF THOSE CLASSIC LIVE NEIL YOUNG PERFORMANCES NO TRUE FAN SHOULD BE WITHOUT. ONCE AGAIN NEIL ASSEMBLES AN INCREDIBLE BAND WITH THE LIKES OF JOE LALA, BEN KEITH, BRUCE PALMER, LARRY CRAGG, JOEL BERSTEIN, CRAZY HORSE MEMBER RALPH MOLINA AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST NILS LOFGREN WHO DURING SONGS LIKE "TRANSFORMER MAN" GOES INTO A DANCE THAT MAKES HIM LOOK LIKE A REJECT FROM SOUL TRAIN!!! HOWEVER, THE MUSIC WHICH VARIES FROM SUCH YOUNG CLASSICS AS "OLD MAN", "NEEDLE AND THE DAMAGE DONE" AND AN INSPIRED VERSION OF "CINNAMON GIRL" TO TECHNO TUNES LIKE "SAMPLE AND HOLD", "COMPUTAGE" AND PROBABLY THE BEST VERSION OF "TRANSFORMER MAN" YOU'LL EVER HEAR IS AS STRONG A LIVE GIG YOU'LL EVER SEE AND HEAR NEIL PERFORM, WITHOUT CRAZY HORSE OF COURSE! IT'S WORTH THE PRICE OF THE DVD JUST TO SEE NEIL WITH OL'BLACK IN HAND ATTACKING THE BERLIN RUNWAY ON "HEY HEY MY MY". EVEN THOUGH THE VIDEO QUALITY IS A LITTLE ROUGH THE QUALITY OF THE AUDIO IS OUTSTANDING! DON'T PASS ON THIS ONE.Movie Review: Not Just a Wordsmith but a Showman Too!
Summary: 5 Stars
I know it's like old, OK. This event happened in 1982, the DVD was remastered in 2001, but I had never seen it until earlier this month (May, 2006). The money I spent for this DVD is some of the best money I have ever spent for entertainment. I can see this concert whenever I want to for the rest of my life. I am luckier than the guys in the front row on the runway. I always knew he could write music and play the guitar. I just never knew how well.
His jam on "Hurricane" was phenomenal, it is the work of a master. His two synthesized numbers, amazing. "Needle and the Damage Done" was just the way I remembered it, only better than just listening to an album/CD .
When Neil Young signs his name to a project, "satisfaction guaranteed." I am eagerly awaiting the upcoming release of his "Heart of Gold" DVD.
PS: I own both "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" by U2 and "Prarie Wind" and enjoy them both. I believe "Prarie Wind" should have won the Grammy, however (by a country mile). Neil Young is a journeyman and his works are a treasure.
Dave
Movie Review: Outstanding!
Summary: 5 Stars
While I have to admit I am not a huge Neil Young fan, this is truly an awesome concert. The first time I saw it was many years ago on the USA Network's Night Flight program. For you younsters out there, this was the during the very early days of MTV, music videos, etc. I can remember getting up off the couch (no "clicker" way back then) and cranking up the sound. Wow, what a show!Then, out of now where comes Sample And Hold. At the time, I was a beginning computer geek and this song totally blew me away. While obvious that some of the other band members just didn't get it and had no idea how to relate to the music, Neil and Nils really nail it in this futuristic view of a cyber world that was soon to come. Neil's techno preview of the dawning of a new age is always overlooked and rarely mentioned in reviews of his body of work.
I am sure you will enjoy this rare glimpse at yet another side of the amazing Neil Young.