Berlin

Lou Reed's third solo album following the demise of the Velvet Underground was Berlin, a concept album that represented a brave departure from the familiar sounds and themes of his previous blockbuster Transformer. Reed composed the album as a cohesive rock opera designed to be played live, in the vein of The Who's Tommy, but a poor public and critical reception to the record meant that plans for a live performance were put on hold indefinitely. But in 2007, with a renewed confidence in the original material, Lou Reed toured the album with a four-piece band, a thirty-piece orchestra, and a twelve-piece choir, giving some of the most personal, powerful, and memorable live performances of his career. The tour was filmed by legendary artist Julian Schnabel, whose daughter Lola contributed moving images to be projected behind the band, reflecting the material as they performed it. This beautiful and immeasurably powerful book draws on stills from Julian Schnabel's film, photographs of the colorful and textured set design, the printed lyrics of Reed's original verse, and images from Lola Schnabel's melancholic projections to tell the twin stories of Berlin as rock opera, and Berlin as unique collaboration between two geniuses of contemporary art, music, words, and film.