Rating: 
Summary: neil in outer space
Review: A must-have concert for Neil Young fans, this video features rare live footage of the rock legend filmed in West Berlin, Germany. The 1983 show was the last stop of Young's European tour and included several of his earlier hits, such as "Cinnamon Girl" and "Old Man," along with songs from his 1982 Trans album, which featured synthesized vocals and sci-fi musings. Young is accompanied by the Trans band, including sidemen Ralph Molina of Crazy Horse, Ben Keith, Joe Lala, Bruce Palmer (formerly of Buffalo Springfield), and Nils Lofgren. This DVD version features 5.1 audio. Review from Rhino Records
Rating: 
Summary: Hands down the best Neil Young DVD
Review: Coming off the Trans tour, one would think this would be a medicore concert at best. Not the case. Neil mixes his 80's techno tunes Sample and Hold, Transformer Man and Computer Age, not with similar treatments of his classic songs (as he did with mr. Soul on the Trans album), but with wonderful classic renditions of Old Man and a powerful Cinnomon Girl. To top it off we are treated to a new song (Berlin) that never made it on any CD. A must have.
Rating:
Summary: This DVD has it all
Review: Covers wide range of Neil's music. A must if your a fan of rock and roll. Great version of Like a Hurricane!
Rating:
Summary: In Transition
Review: For a variety of reasons, this video is a must-own for avid fans of Neil Young. The setting is the final show of Young's 1982 European tour preceding the December 1982 release of 'Trans'. In contrast to other Neil Young video recordings, the European venue offers a minimum of crowd noise (unlike Red Rocks Live) as well as an opportunity to watch Neil and Nils Lofgren work the runway jutting into the audience. And, thankfully, we have only a few shots of audience members, often an editing nightmare threatening to destroy the integrity and impact of the performances (see 'Weld'). One also wonders if Young ever wore a tie on stage again, after watching him competing with it to pillage the six strings of Old Black on 'Like a Hurricane'. The sound quality is excellent, while the film quality is very good... spoiled by today's standard, you will notice times when the filming blurs a bit, or the camera moves too fast to manage the light. Nevertheless, there are several stunning images captured that more than make up for the deficiencies of 1980's technology. In particular is a hypnotic 'drummers-eye-view' scene during 'Hey Hey My My', looking out over Neil's back as the audience throbs to the numbers incessant driving beat. Neil's personal appearance is as 'clean-cut' as you will ever see him... quite a contrast to his overriding 'Grandfather of Grunge' image. The personnel surrounding Young, and the song selection make this video quite unique. Nils Lofgren brings an unbridled energy to the visual performance that is simply priceless. Ralph Molina, Bruce Palmer and Joe Lala are an unassuming, solid backbone of rhythm for Lofgren, Ben Keith and Neil as they trade places on a variety of instruments. Larry Cragg offers an understated banjo on 'Old Man', while Joel Bernstein adeptly manages the vocoder and synthesizer. The hard rock numbers, 'Cinnamon Girl', 'Like a Hurricane', and 'Hey Hey My My' manage to sound simultaneously clean n' dirty in classic Young style. If there is any weakness in the show, it would have to be the acoustic renditions of Needle and the Damage Done and After the Goldrush, which feel a bit strained and plodding. The cuts taken from Trans, 'Computer Age', 'Transformer Man', and 'Sample and Hold', produce a compelling flashback as we witness Young perceptively addressing the embryonic advance of digital technology into Western culture which is rapidly becoming our second nature. 'Computer Age' and 'Sample and Hold' rock out, while 'Tranformer Man' is thoughtful, and features some theatrical miming from both Young and Lofgren. Another Trans cut, 'A Little Thing Called Love', is a bouncy, effortless foray that seems out of character for the Trans LP, but nicely supplements the overall song selection for this video. The concert, and the tour, is capped off with the completely appropriate 'After Berlin', seemingly written for the moment of its performance, and not performed since. It's the only blues-rock number in the set, and Young's guitar is crisp and wailing throughout. Seeing this rare performance was worth the price of admission for the fortunate few in Berlin, and owning it is well worth the price of the video or DVD for the rest of us.
Rating:
Summary: In Transition
Review: For a variety of reasons, this video is a must-own for avid fans of Neil Young. The setting is the final show of Young's 1982 European tour preceding the December 1982 release of 'Trans'. In contrast to other Neil Young video recordings, the European venue offers a minimum of crowd noise (unlike Red Rocks Live) as well as an opportunity to watch Neil and Nils Lofgren work the runway jutting into the audience. And, thankfully, we have only a few shots of audience members, often an editing nightmare threatening to destroy the integrity and impact of the performances (see 'Weld'). One also wonders if Young ever wore a tie on stage again, after watching him competing with it to pillage the six strings of Old Black on 'Like a Hurricane'. The sound quality is excellent, while the film quality is very good... spoiled by today's standard, you will notice times when the filming blurs a bit, or the camera moves too fast to manage the light. Nevertheless, there are several stunning images captured that more than make up for the deficiencies of 1980's technology. In particular is a hypnotic 'drummers-eye-view' scene during 'Hey Hey My My', looking out over Neil's back as the audience throbs to the numbers incessant driving beat. Neil's personal appearance is as 'clean-cut' as you will ever see him... quite a contrast to his overriding 'Grandfather of Grunge' image. The personnel surrounding Young, and the song selection make this video quite unique. Nils Lofgren brings an unbridled energy to the visual performance that is simply priceless. Ralph Molina, Bruce Palmer and Joe Lala are an unassuming, solid backbone of rhythm for Lofgren, Ben Keith and Neil as they trade places on a variety of instruments. Larry Cragg offers an understated banjo on 'Old Man', while Joel Bernstein adeptly manages the vocoder and synthesizer. The hard rock numbers, 'Cinnamon Girl', 'Like a Hurricane', and 'Hey Hey My My' manage to sound simultaneously clean n' dirty in classic Young style. If there is any weakness in the show, it would have to be the acoustic renditions of Needle and the Damage Done and After the Goldrush, which feel a bit strained and plodding. The cuts taken from Trans, 'Computer Age', 'Transformer Man', and 'Sample and Hold', produce a compelling flashback as we witness Young perceptively addressing the embryonic advance of digital technology into Western culture which is rapidly becoming our second nature. 'Computer Age' and 'Sample and Hold' rock out, while 'Tranformer Man' is thoughtful, and features some theatrical miming from both Young and Lofgren. Another Trans cut, 'A Little Thing Called Love', is a bouncy, effortless foray that seems out of character for the Trans LP, but nicely supplements the overall song selection for this video. The concert, and the tour, is capped off with the completely appropriate 'After Berlin', seemingly written for the moment of its performance, and not performed since. It's the only blues-rock number in the set, and Young's guitar is crisp and wailing throughout. Seeing this rare performance was worth the price of admission for the fortunate few in Berlin, and owning it is well worth the price of the video or DVD for the rest of us.
Rating:
Summary: oh yeah baby
Review: My rating of four stars is something of a compromise. I consider it to be a five star item for collectors, and all those guys who rated Trans at 4+ stars, but more like 3 for the more casual Neil Young fan. This DVD provides fans with a rare oppurtunity to see songs from Trans performed live, specifically Little Thing Called Love, Computer Age, Transformer Man, and Sample and Hold. Computer Age and Sample and Hold are both superior to the album versions, thanks to louder guitars and an overall fuller sound. Transformer Man sounds pretty much just like the album (the music is actually played from a tape on this one) but watching Neil and Nils prance around like fools during this one is in itself worth the price of this DVD. Whatever they were on that night was obviously good stuff :) Those who who are not familiar with (or even blatantly despise) the Trans material will still find good stuff here, cause the rest of the DVD is more typical Neil fair, with fairly straightforward but well executed performances of favorites like Cinnamon Girl, Like a Hurricane, Needle and the Damage Done, etc. Other highlites include a particularly good version of Hey Hey My My, and a song called Berlin which (to the best of my knowledge) isn't available anywhere else. The audio quality is pretty good, especially considering that the concert in question was recorded nearly 20 years ago. The 5.1 mix is disappointing though, all they've really done is pan the crowd noise and a little bit of echo to the back. It really sounds better in plain stereo. Video quality is acceptable, but not great.
Rating:
Summary: oh yeah baby
Review: My rating of four stars is something of a compromise. I consider it to be a five star item for collectors, and all those guys who rated Trans at 4+ stars, but more like 3 for the more casual Neil Young fan. This DVD provides fans with a rare oppurtunity to see songs from Trans performed live, specifically Little Thing Called Love, Computer Age, Transformer Man, and Sample and Hold. Computer Age and Sample and Hold are both superior to the album versions, thanks to louder guitars and an overall fuller sound. Transformer Man sounds pretty much just like the album (the music is actually played from a tape on this one) but watching Neil and Nils prance around like fools during this one is in itself worth the price of this DVD. Whatever they were on that night was obviously good stuff :) Those who who are not familiar with (or even blatantly despise) the Trans material will still find good stuff here, cause the rest of the DVD is more typical Neil fair, with fairly straightforward but well executed performances of favorites like Cinnamon Girl, Like a Hurricane, Needle and the Damage Done, etc. Other highlites include a particularly good version of Hey Hey My My, and a song called Berlin which (to the best of my knowledge) isn't available anywhere else. The audio quality is pretty good, especially considering that the concert in question was recorded nearly 20 years ago. The 5.1 mix is disappointing though, all they've really done is pan the crowd noise and a little bit of echo to the back. It really sounds better in plain stereo. Video quality is acceptable, but not great.
Rating:
Summary: NEIL YOUNG AND THE TRANS BAND LIVE IN WEST BERLIN
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A wide ranging look at Young's many musical faces.
Review: One of the things you have to like about Neil Young is that he doesn't limit himself strictly to one genre--his music moves from folk through pop to classic rock to near grunge--yet always retains his own distinctive edge and style. This is an excellent video in that most of those genre's are covered in a fairly eclectic set of tunes that represent a good cross section of his career. There's a bit of overemphasis on his "electronic" phase, which is somewhat understandable as he'd just released Trans prior to this tour. That caveat aside, this is an excellent and powerful performance that features an equally eclectic array of periodic Young sidemen in a supporting role. I'm not normally one for video music--I usually fine it flat and contrived at best--but this session is an exception. The performance comes through with a lot of energy and highlights why Neil has a reputation as a much better than average live performer. This is a tape that will please any young fan and will act as a good general introduction to those not familiar with his work. Pick this up and keep Rockin' in the Free world!
Rating: 
Summary: Almost embarrassed
Review: The first few songs into this DVD I was almost embarrassed for Neil. I had always thought of him as a "timeless classic" kind of guy, but here, thankfully, is evidence to the contrary. I say "thankfully" because I think it's a good thing that Neil had the ability and the willingness to experiment with the trendy electronica that was popular in the early 80's. in Berlin, especially. Hopefully, most people will chuckle a bit as Neil opens the show in a bright green double-brested weirdo kind of outfit, that eventually devolves into a black shirt and black jeans (with one of those skinny white ties that was popular back then). Much more appropriate for the kind of music that Neil gets back to during the latter 1/3 of the movie. This is where the "real Neil" really shines. Jamming, rocking guitars and lots of energy. The crowd really eats it up. I haven't dabbled with the different audio settings yet, it sounds fine in regular stereo. The video quality is average. considering it's 20 years old, it's actually pretty good. Real Neil fans and collectors will love this video because it's so different from what most people would expect from a man with Neil's reputation as the "Godfather of Grunge".
|
