Count three and pray --- Berlin --- 1986 (Geffen)
Yeah, there I was, back in the heady eighties, when I had a job, a full head of hair and a fuller wallet, and not all that much to spend it on, at age 23. No girlfriend (ah, through choice, through
choice!), didn't drink or smoke and no real bills to worry about, as me ma took care of all that once I gave her her allowance from my wages. Oh yes, life was good! So what to spend money on? Why, music of course! And having been to see Tom Cruise's flag-waving nonsense
Top gun, and with Berlin's “Take my breath away” riding high in the charts (remember that video with herself standing on the wing of a fighter?), sure I had to check out their album!
So, another band whose name did not give any clue as to where they came from: in the same way that Europe were not Europeans, Texas were from Scotland, Asia from America and America …. well, okay, America were Americans. But Berlin were most certainly not Germans, that was for sure. They actually hail from LA, wouldya believe?
A little surprised, maybe, to find that the gooey ballad was not at all what this band were all about, I listened as the first track pounded its way out of my speakers. “Will I ever understand you” throws down the marker from the off, with thumping drums, screeching guitar and
did that voice really sing on the number one hit single?. Vocalist Terri Nunn sounds much raunchier, angrier and trashier than she ever did on “Take my breath away”, with the band adding backing vocals in a very punk-type way. It's a great track though, and a good start to the album. Rockin', for sure.
It's soon abundantly clear that, despite their smoocheroonie hit, Berlin are no Air Supply. Next track, “You don't know” starts off with spacey synth and guitar, before slow drums appraoch and a really nice bassline brings the song to life. In ways, this is a ballad, but it's a powerful one, and very catchy too. The message in it though is different to that of most ballads, as Terri sings
”If I walked away and left you there/ Would you know why?” Some nice programmed sequencing adds to this track's appeal, then we're back rocking with “Like flames”, introduced on cheerful whistles and then exploding into a rock/pop masterpiece with a great hook. Excellent guitar work from Ric Olsen, with nice keyboards from Matt Reid.
One thing that quickly becomes evident about Berlin is that their music is, almost to a track, catchy and memorable, with great melodies and hooks, and Terri herself is a powerful and passionate singer, and indeed, through songs like this and “Heartstrings”, which is up next, you begin to see the raw power she has in her voice, which she was able to inject into what could have been a very limp ballad, but instead comes across as one of the true power ballads of the eighties. “Heartstrings” indeed has a sort of Duran Duran-like guitar vibe, and then it's
thatsong, which let's be honest, requires no coverage from me. If you don't know, or haven't heard “Take my breath away” at least once, then you're unlikely to be reading this, as you haven't yet discovered the Internet, or even computers.
“Trash” is throwaway fun, with its feedback guitar opening and Terri doing her best Debbie Harry, and there's a sharp edge to “When love goes to war”, with some nice backing vocals, but it's not until the magnificent “Hideaway” that we truly see Berlin at their best. A tender love song, played mostly against a jangling guitar, it's Terri at her most soulful and vulnerable as she sings
”Forget the pain/ Hideaway in my arms/ Where's the shame/ Cry away, there's no harm.” The song is a great vehicle for Terri's impassioned vocal, the instumentation mostly stripped-back, except for a great guitar solo from Ric halfway through and another, better one to fade out the song to its close.
The production on the album is perfect, handled as it is between the band themselves and two mega-producers, Bob Ezrin and Giorgio Moroder, the latter of which co-wrote “Take my breath away” for Berlin. Everything is crystal clear, nothing lost in the mix, the vocals are never subsumed and the overall impression is of clean, clear, professional production, as you would expect with such heavyweights involved.
It's interesting that the only song on which Terri and Ric collaborate turns out to be one of the very best on the album. Closing the album perfectly, “Pink and velvet” is another ballad, with dramatic keyboard and heavy drums, almost nineties Genesis-like, nice piano and Ric shining as he does his best Gilmour impression, providing a gorgeous musical backdrop against which Terri sings her song of love and seduction, showing her tender side as the album comes to a triumphant close.
TRACKLISTING
1. Will I ever understand you?
2. You don't know
3. Like flames
4. Heartstrings
5. Take my breath away
6. Trash
7. When love goes to war
8. Hideaway
9. Sex me, talk me
10. Pink and velvet