Berlin
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
1980s New Wave synthpop
Status:
Most recent release, Transcendance (2019)
See also:
Wikipedia's entry on BerlinA Berlin page (seems semi-authorized)
Comparisons:
Other 1980s bands: Human League, OMD, John Fox-era Ultravox
Covers/own material:
Own, occasional covers
General comments:
Here is a band that got ruined by one overplayed hit ("Take My Breath Away") that wasn't even reflective of what they did. Their live shows are great—Terri Nunn can really sing. (jjhanson@att.net)
Comments about live performance:
I saw Berlin on the Count Three & Pray tour and it was one of the most moving performances I've seen. It was early on in the tour, and Terri Nunn was crying at the end, hugging everyone she could, completely overwhelmed by the audience response. Her voice sounded better than it ever had. (6/99, jjhanson@att.net)I recently saw them play some 80s retro show, sandwiched between John Waite and Rick Springfield (eek—don't ask). They played about four songs from the forthcoming album, and I really liked them all. It's still that techno synthesized sound, but updated for the 90s, not so new-wavey. It was a short set. The other songs they did were "Masquerade," "No More Words," "Metro" and ended with "Sex (I'm a....)". Yeah! No "Take My Breath Away."
They were good live. Terri looked and sounded fabulous. (6/99, mlowry@startext.com)In the last year, I've seen them 2-3 times. Terri Nunn's voice is still strong though their shows seem to lack spontaneity. (6/99, thecritics@earthlink.net)
Recommended first album:
Count Three & Pray
Recordings:
- Information (1980)
- Pleasure Victim (1982)
- Love Life (1984)
- Count Three & Pray (1986)
- Dancing in Berlin (compilation, 1987)
- Best Of Berlin 1979-1988 (compilation, 1988)
- Master Series (compilation, 1997)
- Fall Into Heaven (compilation, 1999)
- Fall Into Heaven 2 (compilation, 1999)
- Greatest Hits Remixed (compilation, 2000)
- LIVE: Sacred & Profane (compilation, 2000)
- Voyeur (2002)
- 4Play (2005)
- Terri Nunn & Berlin: All The Way In (compilation, 2009)
- Animal (2013)
- Transcendance (2019)
Voyeur
Release info:
2002—Artists Direct
Availability:
U.S.
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Terri Nunn—vocals
Chris Olivas—drums, keyboards, percussion, programming, vocals
Mitchell Sigman—bass, guitar, keyboards, programming, vocals
Guest artists:
Dallan Baumgarten—guitar
Kevin Coleman—backing vocals
Linda Dalziel—vocals
Richard Dodd—cello
Roger Gisborne—backing vocals
Eric Gorfain—violin
Joaquin—backing vocals
Lance Morrison—bass
Peter Rafelson—backing vocals
Produced by:
Terri Nunn (executive producer); Chris Olivas, Mitchell Sigman, Peter Rafelson
Comments:
I bought the new Berlin album a few weeks back and think it's really great—as solid a Berlin album as any—very much in the line of Count Three & Pray. Very solid album, and Terri Nunn is sharing vocals with this line-up, but they sound great. I'm surprised there hasn't been any buzz on it here.
I actually got the Berlin album the day it was released and I was on vacation in California—it seemed appropriate somehow that the first time I heard it I was driving up the coast road in my rented convertible, top down, on a beautiful CA day.(jjhanson@att.net)
