The Wall : Live in Berlin
Roger Waters and the Bleeding Heart Band
Directed by Ken O'Neill
Polygram Music Video, 1990
Filmed at Potsdamer Platz
Berlin, Germany
July 21, 1990

In effect, what we have here is the very reason that Roger Waters refused to let the rest of Pink Floyd stage 'The Wall' in Veteran's Stadium in Philadelphia (as has been alleged in past interviews). Despite all of the pomp and props and big power chords, this is an intimate piece of performance art that simply does not work when scaled up to elephant size. Considering his well-known (and often reinforced) opinions concerning gigantic events like this, one has to wonder what the hell Waters was thinking when he green-lighted this re-tinted descent into near self-parody. Sure, 'Radio KAOS' wasn't exactly one for the ages, but I think it's without question that 'The Wall Live In Berlin' was as bad as it ever got for Roger Waters in his colorful post-Floyd solo career.

Staged for charity, this highly symbolic rebuilding and knocking down again of 'The Wall' was far and away the biggest concert ever staged by Waters (or even Pink Floyd, for that matter). Even in comparison to the jaw-dropping original shows, this event was fucking MASSIVE, which is the single biggest drawback to the whole affair. Roughly five times the size of its 1980-81 incarnation, the wall itself dwarfed the performers on stage to a ridiculous, near-surreal extent. With Waters and Co. reduced to ant size in relation to the incomprehensibly enormous edifice (and let's not forget those office building-sized inflatables) taking shape around and behind them, there is no real sense of isolation or separation when the wall is finally complete since no one more than a couple hundred feet away could see anyone on stage in the *first* place.

The second biggest drawback to watching this video was the factor that single-handedly made the audio version such hell to listen to -- the guest performances. Without David Gilmour (or even Doyle Bramhall II) around to handle those pesky "other vocal bits," Waters hired a truly frightening array of individuals to handle singing chores on tracks such as "The Thin Ice," "Mother," "Young Lust" and, um, "Comfortably Numb." Granted, some performances were better than others, but as a whole, these guest spots, already bad on the CD, were ten times worse when seen on video.

A few celebrity low lights...

* The Scorpions (of all people) emerge from a white stretch limo with fists waving about and launch into a riotously Scorpions-accented version of "In The Flesh?" Unlike the original 'Wall' shows, the Scorps weren't wearing latex Pink Floyd masks during their performance, so I don't think anyone was fooled for a second.

* Cyndi Lauper wears a preposterously huge rasta wig and does her tired old "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" shtick while singing "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)."

* Bryan Adams does his usual Bryan Adams thing (carotid artery bulging from neck, eyes slitted, head bobbing back and forth like a denim-clad velociraptor) during "What Shall We Do Now?" and "Young Lust."

* Rick Danko and Willie Nelson look-alike Levon Helm give "Mother" a previously unimagined (not to mention unwanted) aura of twangy "down home" ambience .

* Joni Mitchell transforms "Goodbye Blue Sky" into wincingly overwrought drama (simply letting the accompanying choir handle the whole song would have worked *far* better than this).

* Paul Carrack bludgeons "Hey You" with best "WHOOOAAA-OHHH!!" vocal treatment (and looking appropriately gutted by his crime afterwards).

* Albert Finney, Marianne Faithfull, and Tim Curry make utter fools of themselves during "The Trial."

* Instead of "Outside The Wall," we are treated to an awful, "We Are The World"-esque denouement of "The Tide Is Turning"

Celebrity highlights ...

* Ute Lemper doing "The Thin Ice" in hawt euro-babe torch singer fashion (though her reprise of the same role during "The Trial" is an embarrassment).

* Despite those aforementioned "Hee Haw"-esque backing vocals, Sinead O' Connor pulls off a remarkably touching and intimate take on "Mother" (I know, I know...it was actually recorded later that night, but it still works a kind of quiet magic regardless).

As for Mr. Grouchbuckets himself, we are given the usual servings of predominantly aggrieved and histrionic yelling (surprise surprise), though a few instances are worthy of special remark. First off, we are given perhaps the best version of "Nobody Home" to date (surprisingly moving in it's lack of theatrics). Secondly, we get to hear a one-man duet for "Run Like Hell," with Waters coming off reasonably well despite being forced to sneak in breaths between the smashed-together verses.

Perhaps the weirdest thing noticeable about Waters during the Berlin concert (as opposed to the original 'Wall' tour) is that his usually very-animated stage presence is curiously muted during this go-round. Whether this was due to the show-stopping technical problems from the first half of the show (conveniently edited out and replaced with later re-performances here), or as a kind of subtle nod to the gravity of the whole "this for a charity after all" situation, Waters isn't anywhere near as charismatic on this tour as he was in footage I've seen of him from 1984 or 1999-2000. This is most noticeable during "One Of My Turns" where the black-clad ex-Floyd reduces Pink's cathartic trashing of a hotel room to a kind of half-assed "I'm angry! Yeah! Erm, what shall I throw out next? Mmm, this looks jolly nice. And now ... this may do..." etc.

So, the end question for those I haven't scared off yet -- is it worth the moolah? Well, if for nothing else than the fact that it is the cheapest Floyd-related title on the racks (list priced at $9.98), The Wall Live In Berlin' at least worth roughly what you pay for it. It's also certainly a better idea than buying the compact disc version instead for twenty dollars more. Heh heh.

'Mother'	'Another Brick in the Wall (Part 3)'	'Run Like Hell'
'Waiting For the Worms'	'The Trial'	'The Tide is Turning (After Live Aid)'