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Ian Hiaring's Collection

U2   11/04/1981

Metropol, Berlin, Germany
Source Silver Disc > CDR > EAC > WAV > FLAC (Level 6)
Media FLAC
Tech Notes 04.11.1981, Germany, Berlin, Metropol
"Berlin"
Very Good / Excellent Broadcast
FLAC

01. Gloria
02. Another Time Another Place
03. I Threw A Brick Through A Window
04. An Cat Dubh
05. Into The Heart
06. Rejoice
07. The Cry / The Electric Co.
08. I Fall Down
09. October
10. Stories For Boys
11. I Will Follow
12. Twilight
13. Out Of Control
14. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock
15. The Ocean
16. Rejoice
17. The Cry / The Electric Co.
18. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock

Source:
(1-15): November 4, 1981. Berlin, Germany. Metropol.
(16-18): July 2, 1982. Roskilde, Denmark. Festival Grounds.

Sound Quality:
(1-15): Very good to excellent broadcast.
(16-18): Fair broadcast.

Source: Silver Disc > CDR > EAC > WAV > FLAC (Level 6)

Manufacturer: T. Rex Records
Catalog: TRCD 054
Matrix: None
Barcode: None
Complete Show: Yes
Format: 1CD-R
Released: Unknown
(72:27)
From: Steve Van Boven, Elisha Dickstein

Sound And Performance Ratings:
Overall: 8.0
Crispness: 8.0
Alive: 8.5
Ambience: 7.0
Performance: 7.5
Artificial: No

Comments:
[Steve]: This concert - the last one on the first leg of the October Tour - was broadcast on German television as part of WDR's "Rockpalast" series. Even though it's such a long time ago the sound quality can still compete with today's recordings. During the first part of "Rejoice" the quality seems to deteriorate, but it quickly recovers. U2's performance isn't different from most other nights, except that Bono desperately tries to reach out to the German crowd the whole time. The audience is quite unresponsive and it clearly frustrates him. During "Rejoice" Bono sings improvised lines about the lights shining in his face and thus not being able to see the crowd and to "I Fall Down" he adds "I think I'll go home... I think I don't like this show". The rest of the concert sounds more inspired, with great versions of "I Will Follow", "Out Of Control" and "11 O'Clock Tick Tock".
The three bonus tracks are from the Roskilde festival in 1982 and although it was shown on TV as well, the sound quality is pretty bad The cover looks very nice, but it only has three B/W pictures and I don't think they're from the Berlin show. In fact they all come from Pimm Jal's "U2 Live" book (pages 20, 26 & 27). Overall, it's a great bootleg from the early days. The performance wasn't as inspired as the "infamous" Boston show earlier that year, but for collectors this bootleg's a must.
Color cover.
[Elisha]: This performance of early U2 really captures the spirit of their live performances in the Boy/ October period. Bono is quite vocal throughout about the fact that the lights were in his eyes and that he could not see the audience (apparently, still very new to public stage performance). U2 plays quite well, and Bono ends up improvising lyrics in many songs including Gloria, Another Time Another Place, An Cat Dubh, Rejoice, and I Fall Down. He is also quite chatty with the audience and they are certainly quite receptive to his attention. By the time he sings "call out" in 11:00 Tick tock, the audience responds by yelling "Bono!" and "Dublin!" The sound quality is excellent since it was recorded on a soundboard. The intro. to The Electric Co. that is called "The Cry" seems to have made its debut on this occasion as Bono precedes it with the words: "We're not used to doing auditions. We'll break that: this is The Cry". Before the encore of 11:00 Tick Tock, Bono tells the cheering audience: "You don't have to try so hard. We're not gonna make you wait. Can you hear it? Eleven O'Clock Tick Tock!". All in all, the CD captures the small-stage feel of U2's performance with a few bonus tracks to boot. Definitely pick this up if you're a fan of the raw and unmistakable early U2.
This is the original pressing on this label.

© 1999/2000 "For Love Or Money ? - A Guide To U2 Bootleg CDs" and Sascha Kremer
Trades Allowed Yes
Ratings Sound: BST
Owned by Ian Hiaring · Last Updated May 23, 2023