About Last Night... BERLIN Book Signing at Steven Kasher Gallery

Lou Reed's 1973 release Berlin recounted the doomed love story of Jim and Caroline: comprised of ten epic tracks, it painstakingly explored their at once magnetic allure (augmented by a drug euphoria), subsequent passionate disloyalties, and inevitable catastrophic collapse. As the somber follow-up album to Reed's comparatively gleeful David Bowie-produced glam-rock record Transformer (think "Walk on the Wild Side"), critics panned Berlin as an all-around fiasco: writing it off as mere creative foundering evolving from Reed's chaotic first divorce. The album was a massive commercial failure, ergo the public seemingly concurred –- or perhaps more accurately, was given little opportunity to judge the doleful narrative for themselves. Reed consequently refused to perform the album live in its entirety for the following 30 years.

Unbeknownst to Reed, his longtime confidant Julian Schnabel was a heartfelt and passionate fan of the mythic, little-known album (even proclaiming it a "forgotten masterpiece"). The two artistic masterminds conceived of an ambitious, plaintive Berlin tour in December 2006 spanning five nights at St. Ann's Warehouse in Reed's native Brooklyn. At the outset, Reed's desolate tale was conceived to be staged as a live rock opera (not unlike The Who's Tommy) and was at long last brought to fruition with the majestic backing of a full orchestra (boasting the likes of Sharon Jones and Antony Hegarty) and the Brooklyn Youth Choir. The resulting hypnotic concert film –- with its signature cinematic Schnabel propensities (fluttering shadows, ethereal grainy celluloid, sympathetic soft-focus) and St. Ann's fantastical metamorphosis into an awe-inspiring, lofty expanse –- was a veritable collaborative effort; poignantly captured and set-designed by Schnabel, his accomplished daughter Lola shot "home movies" of Emmanuelle Seigner as the fabled Caroline that were bewitchingly projected behind the sparse stage in tandem with Reed's sweeping narrative.

Last night at the Steven Kasher Gallery (who represents Lou Reed's photographic forays), the duo reunited for a booksigning for the most recent evolution of their Berlin efforts -– a boundlessly compelling Rizzoli-published tome edited by Schnabel documenting the tour. An arty crowd including Willem Dafoe and the habitual Chelsea gallery opening regulars less-than-patiently lined up with their freshly-released copies of Berlin in tow –- bursting with glorious stills from the concert film, images from Lola's "Caroline projections," original paintings by Schnabel and printed lyrics of Reed's moving verse. While graphically telling and visually stunning, perhaps the most noteworthy of the book's dreamy attributes is an exclusive candid conversation between Reed and Schnabel –- a rare glimpse into the intimate friendship of two of today's most revered contemporary artists.