In 1990, Roger Waters came up with a brilliant idea to hold a performance of his masterpiece The Wall in Berlin, on the former site of the Berlin Wall. He quickly gathered an all-star cast of performers, including Cyndi Lauper, Sinead O'Connor, Thomas Dolby, Van Morrison, etc. The concert was held on July 21, 1990, and was aired live on TV in some countries. An album of the performance was later released, along with a VHS tape. However, these later releases contain several differences to what was seen in that live airing. Luckily, an Italian broadcast of the concert has surfaced, so we can use that for comparison...
Some common changes include different vocal takes for most songs, different camera angles, and the removal of all technical difficulties. I'll bring these up when I find them interesting.
"In the Flesh?": The concert starts with WWII veteran Leonard Cheshire blowing into a whistle, cueing the arrival of skinheads on motorcycles and limousines.
The home release of this concert removes Cheshire's bit at the beginning, fading in just after he blows the whistle. The show's logo fades up differently between the two versions. During the performance, the home release tends to favor close up shots of the band, while the live version mostly sticks to wider shots.
"The Thin Ice": Removed entirely. This is because the band started to play the song despite Roger not arriving on stage yet.
"Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1": During the sax break, the live version chooses to focus on the giant Schoolmaster puppet instead of, you know, the guy playing the sax. The live version fades out at the end, while the home release shows the arrival of the helicopter that signals the beginning of the next song.
"The Happiest Days Of Our Lives": The live version rejoins the show in the middle of the Schoolmaster's opening shouts. The home release favors disturbing close up shots of the Schoolmaster's eyes, while the live version stays far away for the most part. There's also some nice shots of the drummer in the home release.
"Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2": The home release features a shot of Cyndi Lauper running onstage to begin the song. Some of the same shots are used in both versions, but one shot of Lauper running around has its frame rate halved in the home release.
"Mother": Some major alterations occur here, as technical difficulties plagued the live broadcast. The solution was to insert scenes from the flawless rehearsal take.
The first major difference is when O'Connor sings the "break my balls" part. In the rehearsal take, she's holding the mike when she says this, while in the live version, she's not.
Something seems to go wrong when the second verse starts. Rich Danko and Levon Helm (of The Band) come in too early with their vocals, and they have to start the second verse all over again. It's also at this point that the transmission gets really staticky. To cover all this up, the home release skips right ahead to the instrumental portion.
During the instrumental part, the live version shows a bizarre film of some kid wearing the faceless mask seen in the theatrical version of The Wall. The home release instead shows shots of the stage, including a giant piece of the Wall with Pink's Mother on it.
"Goodbye Blue Sky": The live version shows a film of a kid looking up at the sky as we hear Harry Waters' "Look mummy, there's an aeroplane up in the sky". The home release replaces this with a shot of the crowd.
The live transmission briefly cuts out after the second verse, so the home release inserts different footage from the rehearsal at this part.
Very different takes are also used of Joni Mitchell's performance.
"What Shall We Do Now?": The live version cuts away to a different angle about halfway through the "fucking flowers" animation, while the home release shows the whole thing.
A different closeup angle of Roger is used in the home release where he isn't wearing his usual shades. While this is going on, they also use different shots of the audience holding up two-sided masks.
Different takes are used of Bryan Adams' performance. In the live performance, he's holding the mike as he sings, while he doesn't in the version on home video.
"Young Lust": About 85% of this song uses the same shots in both versions.
"One Of My Turns": Jerry Hall's lines as the groupie are timed differently between the two versions, though they are the same takes.
When Roger is throwing various items out of the room, the live version focuses on him, while the home release intercuts this with shots of the guitarists.
"Don't Leave Me Now": The home release mainly focuses on shots of people putting the Wall together.
I'm not sure, but I think the vocals are untouched on this song.
"Another Brick In The Wall, Part 3": There's a major lyrical difference between the two versions. In the live take, Roger says "I don't need no arms around me", like on the record, while in the other take, he says "I don't need your arms around me."
"The Last Few Bricks": This song is not on the original album, as it was meant to fill time for the technicians to finish building the Wall. Anyway, the live feed cuts out again during this song, so a shot of the drummer is inserted to cover this up.
"Goodbye Cruel World": Roger can be heard muttering something before starting the song in the live take. This is absent from the take used in the home release.
The live airing stays on the same shot of Roger for the entire song, while the home release inserts some close ups.
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