The Wall: Live in Berlin differences (Part 2)

 "Hey You": Graffiti is overlaid on top of the Wall during the opening shot in the home release.

Other than that, the rest of the song uses exactly the same footage in both versions.

"Is There Anybody Out There?": Mostly the same in both versions, except for additional footage overlaid in a few spots.

"Nobody Home": The live airing actually shows us what's on the "thirteen channels of shit" that Roger sings about. I assume this had to be removed from the home release due to rights issues?

The echo on "fly to" seems to be missing from the live version.

"Vera": The home release mostly focuses on an impressive panning shot of the entire Wall.

"Bring The Boys Back Home": The title of the song is projected on the Wall in the home release, while the live version only has the words in a few shots.

"Comfortably Dumb": There's a part during the second chorus that had to be replaced in the home release because the stage smoke ended up blocking Van Morrison and The Band from view.

The live feed goes out again during the final chorus.

"In the Flesh": When the limousine arrives, the pyrotechnics go off once in the live version, but twice in the home release.

More transmission issues occur during the intro. The home release replaces this with alternate angles.

Roger's vocals seem to be unchanged in the home release.

"Run Like Hell": The arrival of the pig balloon is spoiled a bit in the live version, as it can briefly be seen at the end of "In the Flesh".

During the keyboard solo, the home release has a lot more shots of skinheads coming down the Wall on ropes. One of these shots is also slowed down in the home release.

"Waiting For The Worms": An odd bit of audio interference occurs twice during the song. Since the home release uses a different take, this is not an issue there.

"Stop": The live version has more audio interference during this song.

The home release cuts to a closeup of Roger when he shouts "STOP!!!"

"The Trial": Probably the highlight of this version of the show. All of the characters in the song are played by special guests, such as Albert Finney as the Judge, Thomas Dolby as the Schoolmaster, German singer Ute Lemper as the Wife, Marianne Faithfull as Pink’s Mother, and, best of all, Tim Curry as the Prosecutor!!!

While the vocals are the same in both versions, some kind of technical glitch happened during the Wife's part where she isn't on screen for the first part of her verse. As a result, they had Lemper reshoot her scene at Brixton Academy in London for the home release. The difference in image quality is rather obvious.

The home release is missing a rather funny shot of Roger putting his face right up in front of the camera before the Judge's verse begins.

When the Wall first starts to fall apart, I like how the live version shows an angle where we can see the technicians pushing the bricks down. The upshot shown in the home release is more dramatic, and I can see why they used this angle instead.

A lot of unimportant far shots are cut from the home release before the start of the next song.

"The Tide Is Turning": This song was added to the setlist for this concert only. It was originally on the Radio KAOS album.

Only some of the singers (such as Cyndi Lauper) appear to utilize alternate vocal takes in the home release. The rest are all the same.

There's not a lot of alternate angles in this song. Those that do appear aren't during any of the vocal parts.

"Outside The Wall": The album that was released of this show cuts this song for some reason. To be fair, "The Tide Is Turning" does make a better finale for this particular iteration of The Wall. 

The credits font is different in the home release. Some of the names have been switched around, and the live credits are a little slower.

Rather amusingly, you can barely hear the song in the live copy that's currently available, as the Italian commentators talk over pretty much the whole thing.

The Wall: Live in Berlin differences (Part 1)

 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.