Published on Jul 29, 1999
The story goes that many real-life bands refuse to see the movie
This Is Spinal Tap, simply because the parody of the touring
heavy-metal band is too set in reality, to the point where it
almost could be a documentary of their own bands. The movie is
hilarious, and I’m proud to have a copy in my own video
library.
But the soundtrack to the movie has one little problem: the
music, while a tad simplistic, is pretty damned good. I don’t know
if Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest knew it, but
their parody of the metal scene in 1984 was actually better than
some of the sludge that real bands were putting out.
Actually, the band (whose members included keyboardist David
Caff and drummer R.J. Parnell in 1984) had to know they were on to
something; why else would they “reunite” to put out
Break Like The Wind in 1991? Granted, none of the three
actors would be giving people like Eddie Van Halen a run for their
money when it came to solos (though Shearer turns out to be quite
good on the bass), but all things considered, they’re better than
one might have expected.
Supposedly chronicling the history of the fictional British band
from the ’60s to 1984,
Spinal Tap cranks out melodies that you’ll be surprised at,
as they stick with you for a long time. “Hell Hole” is a
surprisingly catchy number with a killer chorus, though the premise
of the song – discovering your squallid lifestyle is better than
the high life – is a little weak. (“Hell Hole” could also have been
the documentary of my first bachelor apartment in River Grove,
Illinois.)
“Big Bottom,” a perfectly raunchy track that is sure to make
members of the PMRC squirm in discomfort, is too funny to be taken
seriously, and has a powerful bass riff that will burrow its way
into your head. Likewise, “America” and “Rock And Roll Creation”
have the catchy riffs and solid songwriting necessary to make these
tracks work. And this is supposed to be a parody? Even “(Listen To
The) Flower People,” a track supposedly from Spinal Tap’s
psychedelic phase, is a pretty accurate rendition of what some of
the music was like at that time.
Still, not everything on
Spinal Tap works that well. “Sex Farm” is a track I could
never warm up to, despite the fact I’ve seen the movie and listened
to this album at least a dozen times each. And one “early” track,
“Gimme Some Money,” has enough of the early ’60s kitsch to it, but
both the lyrics and the guitar solo needed more than a coat of
paint.
McKean, Guest and Shearer might be actors in their real
professions, but
Spinal Tap shows that their musical abilities are nothing to
laugh at. For a comedy work, this album is seriously good.