This Is Spinal Tap

Due to a hard drive meltdown I've lost this review. It will be rewritten soon.

This Is Spinal Tap movie review: stars Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean

Spinal Tap Movie trailer

This Is Spinal Tap DVD

"...Rarely do I come across a movie as funny and original as This Is Spinal Tap. (The) depiction of typical 80's British rock bands...comes off as quite accurate, and...the songs...will not only make you laugh, but are also catchy enough for you to find them stuck in your head...Cleverly spontaneous and quirky, This Is Spinal Tap is definitely a classic..." Amazon reviewer A. Schalhoub

"...I find this film funnier now then when I first saw it over 10 years ago..." Amazon reviewer Paul

"...Very good film...(reminding) us of how human and rather foolish the music industry is...brings back... ...memories of all of the 80's hair bands, when stars were gods..." Amazon reviewer Gadjet junkie

This Is Spinal Tap soundtrack

"...It saddens me to see that so many...have so badly misunderstood what is perhaps England's most literate and intelligent band...

1) Sex Farm is often misunderstood as some sort of sexist song drawing puerile analogies between barn animals and women. Tosh!...Tap are offering an insightful perspective on the objectification of women during the settlement of the American Prairie.

2) Big Bottom is often misunderstood as an even more sexist song based on juvenile delight at sexualised female buttocks. Never...Tap are issuing a satirical howl of rage at...the pseudo-anorexic 'Cosmo Woman', and are instead urging us to consider the beauty of the fuller-figured woman in line with their understanding of the role of the Goddess Image in proto-historical Europe

3) Stonehenge shows the Tap's awareness of broader archaeological issues by serving as an academic historiography of outdated interpretations of the function of British prehistoric sites - play it backwards, and you can hear the academic citations &

4) Rock and Roll Creation a syncretisation of Christian sources pre-dating St. Polycarp's letter to the Phillipians with non-Mediterranean creation myths. Ultimately, the Tap's magnificent ambition perhaps exceeds their grasp, and it cannot be claimed that they succeed - but surely they should be applauded for trying?

Perhaps it is because the Tap's genius is so wide-ranging that so many people have misunderstood the true meaning of the songs. But their legacy will live on, hewn into the living plastic of my CD collection..." Amazon reviewer Alasdair Brooks

This Is Spinal Tap screenplay

Break Like The Wind

Break Like The Wind CD

"...Spinal Tap returns! The most prolific nonexistant band ever is back with "Break Like The Wind," a wonderfully warped metal album that celebrates rock'n'roll, bad lyrics and exploding drummers. This is a bad album - gloriously, magnificently bad, in the way only a spoof can be..." Amazon reviewer E A Solinas

"...Astonishingly, perhaps, Break Like The Wind was one of the best heavy rock albums of its year (92), despite being a "spoof"..." Amazon reviewer I Bland

Break Like The Wind music videos

including Bitch School, The Majesty Of Rock etc.

Break Like The Wind poster

LIVE At The Albert Hall

The LIVE DVD

"..The Return of Spinal Tap is based around Tap's performance at the Royal Albert Hall in 1992. In between...there are clips purporting to investigate the band's humble origins in the East London suburb of Squatney, and updates from "rockumentary" director Marty DiBergi and hapless record plugger Artie Fufkin from the original movie..(The) real satirical strength of This Is Spinal Tap was never its treatment of heavy metal music (though). What the first movie did best was illuminate the egomania, paranoia, delusion, and stupidity that are the cornerstones of rock & roll as it is lived. The Return of Spinal Tap is a worthy companion piece..." Andrew Mueller Amazon blurb