ARTIST: Spinal Tap
TITLE: Break Like the Wind
YEAR RELEASED: 1992
CHART ACTION: #61 US, #51 UK
SINGLES: Bitch School (#35 UK), The Majesty of Rock (#61 UK)
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Christmas with the Devil
LINEUP: Nigel Tufnel, David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls, Rhyan Gordon, Ric Shrimpton, CJ Vanston with help on a track from Jeff Beck, Cher, Steve Lukather, Joe Satriani, Slash, Timothy B. Schmidt, Waddy Wachtel and Dweezil Zappa
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: The band reunites, this time without a movie tie-in. Kind of funny in lampooning late 80’s metal, but not as funny as the songs in the movie.
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: Spinal Tap was growing in popularity as the 80’s rolled on, and they ‘reunited’ for this album in 1992 to capitalize on that. Without a movie to provide some context of the songs, it’s just a kind of funny parody.
The record starts out strong with “Bitch School” and “The Majesty of Rock”, but then kind of peters out a bit. Some of the jokes seem hackneyed, which is unusual for anything from the Guest / McKean / Shearer trio from the movies.
Except for a couple of tracks, Tap plays it all themselves. The music sounds on point, but the parody is a bit flat.
NOTES & MINUTIAE: There was a ‘hidden’ track, “Now Leaving on Track 13”. It was track 13.
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: No
GRADE: C+: Chuckles diminish as time goes on.EXILED