What, you ain't never took in one of Spinal Tap's bloodcurdling shows, mate? Just out today on Blu-ray high-definition video disc is a newly enhanced (and we're not just talking bigger cod pieces) 25th anniversary edition of the classic, Rob Reiner-directed mockumentary "This Is Spinal Tap" (20th Century Fox, A+) what first put the Tap on the map.
In truth, though, the film is tracking their tour trajectory straight to the bottom, which included a Philly show at "Fidelity Hall" where cameramen zoom in on their "Big Bottom."
More than an hour of outtakes are served as an extra and function as a parallel production offering lots more insights into, say, unctuous music publicist Bobbi Fleckman (Fran Drescher), their rock-hating chauffeur (Bruno Kirby) and a bizarro miming waiter (Billy Crystal).
A quartet of Tap music videos, the group's odd appearance on "The Joe Franklin Show" (did he know they're a fake?) and their romp through "Stonehenge" at the 2007 Live Earth mega-concert add to the merriment.
Also fresh baked is the "Back From The Dead" (Label Industry, A-) CD, which finds the 2009 edition of Spinal Tap revisiting the classics, some in gotta-stay-current fashion, like the reggae-tized "Listen to the Flower People." Also adding to the legend are a trio of Shearer/Small's intentionally bad "Jazz Oddessey" jams and five newbies.
Going along with the endless gags are special guests Keith Emerson, John Mayer and Steve Vai. And helping crank this offering to "11" is an amazing pop-up cardboard diorama package, plus a bonus DVD with an hour-plus of extemporaneous riffing by the Tapsters today.
