Retro Spins: This Is Spinal Tap

I was that guy who thought Spinal Tap was a real band. But, I claim innocent in all of it. I wasn't introduced to them until the 1991 Tribute to Freddie Mercury Concert where they took the stage and sang Majesty of Rock. To me, they looked like a legit band. Then I saw, "This Is Spinal Tap". Great movie, but boy did it make me look like an idiot.

You'll never be able to watch a rock group seriously again after experiencing this hilarious comedy about a supposed heavy metal band called Spinal Tap. Once upon a time they had a pretty big hit song. Now, nearly two decades later, Spinal Tap still clings to some flint of their lost glory as they embark on an accented-plagued tour across America. In Cleveland, the group gets lost underneath the stage. In Washington, they're accidentally booked at an Air Force formal dance. And in a Chicago record store, no one shows up to get their autographs. It's the "rockumentary" parody that'll leave you cheering. Directed with great wit and affection by Rob Reiner. - Back of the original VHS

With its all black cover, the soundtrack, which is also featured in the movie, is in and of itself a comedy. More ironically are the number of bands / singers which have gone on to mimic the now iconic style for their own albums.

On the surface, This Is Spinal Tap comes off as just your regular every day heavy metal album. Tracks such as Hell Hole and Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight (yes, that's the title) deliver massive guitar licks and thunderous drums. However, when you sit back and actually listen to the lyrics, that's where you'll start to hear the humor behind the songs.

"Heavy (Duty)! Brings out the duty in my soul!"

It's childish in a way, but hey, sometimes things can just be stupid funny. Nothing wrong with it.

No, this isn't the kind of album I'm going to listen to repeatedly. It's honestly not even one I'll add any tracks to my iPod or iTunes shuffles, but it's still a great listen when you're in the mood for silliness and music all wrapped into one fantastic package.

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This Is Spinal Tap (Sideshow Toy)

This Is Spinal Tap
Sideshow Toy
2000

Musicians David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls make up the band, Spinal Tap!...Or, better stated, actors, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer make up the fictional band, Spinal Tap!

My introduction to the band was actually in 1991 when they took the stage at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert to entice the crowd with their song, Majesty of Rock. Loved it and immediately tracked down the album, Break Like the Wind which it's featured on - The only album of theirs I have...Well, until I wrote that sentence and immediately went to ebay to buy, "This is Spinal Tap". What can I say, I'm a sucker for impulse buying.

For the longest time, and much like The Monkees, I thought the band was legit. It never even crossed my mind they were a fictional band created as a parody and then grew into something larger - Or a legit band, if you will. Granted, Spinal Tap by no means saw the popularity The Monkees experienced.

If you haven't actually seen the movie, "This is Spinal Tap", I highly recommend you do. While its script is rather generic, it has a ton of hysterical moments. My personal favorite being when the band is setting up / rehearsing for a show and they're shown the cover for their fictional album, "Smell the Glove", for the first time. All black. No label, no songs, no picture. Just black. Ridiculous in a way because both Prince and Metallica would go forward and do the same thing with future albums. Spinal Tap can shout, "FIRST!" as this would also become the cover for the film's soundtrack / first studio album.

Of course back in 1984 when the film was produced there was no market for action figures, nor any toy producers who would have probably even considered making figures based on the characters. That's kind of why it's such a great time in action figures and has been for the past two decades. Cult classic characters have seen an abundance of releases thanks to companies such as NECA, McFarlane Toys, Mezco and of course Sideshow Toy who released these particular figures.

Each twelve inch figure comes with the character's signature guitar as well as a really nice display stand shaped like a guitar pick which features the character's name. Additionally, each figure also comes with a cardboard Spinal Tap album cover and record. Nigel features the album Shark Sandwich, David comes with Intravenus de Milo and Derek comes with a promotional album which states it's not for sale. There are also a handful of other accessories included, such as a cucumber (Derek), amp volume dial (Nigel) and sketches / drawings (David). If you watch the movie, you'll quickly discover all of these accessories make sense.

If you're in to the all in one purchasing option, Sideshow Toy produced a three pack which is actually really nice. It looks like a guitar (or keyboard) case and features a fantastic window box view of the band.

The great thing about these figures is that if you missed them in 2000 when they were first released, they're not going to break your bank. I've seen the three pack, never opened, sell for as little as $8.50. Individual figures have sold for as little as ninety-nine cents. Of course, nabbing them at these low prices is going to take a bit of patience as several sellers list them rather high and I've seen them sell for $60.00 to $150.00 too. The best thing to do is arm yourself with information on the line. You don't have to pay high prices to get them, so don't.

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