Review of Return of Spinal Tap, The

Introduction

Some 10 years after they split up, Spinal Tap reformed to make the “Break Like The Wind” album and the associated tour took them back home to London. This DVD captures their Albert Hall concert and, as well as copious amounts of their special brand of heavy rock, we get a chance to see what the boys have been up to.

“This Is Spinal Tap” was the definitive rockumentary so can this DVD live up to its predecessor? Enough of my yakkin’; let`s find out.

Video

The video is presented in its original 4:3 ratio. It’s nothing special; a bit soft and a bit smeary. It does the job better than the VHS equivalent and that’s about all you can say for it.

Audio

This Tap soundtrack is noisy. And not in a good way. Unfortunately, there is a constant hiss and hum running underneath the soundtrack. It is only really noticeable during the (few) moments of silence but it is symptomatic of the general lack of care that has gone into the making of the disk.

The soundtrack is straight Pro-Logic and is just about adequate. This isn’t really a movie, as such. Rather it is a live concert video and, although I’m not a heavy rock connoisseur, I would have expected the sound to be more direct and forceful. It is generally a bit muddy and unfocussed.

Features

Not a sausage.

Conclusion

“This Is Spinal Tap” is one of my all time favourites and the recent Special Edition DVD is superb. Unfortunately, this isn’t.

The main problem is the focus on the music rather than the characters and the humour. Out of its 110 minutes, at least 90 consists of the band playing Tap classics (like Stonehenge, Sex Farm and Listen to the Flower People). While the band (and our heroes) are competent musicians, the material is too dull and bland to hold the attention. Sure, the lyrics, grandiose statements and half-assed set pieces (the band emerging from eggs, the band descending on wires and getting stuck half way) provoke a smile but, after a minute or so, the songs will have you reaching for the skip button. I admit that I’m not a fan of the genre that the Tap fondly send up but I doubt if heavy rock fans would have any more tolerance. The music’s not bad (it’d be funnier if it were), just mediocre.

During the rockumentary sections, the film comes into its own. We get to catch up with Derek, Nigel and David and, while they are older, they aren’t any wiser. We also find out that Marti has fallen on some hard times (but he’s keeping his chin up) and that Jeanine is still around. These segments are enjoyable but aren’t worth the price of the DVD or sitting through the concert. The best thing that could have been done with this material would have been to cut the running time in half and include it as part of the 2 Disc special edition.

I could only recommend it to Tap fanatics. It doesn’t come close to 11. More like 5.