Spinal Tap “This Is Spinal Tap” (1984)

The soundtrack to Spinal Tap’s cult rockumentary serves as the only easy place to hear highlights from long out of print, impossible to find albums like Brainhammer, Shark Sandwich, and Bent For The Rent, with classics like the onstage anthem “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You,” the squalid “Hell Hole,” and sexual throb of “Big Bottom” and #5 Japanese hit “Sex Farm” leading the charge. Tap’s regrettable flirtations with progressive rock are represented by “Stonehenge,” and the ill-timed ’77 release “Rock And Roll Creation,” the album also featuring the previously unreleased Tufnel composition, “America,” and both sides of the band’s pre-Tap Thamesmen 7-inch, “Gimmie Some Money/Cups and Cakes,” both fine examples of the so called “Squatneybeat” sound that gripped the UK for 3 days in 1965. Until the long promised Tap reissues arrive (“A lot of our music they won’t put out on CD because it’s too vibrant.” – David St. Hubbins), This Is Spinal Tap is your best bet for a taste of the Tap. –Ben