Steve Worek presents
THE ULTIMATE
SPINAL TAP
DISCOGRAPHY
Last Updated: APRIL 20, 2016
Added information about OPENFACED MAKO and MILAGE 1.
Welcome Tapheads to what I hope will surely be the Internet's largest (but not the loudest, I can't make a promise
like that) discography of England's loudest band.... SPINAL TAP.
A lot of Tap discographies have been attempted... in books, in magazines, and on websites. But they just
seemed to be missing something. Well, actually, more than something
- they seemed to be missing quite a bit. In fact, they were usually
big bunches of incomplete shit - BUT NO LONGER! Over time, it is
my deepest hopes that this discography will grow into something massive.
I hope that it will grow, text wise and illustration wise, into the most
complete discography of Tap if ever there was one.
Credit where it's due - fellow Tapheads Bernard Anderson (especially) and Michael Fennelly have contributed to what you see below, with additional information coming from the Tapular works of Chip Rowe, Karl French, and Peter Occhiogrosso. And of course, I must offer my compliments to the holy creators themselves, Messrs. Tufnel, St. Hubbins and Smalls. No thanks to you, DiBergi.
But hey, enough of my yakkin'.... whatd'ya say? LET'S BOOGIE.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Discography
Supplemental Downloads
SPINAL TAP SINGS "(LISTEN TO THE) FLOWER PEOPLE" AND OTHER FAVORITES
(Megaphone, 1967)
Side One
- (Listen To The) Flower People
- Break Like the Wind
- Green Leaves / Our Hideaway
- Red Robin
- A Good Different Thing
- Rainy Day Sun [withdrawn UK pressing only]
- (Again With The) Flower People
Side Two
- Have a Nice Death
- Gimme Some Money [US pressing only]
- Cups and Cakes [US pressing only]
Album Notes
- This album was released in the UK under the simpler title SPINAL TAP.
- The title track proved to be the group's only number one hit.
- "(Listen To The) Flower People" was remade three times - a reggae-styled version released as a single in 1981, a remake of the reggae-styled version on BACK FROM THE DEAD, and a straightforward remake on the Amazon.com edition of BACK FROM THE DEAD.
- "Break Like the Wind" appears in its original incarnation with Ronnie Pudding, while the 1992 version was a complete re-recording with no elements of the original track.
- "Green Leaves" is a very short parody of "Greensleeves," with Tap good-humouredly crooning about marijuana. The song serves as a silly into that leads directly into the fun sing-a-long, "Our Hideaway." (Incidentally, the original UK pressing listed the entire track as "Green Leaves.")
- The track "Rainy Day Sun" appears on the undistributed first UK pressing and the accompanying "(Listen To The) Flower People" single in its purest form, while the version released in 1992 is heavily remixed. To avoid buyers confusing the tune with songs such as the Beatles' "I Am the Walrus," Tap demanded an immediate repress of the album without the song, and pulled the single from the market.
- "Have a Nice Death" is an epic track in the vein of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." A highlight is Eric Childs' only drum solo committed to record.
- The two Thamesmen tracks at the end of side two were, in a style more commonly attributed to Capitol Records, hastily tacked on for 'added value.'
- Though the bass on the record is played by Ronnie Pudding, his playing was mimed to by Derek Smalls when the band appeared on the television show Jamboreebop. By this time, Pudding was very much the Syd Barrett of the group, and was in fact replaced on the cover of the "(Listen To The) Flower People" single by Derek, who at the time was just a mere session musician. Also, contrary to popular misconception, John 'Stumpy' Pepys did not play on this record.
- This is the only album in Tap's back catalogue to have been released on CD - the UK version of the album was released as a very poor mono pirate on the Japan-based Teichiku label. (Of course, this was pirated from a commercially-released copy, meaning that "Rainy Day Sun" does not appear.)
Reviews
- "Crisp, clear, scintillating, the first fresh breath of a new dawn sweeping over the sludgy, self-satisfied rooftops of rock 'n' roll. Or was it a new, gritty realism putting the lie to the prettified homogeneity of early-Sixties 'Bobbie' rock? Who cares? We know vintage gold when we smell it. What's really amazing is how well this stuff has aged. Our advice: Buy a few cases and lay them down in the cellar for your grandkids. Standouts include the mellow title track and the wryly portentious 'Have a Nice Death,' featuring a killer drum solo from 'Stumpy' Pepys. A+" -Inside Spinal Tap [Note that the drum solo attribution is incorrect - Stumpy Joe had replaced John 'Stumpy' Pepys by this point.]
WE ARE ALL FLOWER PEOPLE
(Megaphone, 1968)
Side One
- We Are All Flower People
- Get Me Away From The Ground
- An Astounding Aerial Escapade
- To Fly
- Cloud Cover Light (Prepare for Takeoff)
Side Two
- I Am Flight
- Aerially Dynamic
- Red Skies At Noon
- Cloud Cover Dense (Prepare for Collision)
- The Incredible Flight of Icarus P. Anybody
Album Notes
- Re-released in 1969 without the title track as THE INCREDIBLE FLIGHT OF ICARUS P. ANYBODY.
- The rarely-seen cover shows the group semi-nude on a pile of pink flowers.
- This album marked the start of the full-time membership of Ronnie Pudding's replacement, Derek Smalls.
- Aside from the title track, this album tells the story of a man who dreams of flying... moreover, who dreams of being a jet airliner. To pay for the project, he sells seats on himself.
- The title of "An Astounding Aerial Escapade" was intentionally similar to that of the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" - appropriately enough, as it also served as the subtitle for Tap's proposed BBC-TV special based on the album. (One memorable fantasy scene from the unfinished screenplay involved a fat woman being force-fed shovels of airline food.)
- Session logs reveal the working title of "Cloud Cover Dense" to have been "Landing Gear Down."
- "The Incredible Flight of Icarus P. Anybody," which closes the album, was chosen as a prime single candidate as it more or less sums up the entire tragic story in four minutes.
- A known B-side from this era is "Lady Madonna," but it is not certain which of the two singles (the title track or "The Incredible Flight") contained it.
Reviews
- "When a flower begins to fade, it gives off a faintly sickly smell, and much the same could be said for Tap's attempt to cash in on their surprisingly successful debut LP. If that one was premier Cru Bordeaux, this is pure red ink. A few of the songs were molded around a questionable proto-concept: the story of a lad who, like ill-fated Icarus, decided that he would put on wings and fly - except that he would be a kind of human airliner and sell seats on himself to pay for the project. Needless to say, the boys were 'heavy into acid' at the time. When sales proved as disappointing as the concept, the LP was retitled THE INCREDIBLE FLIGHT OF ICARUS P. ANYBODY and reissued minus the title track. The new title, however, proved eerily prophetic as far as chart position was concerned. C-" -Inside Spinal Tap
TOP HIT FOR NOWS
(bootleg - PUIT #PU702, 1968)
Side One
- Hi-Ho Silver Lining
- I Saw Her Again Last Night
- It's A Parking Lot Most Saturdays
- Red Robin
- Turn-Down Day
Side Two
- Rainy Day Sun
- Silence Is Golden
- Happy Together
- Children of the Sun
- Lady Madonna
Album Notes
- A bootleg album released in the Philippines. The packaging was typical late Sixties/early Seventies bootleg fare, with the broken English title stamped on the front of an all-white cover. (A later issue bore a photocopied song sheet with grainy black-and-white photo of 1967 Tap.) Of course, "Rainy Day Sun" and "Lady Madonna," both commercial releases, are the only tracks in fairly decent quality.
- In a situation similar to what would become of Nigel's "Calm Caravan" years later, the title of "Red Robin" (which appears here in an earlier form than on SPINAL TAP SINGS) as given on the photocopied song sheet is the incorrect "Red Robert."
- "Children of the Sun" is performed as an acoustic demo by David, and was later given away to Folktown Records artists, the Folksmen.
- "It's A Parking Lot Most Saturdays" is not Spinal Tap. Rumored to be an early prototype version of "Our Hideaway," this is in fact a track by another Megaphone band whose identity has yet to be determined.
- Many tracks are covers of recent hits, recorded as jams during the SPINAL TAP SINGS sessions. The original artists are as follows: "Hi-Ho Silver Lining," Jeff Beck; "I Saw Her Again Last Night," the Mamas and the Papas; "Turn-Down Day," the Cyrkle; "Silence Is Golden," the Tremeloes; and "Happy Together," the Turtles. The odd one out is the 1968 B-side "Lady Madonna," which of course originated with the Beatles.
THE INCREDIBLE FLIGHT OF ICARUS P. ANYBODY
(Megaphone, 1969)
Side One
- Get Me Away From The Ground
- An Astounding Aerial Escapade
- To Fly
- Cloud Cover Light (Prepare for Takeoff)
Side Two
- I Am Flight
- Aerially Dynamic
- Red Skies At Noon
- Cloud Cover Dense (Prepare for Collision)
- The Incredible Flight of Icarus P. Anybody
Album Notes
- A budget re-release of WE ARE ALL FLOWER PEOPLE, sans title track.
- Megaphone's only purpose in releasing this LP was to try and gain back money lost from the commercial failure of WE ARE ALL FLOWER PEOPLE.
- At one point, Megaphone considered an idea that would've ensured a high number of sales - a free sheet of acid in every sleeve. Understandably, this idea was vetoed.
- Tap's minimal effort at promoting this album involved a second failed attempt at having the BBC produce the story's television adaptation.
SILENT BUT DEADLY
(live - Megaphone, 1969)
Side One
Side Two
- Breakfast of Evil
- Silent But Deadly
Album Notes
- Recorded live at the Electric Zoo, Whimpton.
- "Short 'n' Sweet" is edited down from two hours (as on the AUDIBLE DEATH bootleg) to 18:37.
- The title "Short 'n' Sweet" is commonly documented in discographies as "Short 'n' Easy," though the lyrics always say "short and sweet."
Reviews
- "Tap are, needless to say, the pre-eminent live band, as this LP, recorded at the Electric Zoo, Whimpton, conclusively hints. I say 'hints' because, due to the classic short-sightedness of the button-down nerds at Megaphone, the meta-legendary two-hour Tufnel-St. Hubbins twin guitar solo on 'Short and Sweet' was chopped to a niggardly 18:37. Fortunately, some bootlegs exist (see below), and despite poor sound quality, are worth ferreting out. Humorous highlight: the snap-crackle-pop sound effects during Nigel's spoken intro to 'Breakfast of Evil.' B+" -Inside Spinal Tap
AUDIBLE DEATH
(live bootleg - Gaswind, 1969)
Side One
- Short 'n' Sweet [part one]
Side Two
- Short 'n' Sweet [part two]
Side Three
- Short 'n' Sweet [part three]
Side Four
- Short 'n' Sweet [part four]
Album Notes
- This is a bootleg of the full, two-hour version of "Short 'n' Sweet," which appeared in an edited form on SILENT BUT DEADLY.
Reviews
- "Sounds like someone had a small cassette recorder in about the 50th row of the Electric Zoo the same day SILENT BUT DEADLY was recorded. Audio quality is zilch, and the constant sound of someone choking on what must have been incredibly bad dope is distracting, but it's worth a shot, if only for the justly famous two-hour 'Short and Sweet.' -Inside Spinal Tap
BRAINHAMMER
(Megaphone #NLA184, 1970)
Side One
- Big Bottom
- Springtime
- Lie Back and Take It
- Swallow My Love
- Brainhammer
Side Two
- Shackle 'n' Stone
- Children of Squatney
- Hey Buddha
- Death Warrior
- Stonehenge
Album Notes
- This was Spinal Tap's first true heavy metal album.
- The soundtrack album for 'This Is Spinal Tap' incorrectly states the release date for this album as 1973.
- "Big Bottom" appears here in its original form. The hit version was a remixed, synthesized version created in 1982. The original version has never appeared on a compilation, though it can be heard as part of the temporary audio mix used for the legendary 4.5 hour edition of 'This Is Spinal Tap.' (A modern-day remake of the synth version appeared on BACK FROM THE DEAD.)
- "Springtime" was later re-recorded for BREAK LIKE THE WIND.
- "Stonehenge" appears here in its very first incarnation, and in a very different (and far less mystical) version than would be heard five years later on THE SUN NEVER SWEATS. The sheer lightheartedness of this original version spoils the dark mood of the album somewhat, as it sounds as though it would not have been out of place on Tap's 1967 debut LP.
- "Hey Buddha" is an instrumental interlude in the middle of side two, highlighting Nigel's then-fascination with Eastern mysticism.
- The cover was a gatefold, and also included ads for non-Tap albums on Megaphone.
- The term 'Brainhammer' was once considered as a potential name for the band, before settling on Spinal Tap.
Reviews
- "Here the band has clearly hit their lumbering stride full-tilt, moving with the lean, mean aplomb of a brontosaurus in fighting trim. 'Big Bottom,' one of their earliest evergreens, brilliantly foreshadows Queen's later lesser ode to the bum cheek, 'Fat-Bottomed Girls.' Allegations of sexism miss the point - as Derek once explained, the song doesn't demean women but merely a part of their anatomy. Also delectable for the sheer brute force of their execution are 'Lie Back and Take It' and the sultry 'Swallow My Love.' A" -Inside Spinal Tap
FLAK PACKET
(unreleased - Megaphone, 1970?)
Side One
- The Emission Position
- Balls On Fire
- It's A Jungle Down There
- Kiss The Queen's Lips Goodbye
- Flak Packet
Side Two
- Corporal Punishment Academy (I'm Going To Spank U)
- Fistaphobia
- Spread Bald Eagle
- Smokin' The Pink Cigar
- Place Your Armies Around Me
Album Notes
- It's not certain when in Tap's career this album was recorded, though documentation concerning the cover slick (see note below) strongly suggests that it was a lost follow-up to BRAINHAMMER.
- Rough outer and inner sleeves were designed, with front and back covers showing the relevant text stamped upon a green army uniform. The inner sleeve photo depicted the band posing in a Jeep, with Derek proudly raising a machine gun high.
- The obvious military themes evident in both the cover and several songs were intended by the band as a play upon, rather than approval of, the controversial war, as well as an intentional antithesis to the countless anti-war recordings dominating rock music in the late Sixties and early Seventies. Megaphone, however, found the imagery offensive, and canned the album entirely.
- The title and chorus of "Kiss The Queen's Lips Goodbye," a hard rocker detailing a siege on Squatney, are a clever in-joke - the Queen's Lips was a pub not far from David and Nigel's childhood homes. (The pub exterior, now renamed The Gun, can be seen in 'The Return of Spinal Tap.')
NERVE DAMAGE
(Megaphone, 1971)
Side One
- Nerve Damage
- A Sting on the Tail
- Pity No Prisoner
- Glandlocked
- Big Flaming Taxi
Side Two
- Plant the Demon Seed
- Fear of a Black Strap
- Miss Scarlet
- Calm Lydia (Can't Catch Me)
- Snake Shake Boogie
Album Notes
- "Pity No Prisoner" is a hold-over from BRAINHAMMER. As the subject matter is similar to that of "Shackle 'n' Stone," the group felt that one 'dungeon' song per album was enough.
- The original title of "Miss Scarlet" was the odd pun "Cluedo-sex" - due to the song's lyrics using the names of Cluedo characters as crude double entendres. However, copyright issues led to the more familiar and less litigious title.
Reviews
- Inside Spinal Tap - see INTRAVENUS DE MILO.
BLOOD TO LET
(Megaphone, 1972)
Side One
- Blood To Let
- Brain Drain
- Feel the Flesh
- Razor Blade Love
- Sally She-Devil
Side Two
- Ring Around the Ribcage
- Swinging Blade (Cut Me Down To Size Again)
- Handshake with Hades
- Crimsonfinger
- The Eve of the Day
Album Notes
- Rare as it is, this album is the subject of a grisly urban legend. Rumor has it that a teenager was once found dead next to a turntable, upon which was the BLOOD TO LET record. Coroners reported the cause of death as 'boredom.'
- The original title and lyrics of "Feel the Flesh" were actually "Peel the Flesh." Though this title seems tame compared to a lot of the more disturbing song titles of today, Megaphone thought it was too graphic at the time and forced Tap to re-record the song. In a rare case of Tap allowing one of their songs to be used in a commercial, a 2004 Dentyne ad contained a slightly rewritten version of "Feel the Flesh" entitled "Feel the Fresh." (However, this new version was not performed by Spinal Tap.)
- Despite the seemingly suicidal lyrics of "Razor Blade Love," this Derek Smalls-penned number is in fact a coded autobiography of his early 1972 stint in rehab for a cocaine addiction.
- "The Eve of the Day" (written by David to counter his own belief that there weren't enough songs about procreating at dawn) is notable for David's obviously hoarse vocals. This track was the last to be recorded before the album's deadline, leaving the band no time for improvement. (Later takes, heard on bootlegs, show that the state of his voice grew worse as the take count grew higher.)
Reviews
- Inside Spinal Tap - see INTRAVENUS DE MILO.
INTRAVENUS DE MILO
(Megaphone #DST2891, 1974)
Side One
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
- Intravenus de Milo
- Saliva of the Fittest
- Women Are a Piece of Cake
- My Axe Collection
Side Two
- Rock and Roll Nightmare
- Nice 'n' Stinky
- Eye of the Snake
- Hell's Children
- Tease Me, Squeeze Me
Album Notes
- The version of "Nice 'n' Stinky" that appears here was not the version that became a hit; that was the live version from JAP HABIT.
- "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" and "Rock and Roll Nightmare" were re-recorded for BACK FROM THE DEAD.
- Infamously went bronze, due to one million returns.
- This album was originally issued in Triphonic sound, which was Megaphone's answer to the Quadraphonic craze of the 70's. This feature is denoted by the 'T' in the catalog number, and appeared primarily on some of Megaphone's easy listening LP's of the time.
- "Rock and Roll Nightmare" made its worldwide debut on a famed 1974 segment of the NBC-TV series Midnight Special featuring a wigged 'Stumpy' Pepys and comedic singer Loudon Wainwright III miming the keyboard work of a strangely-absent Ross MacLochness.
- The title track raised controversy because of its blatant drug-related lyrics. It was banned by the BBC, though they later admitted that they never intended to play it in the first place.
- "Eye of the Snake" boasted the somewhat less suggestive working title of "The End of the Knife." While the chorus changed, the remaining lyrics stayed the same after the rewrite.
Reviews
- "Alas, a certain, how shall I say, sameness has set in during this period of the band's meteoric rise to the middle of the pack. Apart from a hard-rockin' 'Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight' and the devilishly witty deconstruction of Social Darwinism, 'Saliva of the Fittest' on INTRAVENUS, not much of substance has survived from this three-year musical backwater. But hey, they're entitled. B-" -Inside Spinal Tap [reviewed with NERVE DAMAGE and BLOOD TO LET]
- "This tasteless cover is a good indication of the lack of musical invention within. The musical growth rate of this band cannot even be charted. They're treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry." -anonymous, via Martin DiBergi
HERE'S MORE TAP
(unreleased - Megaphone, 1974?)
Side One
- Girls With Pretty Throats
- Damned Is A Blessing
- Crack Of Dawn
- Contract Disease
- Won't Quit Sniffin' Around
Side Two
- Her Heart Said No (But Her Hand Said Yes)
- Steel Wool Soup
- Bent-Over Bobbie
- Black Wizard, White Bitch
- The Wind Broke Free
Album Notes
- If the lazy album title wasn't a big-enough indication of the band's lack of enthusiasm towards being pressured into recording another album despite their hefty tour schedule, the track "Contract Disease," about a rock group who trades their testicles for a record deal, drives the point home. (In the end, Megaphone deemed the album 'too musically unappealing for release.')
- The projected release date is uncertain - if approved by the record company, the album would have likely been released towards the end of 1974 or, at the latest, very early in 1975.
- "Girls With Pretty Throats" was a failed attempt to follow-up "Big Bottom" by composing an ode to another portion of the female anatomy.
- "Bent-Over Bobbie" is an unintentionally deceptive song - unless the listener is aware of the feminine spelling, the lyrics seem to be quite homosexually-inclined.
THE SUN NEVER SWEATS
(Megaphone #DS201, 1975)
Side One
- Mighty Ouroboros (Prologue)
- Daze of Knights of Old
- The Princess and the Unicorn
- The Garden of Mists
- The Obelisk
- The Sun Never Sweats
Side Two
- Devil Take the Hindmost
- Nocturnal Mission
- Stonehenge
- Mighty Ouroboros (Epilogue)
Album Notes
- The title stemmed from Derek's mishearing of the phrase "the sun never sets on the British empire."
- This is another Tap concept album, this time relating stories from Old English mythology.
- "The Sun Never Sweats" was re-recorded for BREAK LIKE THE WIND.
- This album's very different version of "Stonehenge" was the version that became a massive hit, and a long-standing fan favorite. The full-length version heard here runs a staggering 12 minutes in length; promotional singles were released with edits of various lengths, the shortest (running four minutes) being used for future compilations.
- The four-minute single edit of "Stonehenge" was re-recorded for BACK FROM THE DEAD.
- The mythical figure of the ouroboros (a snake swallowing its own tail) was chosen because of its possible phallic symbolism - particularly because Nigel was intrigued by the idea of a penis capable of fornicating with itself. The ouroboros, voiced by a heavily-filtered David, serves as the album's narrator.
Reviews
- "Ponderous is the word for this late-blooming concept album that only a Taphead could love, padded as it is with creaky period pieces ('Daze of Knights of Old') and too-precious Donovan knockoffs ('The Princess and the Unicorn,' 'The Obelisk'). Riding the tide of British chauvinism implied in the title, Tap end up sounding, in the words of the overwrought title song, like 'the hardest concrete' that 'never quite sets.' But when Tap stumble, at least they stumble big. Their nostalgic orgy of Britannophilia, which also brought us the deathless mytho-historico-romance 'Stonehenge,' is further proof that this fine band's reach sometimes exceeded its grasp. 'Even the biggest elephant never forgets,' David sings; in sooth, prithee forget this one, lads. C" -Inside Spinal Tap
JAP HABIT
(live - Megaphone, 1975)
Side One
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
- David St. Hubbins Intro: "We're gonna kick things off with another little number from the album before this last one, called INTRAVENUS DE MORPHINE..."
- Intravenus de Milo
- Saliva of the Fittest [UK pressing only]
- Swallow My Love
- David St. Hubbins Intro: "Here's a tune for all the ladies in the house, so feel free to shower the stage with knickers and aphrodesiacs...."
- Big Bottom
Side Two
- David St. Hubbins Intro: "Let's take a bit of a nostalgia trip, shall we?"
- Gimme Some Money [UK pressing only]
- (Listen To The) Flower People
- Break Like the Wind
- David St. Hubbins Intro: "Feel free to sing along with this one. It's called 'We Are All Flower People.'" [UK pressing only]
- We Are All Flower People [UK pressing only]
- The Incredible Flight of Icarus P. Anybody
Side Three
- Brainhammer
- Lie Back and Take It [UK pressing only]
- Nerve Damage [UK pressing only]
- Blood To Let
- David St. Hubbins Intro: "Are you ready for another visit from the Goddess Intravenus?"
- Rock and Roll Nightmare
Side Four
- Band Intros
- David St. Hubbins Intro: "Anyone here want to help us stink up the Budokkan?"
- Nice 'n' Stinky
- Silent But Deadly [UK pressing only]
- David St. Hubbins Intro: "We'd like to give you a taste of the album we're working on at the moment, so to get you jumping in anticipation, here's a little heavy duty rock 'n' roll featuring Mr. Nigel Tufnel, MBE on lead guitar."
- Heavy Duty
- David St. Hubbins Outro: "Nigel Tufnel, ladies and gentlemen!"
Side Five
- David St. Hubbins Intro: "This is a little suite of songs from our new album, called THE SUN NEVER SWEATS.... it's an educational piece about Britannia. I hope you enjoy it."
- Daze of Knights of Old
- The Sun Never Sweats
- Devil Take the Hindmost
- Nocturnal Mission
- Stonehenge
- David St. Hubbins Outro: "Thank you, Japan! Hope to see you again soon!" [UK pressing only]
Side Six
- Rockin' Robin [UK pressing only]
- Short 'n' Sweet [uncut on UK pressing only]
- David St. Hubbins Outro: "We love you all! Good night and may the Devil bless all of you!"
Album Notes
- This live album was recorded during Tap's 1975 tour of the Far East to promote THE SUN NEVER SWEATS.
- The British version of this album contains the most elaborate Tap packaging ever. The two-pound box included three LP's, samples of sushi, do-it-yourself origami (including instructions on how to fold a model of the devil's head), and a paper kimono designed by Jeanine Pettibone. The American version was pared down to two LP's with no extras.
- This version of "Nice 'n' Stinky" became a surprise American hit in 1977.
- This album marked the debut of "Heavy Duty," which would appear in studio form on Tap's next album, BENT FOR THE RENT. However, the work-in-progress album referred to by David is in fact the unreleased LUSTY LORRY, where the studio recording of "Heavy Duty" made its initial appearance.
- The intros and outros aren't actually listed on the cover, and are only included here for reference purposes.
- The butchered two-LP version was sequenced as such:
- SIDE ONE: Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight / Intravenus de Milo / Swallow My Love / Big Bottom / (Listen to The) Flower People
- SIDE TWO: Break Like the Wind / The Incredible Flight of Icarus P. Anybody / Brainhammer / Blood To Let / Rock and Roll Nightmare
- SIDE THREE: Daze of Knights of Old / The Sun Never Sweats / Devil Take the Hindmost / Nocturnal Mission / Stonehenge
- SIDE FOUR: Band Intros / Nice 'n' Stinky / Heavy Duty / Short 'n' Sweet
- Some tracks on the 2-LP versions varied from their US counterparts:
- The applause after "Big Bottom" and "Icarus P. Anybody" no longer fades out, instead leading directly into the next song.
- The 'nostalgia trip' intro now leads into "(Listen To The) Flower People."
- The farewell after "Stonehenge" has been removed and replaced with a long period of applause that fades out after about thirty seconds.
- The American wing of Megaphone created a new encore (as opposed to "Rockin' Robin" and "Short 'n' Sweet") by using much of what was originally side four of the 3-LP version, and following those tracks with an edit of "Short 'n' Sweet" that runs about half the length of the UK version.
Reviews
- "Triple live barnburner that sounds a loud banzai! in the face of anyone who had lost faith in Tap's ability to soldier through the dreariest of times. Other bands may have already been cranking out double and triple live LP's in Far Eastern venues, but Tap's is somehow, well, longer and louder than most. Former session drummer Peter 'James' Bond provides a welcome (if short-lived) steadiness to the ever-turbulent percussion chair, and Ross MacLochness churns out some monster (no pun intended) keyboard riffs on the breakneck 'Devil Take the Hindmost' and the dreamy instrumental 'Nocturnal Mission.' But 'Nice 'n' Stinky' proved to be the sleeping time-bomb that would explode into unexpected mega-hitdom two years later in the US. B+" -Inside Spinal Tap
LIVE AT BUDOKKAN
(live bootleg - Japtap, 1975)
Side One
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
- Big Bottom
- (Listen To The) Flower People
- The Incredible Flight of Icarus P. Anybody
- Brainhammer
- Rock and Roll Nightmare
Side Two
- Heavy Duty
- The Sun Never Sweats
- Devil Take the Hindmost
- Nocturnal Mission
- Stonehenge
- Rockin' Robin
Album Notes
- A collection of tracks from Tap's shows at the Nippon Budokkan Hall, which were previously highlighted on the 1975 all-encompassing tour compilation JAP HABIT. This album focuses on tracks that appeared on JAP HABIT but were recorded at other venues besides the Budokkan. These versions are, for the most part, awfully similar to the versions on the official live album; though an exception is the notably faster take on "Brainhammer."
Reviews
- "In case you didn't get enough to feed your JAP HABIT, this Budokkan's for you. Stellar acoustics, although some over-heated fan keeps screaming Bonzai! in the middle of Nigel's guitar solos. A mixed blessing, but more blessed than mixed." -Inside Spinal Tap
LUSTY LORRY
(unreleased - Megaphone, 1976)
Side One
- Heavy Duty
- Lusty Lorry
- Turn Your Head (And Rock)
- Mama Woke The Neighbors
Side Two
- (She Wore) Fire and Brimstones
- Bloodrust
- Lost It In The Locker Room
- The Beast Inside You
Album Notes
- Recorded in various studios between stops on the SUN NEVER SWEATS tour. This same recording of "Heavy Duty" appeared on BENT FOR THE RENT, where it noticeably stood out, being a straightforward metal anthem rather than glam rock. As with that album, "Duty" was intended as the lead-off single for this LP.
- The title track was later rewritten as "Leather Lucy" for BENT FOR THE RENT.
- "Turn Your Head (And Rock)" features what is likely the most cringeworthy and forced pun in Tap's long list of song titles - intentionally so. The title stemmed from a bitter conversation between David and an unknown individual at a record industry party, during which the individual made snide remarks about the group's past attempts at cleverness and humor. He then sarcastically suggested that their next album feature a song with the hilarious title "Turn Your Head (And Rock)," prompting David to pen a song with this title simply to take the piss out of the fellow.
- Musical and lyrical elements of "Lost It In The Locker Room" would soon find use in the BENT FOR THE RENT track "High School Ball."
- A release date was set for early 1976, as the group wished to continue without pause the level of public interest spawned by JAP HABIT. However, the album was cancelled when Megaphone demanded that Tap adopt a new style, claiming that their heavier output was becoming repetitive. Being the third album cancelled by the label, the band grew determined to fight back, soon discovering that Megaphone had long been withholding royalties. This prompted an unsuccessful lawsuit against Megaphone - who quickly countersued in order to have Spinal Tap removed from the label entirely.
- Note the uncharacteristically short eight-song line-up. Had the creation of this LP not been interrupted by Megaphone's insistence of a more glam-friendly album, as well as the ensuing mess of legal entanglements, the group would have likely recorded two to four more songs - one of which may have been "Dusty Devils (In Dirty Drawers)" (see below).
BENT FOR THE RENT
(Megaphone, 1976)
Side One
- When a Man Looks Like a Woman
- High Heels, Hot Wheels
- Heavy Duty
- Cardiff Cutie Cruisin' ['Cleveland Cutie Cruisin'' on US pressing]
- Bent For The Rent
Side Two
- Stinkin' Up The Great Outdoors
- Panties and Lipstick
- Leather Lucy
- High School Ball
- Stay Out of Angela
Album Notes
- Tap's first and only glam-rock album.
- This album signaled the beginning of the end for the group's relationship with Megaphone records, being the first LP released after the 1975 lawsuit to remove Tap from the label.
- "Stinkin' Up The Great Outdoors" was later re-recorded for BREAK LIKE THE WIND.
- "Heavy Duty" was re-recorded for BACK FROM THE DEAD.
- To appeal equally to English and American audiences, the track "Cardiff Cutie Cruisin'" was given a change of location for the US pressing. This required nothing more than a simple, partial overdub of David's vocals. ('Cleveland' was insisted upon by Megaphone, despite the group's protests that no one would find a cutie in Cleveland.)
- The track "Leather Lucy" was a rewrite of the title track from the unreleased LUSTY LORRY album.
- Despite being a clever collection of double entendres, the trashy "High School Ball" was publicly ignored in favor of a far-too-similar tune from the same year - AC/DC's "Big Balls." Also, as previously mentioned, this track was a reworking of the unreleased "Lost It In The Locker Room."
- Upon the album's release, it was thought by fans that the title of "Stay Out of Angela" referred to a place (possibly Angola, whose name could've been mispronounced by Tap); Derek confirmed to a fan magazine that the song was actually a word of warning to Tap's fellow rock stars concerning a very real, very STD-ridden groupie, adding, "So yes, by all means, stay the fuck out of Angela."
- An outtake from this time period was the rather ill-conceived "Dusty Devils (In Dirty Drawers)," which would eventually see release on the lesser side of ROCK AND ROLL CREATION.
Reviews
- "With the exception of the memorably anthemic 'Heavy Duty' ('No page in history, baby - that I don't need/I just want to make some eardrums bleed'), this tardy entry in the glitter-rock sweepstakes is best forgotten. Ask yourself if you really want to hear Tap perform titles like the ill-conceived glam-soul pastiche 'When a Man Looks Like a Woman,' or the New York Dolls/Mitch Ryder homage, 'High Heels, Hot Wheels.' Nor did the LP go very far toward paying David, Nigel, and Derek's respective rents, for that matter. C-" -Inside Spinal Tap
TAP DANCING
(Megaphone, 1976)
Side One
- Tap Dancing
- Big Bottom
- Heavy Duty
- High Heels, Hot Wheels
- Stonehenge
Side Two
- Tap Dancing (Reprise)
- Break Like the Wind
- (Listen To The) Flower People
- Short 'n' Sweet
Album Notes
- This album was a cheaply produced collection of new 'disco' remakes of old Tap numbers, plus a newly-written title track. As one would suspect, the new versions are nauseatingly terrible, with the lengthy "Short 'n' Sweet" being the biggest offender.
- The disco version of "Stonehenge" is unique in that it combines elements from both the familiar 1975 remake, as well as the rarely heard and very different 1970 version.
- Collectors have noted this album's possible influence on the popular "Stars on 45" albums that appeared in the Eighties. Like those albums, TAP DANCING has a recurring title track that weaves in and out of the other songs, and the songs on each side are strung together in a continuous medley.
- Fearing an extreme sales slump, Megaphone released every copy with a corner already cut from the cover. (Needless to say, their predictions were correct, and this album failed to sell - in fact, many Tap fans aren't even aware of its existence.)
ROCK AND ROLL CREATION
(Megaphone #NLA1249, 1977)
Side One
- Rock and Roll Creation
- a] When There Was Darkness
- b] Rock and Roll Creation
- c] The Answer Is Clear
Side Two
- Young, Smug and Famous
- Death on a Stick
- Cock a Doodle
- Dusty Devils (In Dirty Drawers)
- Silence the Rock, Suffer the Roll
Album Notes
- Also commonly referred to as THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SPINAL TAP.
- Tap's final album for Megaphone. This was literally the closest that Tap ever came to a 'contractual obligation album.'
- Proving that the band's direct involvement ended after recording the title track, side two is a collection of unused (and exceptionally shoddy) material that didn't make it to any of Tap's previous few albums.
- The version of "Rock and Roll Creation" that became a hit, and later appeared on two compilations, is a series of three snippets from the suite. The sound-effects intro is from part a; the verses up to the middle-eight (from "When there was darkness...." to "...the forces that created me") are from part b; and the rest of the song, starting at the beginning of the middle-eight, is a condensed version of part c.
- The single edit of "Rock and Roll Creation" was re-recorded for BACK FROM THE DEAD.
- In 1997, this album finally went gold. According to Tap's website, "A splinter faction of the Egyptian Coptic church recently ordered 495,000 copies of [the] record, laboring under the mistaken impression that 'Gospel' was a new, audible book of the bible. Coptic Bishop 'Mikey' Husein, who had argued against the purchase, said recently, 'This cacophonous blasphemy has set back the course of Eastern Christendom at least a thousand years.'"
- Despite the troubles surrounding the album, Tap supported it by embarking on the Death on a Stick Tour.
- "Dusty Devils (In Dirty Drawers)" dates from the BENT FOR THE RENT era, and sees David pleading his lust for elderly women. Originally intended to be performed live amidst a group of dancing grandmas, the song was canned from BENT after Nigel convinced David that fondling the elderly would actually be quite disgusting. (Due to its re-emergence on the lesser side of this disc, David eventually did find himself the targed of unwanted, blue-haired affections.)
- "Silence the Rock, Suffer the Roll" is an outtake from the INTRAVENUS DE MILO sessions - likely scrapped due to its repetitive lyrics, which consist of nothing more than the title chanted ad nauseam.
- The 1985 edition of Inside Spinal Tap suggested that the release date of 1977 is incorrect, and that the album actually dates from sometime around 1973; however, due to the history behind this album and the issues with Megaphone, this theory is completely illogical.
Reviews
- "Score one for the bean-counters. Tap may even have got the idea for the infamous SMELL THE GLOVE cover when their former label 'rubbed their noses in it' by releasing this shoddy collection of rejected tracks after the band's much publicized lawsuit against Megaphone. Was it gratuitous irony on Megaphone's part to include an especially off-key version of the band's rarely-performed punk excursion, 'Young, Smug and Famous'? We won't dignify the bastards by giving this one a rating." -Inside Spinal Tap
- "This pretentious, ponderous collection of religious rock psalms is enough to prompt the question, 'What day did the Lord create Spinal Tap, and couldn't he have rested on that day too?'" -anonymous, via Martin DiBergi
SEXX!
(unreleased soundtrack - most likely sometime between 1977 and 1979)
Album Notes
- A movie soundtrack project that fell through. The most logical placement would be in the hiatus between the Megaphone lawsuits and Polymer signing.
- The proposed album cover, first seen on the CD-ROM version of 'This Is Spinal Tap,' is a spoof on the cover of the US version of the Beatles' HELP!.
SHARK SANDWICH
(Polymer #D18892, 1980)
Side One
- Shark Sandwich
- No Place Like Nowhere
- Throb Detector
- Devil in a Hairpiece
- Ride the Pink Stallion
Side Two
- Sex Farm
- Scratch 'n' Sniff
- Feel Me Up, Feel Me Down
- The Wetter the Better
- No One's Watching (But The Moon)
- 'Satan's Salacious Sandwich' [untitled]
Album Notes
- The first Tap release on Polymer.
- The working title of "Sex Farm" was "Bone Farm."
- "Sex Farm" was re-recorded twice for BACK FROM THE DEAD - once for the standard album in a funky arrangement (similar to the live 'Return of Spinal Tap' version), and once in its original form as an iTunes-exclusive bonus track.
- Sometime after the album's recording sessions, Derek went into the studio and secretly increased the volume on his bass parts.
- Though never explicitly stated by Tap, the title track appears to be a graphic retelling of the famed Led Zeppelin shark/groupie story, with 'shark sandwich' being Tap's crude term for a particular portion of the groupie's anatomy.
- It is believed that "Devil in a Hairpiece" targets a specific individual at Megaphone Records - and indeed, the lyrics seem to be the testament of a musician scorned.
- To tie in with the song "Scratch 'n' Sniff," promotional copies of the album allowed for scratching and sniffing the shark sandwich on the cover. Not surprisingly, the sandwich had a rather crude, fishy scent.
- "Satan's Salacious Sandwich" is a short, raucous instrumental rendition of the title track which brings the album to a close. This song was initially unlisted and untitled; its title was decided upon by a Spinal Tap fanzine.
Reviews
- "Having languished a significant three years in the tomb-like limbo of contractual lawsuits and solo maunderings, Tap are luminously resurrected here with a new label, a new direction, and (natch) a new drummer. A joyously nihilistic 'No Place Like Nowhere' and their late-disco hit 'Throb Detector' lead the way. But the sheer suggestive brilliance of 'Sex Farm' presages their eventual ascension into Heavy Metal Heaven. Who needs the self-serving 'Wild Man' posturings of today's trendy Iron John set when we can hear Tap singing about real men swinging real pitchforks? You'd have to go clear back to Breughel for an equally heady brew of hard-working everyman earthiness and primal barnyard lust. We can almost see the steam rising off the cow chips on this one. A+" -Inside Spinal Tap
- "Shit sandwich." -anonymous, via Martin DiBergi
OPENFACED MAKO
(bootleg - Hammerhead, 1980)
Includes
- Sex Farm (XXX version)
- Sex Farm (waltz version)
- Scream Thy Last Scream
Album Notes
- A bootleg of SHARK SANDWICH outtakes.
- One version of "Sex Farm" that appears here is the infamous 'XXX version,' featuring a completely different set of lyrics as David laughingly spews out the filthiest lines that come to his mind. Naturally, the take ends with all members breaking down in fits of laughter.
- The unreleased waltz version of "Sex Farm" is discussed on the DVD packaged with BACK FROM THE DEAD. David performs a brief section to show how terrible it sounded.
- "Scream Thy Last Scream" is an attempted cover of the unreleased Pink Floyd tune, which falls apart as David becomes confused by its nonsensical lyrics.
Reviews
- "A collection of outtakes from the SHARK SANDWICH sessions, replete with some very revealing in-studio banter (near-fistfights would be more like it!). A real must, especially for the never-released, XXX-rated version of 'Sex Farm.' Naughty, naughty." -Inside Spinal Tap
SMELL THE GLOVE
(Polymer, 1982)
Side One
- Hell Hole
- Chrome-Plated Mistress
- Greasin' the Beast
- Tooth In Nail 'n' Wound In Plaster
- Blistered Sisters
Side Two
- Smell the Glove
- Red Hot Breezes (Satan's Sneezes)
- Penetrating Eyes
- Hell Hath No Heartburn
Album Notes
- The last original Spinal Tap album for ten years.
- Possibly the most infamous album in the Tap canon, due to the controversy over the initial cover photo, which depicted a greased, naked woman on all fours being forced to sniff a leather glove. (This was Tap's attempt to one-up the infamously lurid artwork from White Snake's LOVEHUNTER album.) Without the band's consent, Polymer reverted to an all-black cover - a sleeve concept later stolen wholesale by Metallica.
- Although advertised in Billboard using the naked woman cover, is it unknown whether or not early pressings exist that carry the original cover, or if the change was made before any jackets were printed.
- A music video was created for "Hell Hole."
- "Hell Hole" was re-recorded for BACK FROM THE DEAD.
- In early 2006, a pristine vinyl copy of this album was actually put up for auction on eBay. Whoever won this prized treasure, however, is unknown.
- Though not included on the album, a reggae-styled remake of "(Listen To The) Flower People" was released as a single in 1981. Around the same time, Tap considered recording an entire Jamaican-styled album, but quickly nixed that idea.
- "Blistered Sisters" was once parodied by comedian John Valby, better known as 'Dr. Dirty,' as the highly explicit and gay-themed "Mister Sisters."
Reviews
- "They may have come out of the depths, but their reminiscences of that tedious time still burn on in the thundering 'Hell Hole.' Yet the band seem curiously ambivalent; are they glad to be out of a place where 'the rats are peeling,' or are they even more nauseated by the high life they've regained, however briefly ('The sauna's drafty, the pool's too hot/The kitchen stinks of boiling snails')? You figure it out. As for the notoriously suppressed cover and lurid title track, gimme a break! Tap as misogynists? Smell this, buddy! B+" -Inside Spinal Tap
HEAVY METAL MEMORIES
(Metalhouse #D404, 1983)
Side One
- Hell Hole
- Sex Farm
- Stonehenge [1975 single edit]
- The Incredible Flight of Icarus P. Anybody
- Blood To Let
Side Two
- Big Bottom [1982 version]
- Brainhammer
- Silent But Deadly [single edit]
- Bent For The Rent
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
Side Three
- Break Like The Wind
- Cups and Cakes
- Rainy Day Sun
- (Listen To The) Flower People
- Heavy Duty
Side Four
- The Sun Never Sweats
- (Again With The) Flower People
- Nice 'n' Stinky [live version]
- Rock and Roll Creation [single edit]
- Gimme Some Money
Album Notes
- A third-party compilation advertised on television not long before the release of 'This Is Spinal Tap.'
- A Rhino Records compilation CD exists with the same title, but contains no Tap content.
HERNIA
(unreleased boxed set - 2000's)
Album Notes
- Allegedly a twenty-four disc set of every non-CD Tap album and single.
- The latest mention of this project was in 2000, when Derek stated that its release would depend on the success of the soundtrack and BREAK LIKE THE WIND reissues. (Six years later, one can only guess that the reissues did not do as well as hoped.)
GOT THAMESMEN ON TAP
(bootleg - Merseybleat, date unknown)
Includes
- Gimme Some Money
- Cups and Cakes
- Route 66
- Shakin' All Over
- Rockin' Robin
- Baby Please Don't Go
- My Baby Wants It Tonight
- Can't Buy Me Love
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Louie, Louie
Album Notes
- An amateur recording of an early Thamesmen gig, circa 1964, recorded at a club in Rotterdam.
- The version of "Cups and Cakes" heard here is very different due to the lack of an orchestra, with the music primarily played on acoustic guitars with light percussion. (This is comparable to some of the Beatles' live performances of "Yesterday," in which they used guitars and drums instead of the usual pre-recorded orchestral backing.)
- A particularly obscure cover, the blues tune "My Baby Wants It Tonight" was originally performed by legendary bluesman and early Tap influence Blind Bubba Cheeks.
Reviews
- "If our ears don't lie, this is historic stuff, with Ronnie Pudding and a pre-gardening accident 'Stumpy' Pepys in top form. Early hits and a cool smattering of cover versions, purportedly taped in an underground club in Rotterdam. On the other hand, it may just be an incredible simulation, which pretty much amounts to the same thing." -Inside Spinal Tap
MAXIMUM TAP
(Mango, date unknown)
Includes
Album Notes
- An extremely obscure Japanese compilation. The title is merely a rough translation.
ROCK ALSO RISES / TO ROCK OR NOT TO ROCK / (?) OF THE SPHINCTER
(no information available)
Album Notes
- These three mysterious titles can be found on the "This Is Spinal Tap" CD-Rom, amongst a slideshow of informational notecards about the band's history written during the production of the film. (The previous notecard lists several of Tap's other albums, albeit out of order, including FLAK PACKET, LUSTY LORRY, and HERE'S MORE TAP. A title written on that list, but crossed out, is WE ARE THE MUSIC - obviously referring to Ronnie Pudding's solo release.)
- Given how densely packed Tap's chronology is already, it is highly possible, and extremely likely, that these weren't unreleased albums in their own right, but rather working titles for known Tap LP's - the most probable contenders being the group's 1970-1974 Megaphone output, though ROCK ALSO RISES may have been a working title for THE SUN NEVER SWEATS.
- The first word of the third title is illegible.
- Of course, however, there is the slight possibility that these aren't album titles at all, but rather the titles of unreleased songs.
MILAGE 1
(by Milage - Tropicks, 1967)
Side One
- Letters From a Dream
- 'Twas a Trip to Taiwan or Taipei
- Sad Clown (Without a Flower)
- An Army of One's Own
- Dr. Terrific's Topical Ointment
Side Two
- Rocks in My Socks
- We're In This Together
- Black and White Summer
- Arts for the Heartless
- A Pocketful of Posies
- Origami Jupiter
Album Notes
- A little known album by Milage, a band featuring a pre-Tap Derek Smalls.
- The minor hit "We're In This Together" seems to have received a mention in the lyrics of Spinal Tap's "The Majesty of Rock."
I AM MORE MUSIC
(by Ronnie Pudding and the Pudding People - Megaphone, 1967)
Side One
- I Am The Music
- (Dance With The) Dandelions
- Here's To You, Rupert
- Yesterday We Were Friends
- With God On Bass
- Evergreen, Evermore
Side Two
- Why Aren't You Singing
- Rainbow River
- I Saw The Sun Shine (Last Night)
- Soul Pudding
- Admiral Anderson Came Home
- I Am More Music
Album Notes
- An album by ex-Tap bassist Ronnie Pudding and his short-lived, new band.
- This was the followup release to his successful single, "I Am the Music." Though not appearing on this LP, the B-side to Ronnie's single was a live cover of the Chips' "Rubber Biscuit."
DOESN'T ANYBODY HERE SPEAK ENGLISH?
(by Ross MacLochness - most likely after 1975)
Side One
- Hot One Tonight
- Namibian Meditation
- She Didn't Know The Word 'Love'
- The Bushman
- Don't Feed The Wildlife
Side Two
- How Do I Tell You (There's A Wildebeest In Town)
- Unfamiliar Sunrise
- Sneaker Prints In The Sand
- Nude To The World
- You're Always Welcome In Our Hut
Album Notes
- The sole known solo release by former Tap keyboardist Ross MacLochness, recorded during his time as a missionary in Namibia.
- Some confusion exists over this album, as the band have specifically stated on two occasions (the "Final Tour" promo reel and on the BACK FROM THE DEAD's accompanying DVD) that it was Ronnie Pudding who became a missionary and released this album. However, this seems to be incorrect.
- The final track, "You're Always Welcome In Our Hut," features the voices of the natives with which MacLochness worked, singing a short parody of a Shel Silverstein classic.
IT'S A SMALLS WORLD
(by Derek Smalls - unreleased - circa 1978)
'Side One'
- Expressway To Your Heart
- Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)
- Canadian Railroad Trilogy
- Skinhead Moonstomp
- Derek's Dub World
'Side Two'
Album Notes
- This unreleased album was a side-project during the band's three-year hiatus.
- A working title for the project was SMALLS SMELLS, with a proposed sleeve design featuring a scratch-and-sniff photo of Derek.
- The album never progressed beyond an unfinished eight-track demo, but was released illegally in a rather strange mix as the 1979 boot IT'S A DUB WORLD.
- What would have been side one consists mostly of covers of Derek's favorite bass-heavy tunes, while "Jazz Odyssey" would have comprised the entirety of side two.
- The cover of Symarip's "Skinhead Moonstomp" segues seamlessly into the lengthy, observational "Derek's Dub World", in which Derek describes his vision of a perfect society dominated by ska. The final instrumental jam of this track would have been trimmed for the commercial album, as it pushes side A to the slightly unconventional length of 24 minutes.
- A variant of "Jazz Odyssey" (retitled "Jazz Oddyssey") appeared as a three-part suite on the Spinal Tap album BACK FROM THE DEAD. This marked the first time that Nigel performed on the song.
- The Beatles' "Rain" was also covered during these sessions, featuring a lengthy portion in which Derek experimented with backwards bass sounds. In the rough line-up, however, this was replaced by Gordon Lightfoot's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy," thankfully cutting down some of the blatant self-indulgence suffered by much of the album.
- In an unused scene from the DiBergi documentary, Derek attempts to explain the point of this album - "It's about the bass as the symbol of... the basis of mankind, being common humanity. You see. And there's some songs about... it's kind of political, you know, it gets into, there wouldn't be unemployment in Britain if all the Pakis went back. It's things like that. [Ed. - Referring to a couplet in the lyrical portion of "Derek's Dub World."] But basically, it just takes the idea of all bass as our basis - the fact that we are all.... people." Understandably, Marty seems confused.
IT'S A DUB WORLD
(by Derek Smalls - bootleg - Skaface, 1979)
Side One
- Expressway To Your Heart
- Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)
- Canadian Railroad Trilogy
- Skinhead Moonstomp
- Derek's Dub World
Side Two
Album Notes
- Derek Smalls' first and apparently only true solo bootleg (along with the lone Skaface boot) is an LP of the eight-track demo made during the IT'S A SMALLS WORLD project. A major snag, however, is that the bootlegger who sneakily duplicated the master tape only copied the bass tracks.
- Ironically, Derek's original concept for IT'S A SMALLS WORLD was that the album's orchestration should consist entirely of basses.
Reviews
- "The bass tracks only to Derek's never-released solo LP, somehow pirated from the studio where he was working at the time. Lets the imagination run wild." -Inside Spinal Tap
NIGEL TUFNEL'S CLAM CARAVAN
(by Nigel Tufnel - Plutarch, 1979)
Side One
- Clam Caravan
- Rest, Said The Sky
- Camel-Towed
- Sandy Sandals
- Get Off My Oasis
Side Two
- The Little Mule Died
- Red Robin
- Are You There, Buddha?
- Green, Green, Green
- Lick My Love Pump
Album Notes
- A solo release from Nigel, recorded during the band's hiatus.
- The album and song titles were meant to be "Calm Caravan," but were misspelled when the sleeve and labels were designed.
- The entirety of side one is a suite, telling of a death-defying desert trek.
- "Clam Caravan" was later re-recorded for BREAK LIKE THE WIND.
- "Lick My Love Pump" appears here in an embryonic form, far from the three-part, clarinet-based piece that Nigel discussed in 'This Is Spinal Tap.'
- "The Little Mule Died" is an awful child-like ditty that is briefly heard in a 'This Is Spinal Tap' outtake as Nigel plays a snatch to Marty on one of his many guitars.
- "Red Robin" is a remake, bearing a different arrangement to the version on Tap's debut LP. Sounding similar to "Mule," it has been turned into a truly awful, childish ditty.
- "Are You There, Buddha?" is a remake as well, this time being a more ethereal, haunting take on the 1970 instrumental "Hey Buddha."
- "Green, Green, Green" is a cover of the hit by Nigel's musical hero, Jimmy Alfano.
- According to BMI by way of a Nigel interview, this album failed to sell a single copy, sending Nigel into a deep bout of depression.
Reviews
- "Ah, yes, the solo albums, product of Tap's banishment from Megaphone and their near-legendary sojourn in Nigel's Scottish castle. To be perfectly honest, the infelicitously mistitled CLAM CARAVAN (the label should've read 'Calm') is right up there with such fish-out-of-water efforts as Bill Wyman's A STONE ALONE and Roch MacLochness's DOESN'T ANYBODY HERE SPEAK ENGLISH? Just as MacLochness's solo LP sprang from his experience of missionary work in Namibia, Nigel's exotic sound-trip to the North African desert seems to emerge from some dark, arid patch of his troubled psyche. If this is any indication of the sheer torpor of Tap's collective dark night of the soul, it's probably just as well that Derek's solo opus, IT'S A SMALLS WORLD, never saw the flourescent light of record stores. C-" -Inside Spinal Tap
PYRAMID BLUE
(by Nigel Tufnel - unreleased - 1980's?)
Includes
- Pyramid Blue
- Just Deserts
- Loudly, He Parted
Album Notes
- A concept album intended as a followup to CLAM CARAVAN - this time musically relating Moses' flight from Egypt.
- All instruments on this album were performed by Nigel.
- The title track is a more finished and refined version of "Lick My Love Pump."
- Chronological placement is difficult, but the first mention by Nigel of this project seems to have appeared in the 1985 edition of Inside Spinal Tap.
- This may have been part of the demos rejected in 1990 by Windham Hill Records.
- At some point during the development of this album, the second word of the title was amended from "Blues" to "Blue."
- Period outtakes not related to the story include "Who's For Tennis?," "Pondering the Ferret (In A Minor)," and "Eat Your Biscuit, Trevor."
BJORK, BJORK
(by David St. Hubbins - unreleased - possibly late 1990's)
Album Notes
- An apparently unfinished project, intended to be an album of Icelandic Broadway tunes.
- Mentioned in the same interview as BREAK LIKE THE WIND MARK II (see below).
CAN'T STOP SITTING
(by Skaface - bootleg - date unknown)
Includes
- Jam It Up
- My Girl Lollipop
Album Notes
- A bootleg of a concert by Skaface, an all-white Jamaican band featuring Derek Smalls. The existence of this bootleg was first discussed in an interview found within Inside Spinal Tap.
Back to top
These releases were detailed in a Vinyl Hell article written by Scott Sookman. Fans are advised to take this information with a grain of salt, as no evidence has emerged confirming the existence of any of these alleged releases.
FLESH TUXEDO
(live bootleg - 1975)
Includes
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
- Big Bottom
Album Notes
- "Bootleg LP. Recorded at two concerts in Ooverhoort, the Netherlands, and Liege, Belgium, during Tap's mid-Seventies heyday. These are audience recordings, but of fair quality. The only distraction is a fan near the recording device yelling 'louder!' in French throughout the entirety of Side Two. Issued around 1975 in an edition of 2000, and later reissued in several extremely limited runs on flesh-colored vinyl."
PAID IN JAPAN
(live bootleg - Kobayashi, 1985)
Includes
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
- Sex Farm
- Big Bottom
- Heavy Duty
- Hell Hole
Album Notes
- "A souvenir of Tap's aborted Japanese tour which ended 'This Is Spinal Tap' on such a triumphant note. Contains the complete Kobe Hall concert as seen in the film. This was put out in the aftermath of the release of TIST in Japan (whose title in Japanese was, roughly, Maximum Heavy Rocker Warrior Tour). Shortly after its release in Japan, the master tapes vanished. Some fingered as the culprit Joe 'Mama' Besser. Accordingly, it is one of the rarest of Tap collectibles and changes hands for prices in the low two figures."
HARK, BEOWULF: A FUSION OPERA
(by Derek Smalls' Jazz Avengers - Warren Brothers #XCJ-12-3557-02, 1986)
Album Notes
- "This obscure 1986 release is very odd. Although allegedly produced by Derek, he was probably not a member of the group. He is not credited with any playing or songwriting on this LP, a strange jazz/funk reworking of the myth of Beowulf. Although Derek, upon being shown the LP during a 1994 interview, stated that he couldn't remember anything about it, he did not deny having any involvement either. 'It was a bad time,' Derek recalled. 'That period is very hazy.' What period? asked the interviewer. 'The Eighties.'"
IT'S A SMALLS WORLD
(by Derek Smalls - bootleg - Potato #CD-12, 1992)
Includes
- Expressway To Your Heart
- Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)
- Canadian Railroad Trilogy
- Skinhead Moonstomp
- Derek's Dub World
- Jazz Odyssey
- Rain
- Jam It Up [by Skaface]
- Jam It Up (Part 2) [by Skaface]
Album Notes
- "A bootleg CD of Derek's never-issued solo LP from the late Seventies. Released to coincide with the release of BREAK LIKE THE WIND. Contains bonus tracks in the form of several outtakes of the same period which were not intended to be on the LP. Less irritating than the bootleg LP, IT'S A DUBS WORLD [sic!], but not much. Also includes a couple of Skaface outtakes. For serious Derek-heads only."
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LENNY AND SQUIGGY PRESENT LENNY AND THE SQUIGTONES
(by Lenny and the Squigtones [featuring Nigel Tufnel] - live - Casablanca #NBLP-7149, 1979)
Side One
- Vamp On
- Night After Night
- Creature Without a Head
- King of the Cars
- Squiggy's Wedding Day
- Love is a Terrible Thing
Side Two
- Babyland (For Eva Squigmann)
- (If Only I Had Listened To) Mama
- So's Your Old Testament
- Sister-In-Law
- Honor Farm
- Starcrossed
- Only Women Cry
- Foreign Legion of Love
- Vamp Off
Album Notes
- A live album by Laverne and Shirley-born novelty act Lenny and the Squigtones, boasting a credited Nigel Tufnel as a member of the Squigtones. Nigel, pictured on the inner sleeve with a startlingly short school-boy haircut, is credited with providing guitar, clarinet and vocals.
- Never officially released on CD, though bootleg CD's do exist. MP3's of this album are not particularly difficult to find, either.
- Some Tap fan-sites claim that this album contains a cover of Tap's "Heavy Duty." However, this claim appears to be untrue.
THIS IS SPINAL TAP
(soundtrack - Polydor #POL-817846, 1984)
Side One
- Hell Hole
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
- Heavy Duty
- Rock and Roll Creation [single edit]
- America
- Cups and Cakes
Side Two
- Big Bottom [1982 version]
- Sex Farm
- Stonehenge [1975 single edit]
- Gimme Some Money
- (Listen To The) Flower People
2000 CD Bonus Tracks
- Christmas with the Devil
- Christmas with the Devil [Scratch Mix]
Album Notes
- Though the cover is almost identical to SMELL THE GLOVE, "Hell Hole" is the only song that the two albums have in common.
- The song "America," written under the title "If I Were King of America" during the 1982 American tour, makes its debut on this compilation.
- A remastered CD was released in 2000, with two bonus tracks - the sides of the rare "Christmas with the Devil" single from 1984.
- "Christmas with the Devil" was re-recorded for BREAK LIKE THE WIND.
- "America" was re-recorded for BACK FROM THE DEAD.
Reviews
- "More of a greatest hits package - albeit with many of their later tunes given new live treatments - than a bold step forward. Still, the LP does have one unassailable advantage over most of the others reviewed here: IT'S STILL IN PRINT! A-" -Inside Spinal Tap [The comment about 'new live treatments' is particularly odd, as many of these songs stem from the original recordings, save the revised version of "Big Bottom."]
BREAK LIKE THE WIND
(MCA #MCAP10514, 1992)
Side One
- Bitch School
- The Majesty of Rock
- Diva Fever
- Just Begin Again
- Cash On Delivery
- The Sun Never Sweats [remake]
- Rainy Day Sun [remix]
Side Two
- Break Like the Wind [remake]
- Stinkin' Up the Great Outdoors [remake]
- Springtime [remake]
- Clam Caravan [remake]
- Now Leaving on Track 13 [hidden track]
- All The Way Home [remastered demo]
Album Notes
- The working title of this album was BACK IN THE HARNESS AGAIN.
- Spinal Tap intended this to be a series of there albums, released hours apart, as Guns 'n' Roses did with the two-album USE YOUR ILLUSION. However, the master tapes for discs two and three were lost before release.
- Two unreleased songs from this period are "Back In Harness" and "Just Spell My Name." According to Derek, "Back In Harness" was intended as a possible concert opener.
- All old songs, except "Rainy Day Sun" and "All The Way Home," are complete re-recordings. "Rainy Day Sun" is a heavily remixed version of the 1967 single, and "All The Way Home" is a remastered version of the 1961 demo. (Incidentally, listen for a young Derek Smalls at the start of "All The Way Home" - whether he actually appears on the song itself is a subject worth debate.)
- A non-functioning eight-track tape of the album was released as a promotional item.
- "Now Leaving on Track 13" is not listed on the cover. In the recent StudioCanal book about 'This is Spinal Tap', this song is erroneously titled "Let Him Go."
Reviews
- "Tap's first new LP in a decade presents both the ultimate enigma and the ultimate challenge to their credibility. Daringly interlarding hot new tracks in the band's reborn molten metal style ('Bitch School,' 'Cash On Delivery') with classic period pieces ('The Sun Never Sweats,' 'Clam Caravan,' 'All The Way Home'), BLTW offers a uniquely valuable panorama of the band's development. But it also begs the question, Have Tap Sold Out? Squeaky clean production values, all-star guest soloists like Jeff Beck, Steve Lukather, Dweezil Zappa, and Cher(!), flawless engineering, and socially relevant issues ranging from ecology ('Stinkin' Up the Great Outdoors') to euthanasia ('Track 13') - are these the qualities we've come to expect from England's Loudest Band? The real payoff just may be 'Rainy Day Sun,' a deliriously psychedelic foreshadowing of Kinks/Small Faces/Beatles modalities that was the original B-side of 'Flower People.' The story is that the 1967 tune was yanked by the band after 'I Am the Walrus' and 'Itchycoo Park' came out, so as 'not to cause confusion in the marketplace,' and was never included on its debut LP. How fitting that Tap's one legitimate chance to be ahead of its time ended up as an obscure collector's item until 25 years after its time! Overall, I'm strongly ambivalent about this one, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt; as with the previous LP, you can actually buy it in stores. A" -Inside Spinal Tap
BREAK LIKE THE WIND MARK II
(unreleased - MCA?, possibly 1996)
Includes
- Bitch School
- The Majesty of Rock
- Diva Fever
- Just Begin Again
- Cash On Delivery
- The Sun Never Sweats [remake]
- Rainy Day Sun [remix]
- Break Like the Wind [remake]
- Stinkin' Up the Great Outdoors [remake]
- Springtime [remake]
- Clam Caravan [remake]
- Now Leaving on Track 13 [hidden track]
- All The Way Home [remastered demo]
- Goat Boy
Album Notes
- Mentioned as forthcoming in a 1996 online chat by Derek, but never surfaced.
- This would have been identical to BREAK LIKE THE WIND except for the addition of a new song, "Goat Boy."
- The as-yet-unreleased "Goat Boy" was written for a 1996 IBM commercial.
BACK FROM THE DEAD
(The Label Industry #1348101967, 2009)
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight [remake]
- Back from the Dead
- (Funky) Sex Farm
- Rock and Roll Creation [remake]
- Jazz Oddyssey I
- Gimme Some Money [remake]
- Rock and Roll Nightmare [remake]
- Heavy Duty [remake]
- America [remake]
- Jazz Oddyssey II
- (Listen To The) Flower People (Reggae Stylee) [remake]
- Hell Hole [remake]
- Big Bottom [remake]
- Celtic Blues
- Jazz Oddyssey III
- Warmer Than Hell
- Stonehenge [remake]
- Short 'n' Sweet
- Cups and Cakes [remake]
Bonus Tracks
- Saucy Jack [SpinalTap.com exclusive]
- (Listen To The) Flower People [remake] [Amazon.com exclusive]
- Sex Farm [remake] [iTunes exclusive]
Album Notes
- Tap's first physical release of any sort (not including the 2000 remasters) since 1992.
- This album marks the first ever studio recordings of "Short 'n' Sweet," "(Funky) Sex Farm," and "Celtic Blues."
- The title track is the same recording released exclusively in MP3 format in 2000.
- The package also includes a DVD, featuring Tap's song-by-song commentary, as well as an elaborate fold-out cover.
- Nominated for two Grammies - Best Comedy Album (a rather insulting description) and Best Recording Package.
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SPINAL TAP RARITIES
(MOFO Ministries, 1992-1993?)
Side One
- Talk With Tap I
- Sex Farm [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- "Autographs In South Bend" [from TIST workprint]
- Talk With Tap II
- Big Bottom [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- "Return To Nilford" [from 'The Return of Spinal Tap']
- Talk With Tap III
- "Where Are They Now?: Artie Fufkin" [from 'The Return of Spinal Tap']
- "I Just Want My Money" [from TIST workprint]
- Gimme Some Money [Rockline, March 23 1992]
- We Three Kings [Christmas benefit album, 1993]
- Bitch School [David Letterman, March 27 1992]
- David St. Hubbins Interview [David Letterman, March 27 1992]
- Rock and Roll Nightmare [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- Sex Farm [by Mel Torme, from 'The Return of Spinal Tap']
- Whole Lotta Lord [by Lambsblood, from 'The Return of Spinal Tap']
- "Where Are They Now?: Marti DiBergi" [from 'The Return of Spinal Tap']
Side Two
- "Jeanine Introduces Ricky" [from TIST workprint]
- Hell Hole [with Ricky on lead guitar/vocals] [from TIST workprint]
- "Now That's Music" [from TIST workprint]
- "The Morning After" [from TIST workprint]
- (Listen To The) Flower People (calypso version) [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- "Radio Promos" [from TIST workprint]
- All The Way Home [Rockline, March 23 1992]
- "Tap on W111, Cleveland" [from TIST workprint]
- "The Folksmen" [from 'The Return of Spinal Tap']
- "Where Are They Now?: Jeff Beck/Lt. Bob Hookstratten" [from 'The Return of Spinal Tap']
- Master Jack [by Four Jacks and a Jill]
- "A Visit with Spinal Tap" [Saturday Night Live, May 5 1984]
- Christmas with the Devil [1984 single version]
- Night After Night [by Lenny and the Squigtones, featuring Nigel on guitar]
- Heavy Duty [partial, live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
Album Notes
- A bootleg cassette created by Chip Rowe, owner of SpinalTapFan.com.
- The tape re-emerged in 2011 as 128 Kbps MP3's.
ULTRA RARE TAP, VOLUME 11
(independent release, most likely 1990's)
- Bitch School [David Letterman, March 27 1992]
- Big Bottom [Saturday Night Live, May 5 1984]
- Gimme Some Money [Rockline, March 23 1992]
- The Majesty of Rock [Freddie Mercury Tribute, April 20 1992]
- "Radio Promos 1" [from The Simpsons]
- Christmas with the Devil [1984 single version]
- Break Like the Wind [Rip Magazine party, October 6 1991]
- All The Way Home [Rockline, March 23 1992]
- Sweet Georgia Brown [Les Paul and Nigel, Dennis Miller Show, May 12 1992]
- "Radio Promos 2" [from TIST workprint]
- Hell Hole [with Ricky on lead guitar/vocals] [from TIST workprint]
- Heavy Duty [Rip Magazine party, October 6 1991]
- (Listen To The) Flower People (calypso version) [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- We Three Kings [Christmas benefit album, 1993]
- Christmas with the Devil [Arsenio Hall Show, December 17 1992]
Album Notes
- A well circulated bootleg that was very popular before being upstaged by the massive NONE MORE BLACK (see below).
TWO-IN-ONE
(independent release, most likely after 2000)
- Hell Hole
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
- Heavy Duty
- Rock and Roll Creation [single edit]
- America
- Big Bottom [1982 version]
- Sex Farm
- Stonehenge [1975 single edit]
- Gimme Some Money
- (Listen To The) Flower People
- Bitch School
- The Majesty of Rock
- Diva Fever
- Just Begin Again
- Cash On Delivery
- The Sun Never Sweats [remake]
- Rainy Day Sun [remix]
- Stinkin' Up the Great Outdoors [remake]
- Springtime [remake]
- Clam Caravan [remake]
- Christmas with the Devil [remake]
- Now Leaving on Track 13
- All The Way Home [remastered demo]
Album Notes
- Formerly listed in the CDDB/Gracenote database.
- A pirate combining the first two Spinal Tap CD's onto one disc.
- "Cups and Cakes," the 1984 "Christmas" mixes, and (ironically enough) "Break Like the Wind" are missing.
SPINAL TAP 1
(independent release, sometime after 2000)
- All the Way Home [remastered demo]
- America
- Back From The Dead
- Big Bottom [1982 version]
- Break Like The Wind [remake]
- Cash On Delivery
- Christmas With The Devil [remake?]
- Clam Caravan [remake]
- Cups and Cakes
- Diva Fever
- Farm
- Flower People
- Gimme Some Money
- Heavy Duty
- Hell Hole
- Just Begin Again
- Look Back In Anger
- Rainy Day Sun [remix]
- Rock and Roll Creation [single edit]
- School
- Stinkin' Up The Great Outdoors [remake]
Album Notes
- A pirated 'greatest hits' album once seen in the CDDB/Gracenote database.
- Strangely, the titles of "Sex Farm" and "Bitch School" have been censored.
- "Look Back In Anger" is NOT by Spinal Tap. Though it's impossible to tell without hearing the disc, it is either "Don't Look Back In Anger" by Oasis (which had already circulated on P2P as a Rutles track), or a more likely possibility, "Look Back In Anger" by David Bowie.
- For reasons unknown, the tracks are alphabetized, even accomodating the censored titles and the truncated title of "(Listen To The) Flower People."
TURN THE DIAL TO 11
(independent release, sometime after 2000)
- "Sustain" [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Back from the Dead
- Big Bottom [1982 version]
- We Three Kings [Christmas benefit album, 1993]
- Rainy Day Sun [remix]
- "Don't Understand" [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Cups and Cakes
- Sex Farm
- Gimme Some Money
- "Don't Point" [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- The Sun Never Sweats [remake]
- All the Way Home [remastered demo]
- The Majesty of Rock
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
- "Armadillos" [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Bitch School
- Heavy Duty
- Break Like the Wind [remake]
- Cash On Delivery
- "Clever" [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Rock and Roll Creation [single edit]
- Stonehenge [1975 single edit]
- "Green Globule" [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Hell Hole
- Diva Fever
- (Listen To The) Flower People
- "Goes To 11" [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
Album Notes
- A pirated 'greatest hits' album once seen in the CDDB/Gracenote database.
THE ULTIMATE ROCK AND ROLL CREATION
(independent release, sometime after 2000)
- All the Way Home [live, 1992]
- Cups and Cakes
- Gimme Some Money
- (Listen To The) Flower People
- Rainy Day Sun [live, 1992]
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
- Heavy Duty
- Big Bottom [1982 version]
- Sex Farm
- Hell Hole
- Stonehenge [1975 single edit]
- Rock and Roll Creation [single edit]
- America
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Big Bottom [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Hell Hole [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Rock and Roll Creation [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Gimme Some Money [soundcheck] [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Heavy Duty [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Nigel Guitar Solo [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Stonehenge [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Sex Farm [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Jazz Odyssey [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight (Reprise) [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Just Begin Again
- The Majesty of Rock [live, 1992]
- Bitch School [live, 1992]
- Cash On Delivery
- Stinkin' Up the Great Outdoors [remake]
- Back from the Dead
Album Notes
- A pirated combination rarities/greatest hits set.
- Despite the title, there is little relation to the album ROCK AND ROLL CREATION outside of two versions of its title track.
- The source of the live tracks is unknown, but may have been 'The Return of Spinal Tap.'
NONE MORE BLACK
(independent release, sometime after 2003)
Disc One
- Back from the Dead
- Rock and Roll Nightmare [Midnight Special, 1974/The TV Show, 1978]
- Christmas with the Devil [Saturday Night Live, May 5 1984]
- Big Bottom [Saturday Night Live, May 5 1984]
- Break Like the Wind [Rip Magazine party, October 6 1991]
- Heavy Duty [Rip Magazine party, October 6 1991]
- All The Way Home [Rockline, March 23 1992]
- Gimme Some Money [Rockline, March 23 1992]
- Bitch School [David Letterman, March 27 1992]
- The Majesty of Rock [Freddie Mercury Tribute, April 20 1992]
- Bitch School [MTV Spring Break]
- Heavy Duty [partial, MTV Spring Break]
- Stinkin' Up the Great Outdoors [MuchMusic, July 1 1992]
- The Majesty of Rock [Arsenio Hall Show, May 18 1992]
- Christmas with the Devil [Arsenio Hall Show, December 17 1992]
- Stonehenge [Jay Leno, October 4 2000]
- Back from the Dead [David Letterman, 2000]
- (Listen To The) Flower People / Hell Hole [VH1's The List, June 22 2001]
- Big Bottom [VH1's The List, June 22 2001]
- We Three Kings [Christmas benefit album, 1993]
- Sweet Georgia Brown [Les Paul and Nigel, Dennis Miller Show, May 12 1992]
- Children of the Sun [by The Folksmen, from 'A Mighty Wind' DVD]
- Corn Wine [by The Folksmen, from 'A Mighty Wind' DVD]
Disc Two
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight [from 'The Final Tour']
- Big Bottom [from 'The Final Tour']
- Heavy Duty [from 'The Final Tour']
- Stonehenge [from 'The Final Tour']
- Sex Farm [from 'The Final Tour']
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight [from TIST workprint]
- Rock and Roll Creation [from TIST workprint]
- Hell Hole [from TIST workprint]
- Big Bottom [from TIST workprint]
- Heavy Duty [from TIST workprint]
- Nigel Guitar Solo [from TIST workprint]
- Stonehenge [from TIST workprint]
- America [studio session part 1] [from TIST workprint]
- America [studio session part 2] [from TIST workprint]
- Sex Farm [from TIST workprint]
- Hell Hole [with Ricky on lead guitar/vocals] [from TIST workprint]
- Jazz Odyssey [from TIST workprint]
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight (Nigel's Return) [from TIST workprint]
- (Listen To The) Flower People [alternate mix]
- All the Way Home [David and Nigel, from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Gimme Some Money [soundcheck] [from 'This Is Spinal Tap']
- Talk With Tap I
- Talk With Tap II
- Talk With Tap III
- The Folksmen Rehearsal [Saturday Night Live, November 3 1984]
- Old Joe's Place [by The Folksmen, Saturday Night Live, November 3 1984]
- Never Did No Wanderin' [by The Folksmen, The View, 2003]
- Old Joe's Place [by The Folksmen, David Letterman, 2003]
Disc Three
- Christmas with the Devil [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- Hell Hole [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- Sex Farm [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- Big Bottom [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- (Listen To The) Flower People (calypso version) [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- Gimme Some Money [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- Heavy Duty [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- Rock and Roll Creation [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- Rock and Roll Nightmare [live at the Music Machine, April 5 1984]
- David St. Hubbins - This Is Sportscenter [ESPN TV spot]
Album Notes
- There are many variations of this album. The track list above applies to the most complete version.
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THIS AIN'T SPINAL TAP, IT'S A MAIN MAN TRIBUTE
(Main Man Records #MMR011, 2006)
- Hell Hole [by Mutant Monster Beach Party]
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight [by Frankenstein 3000]
- Heavy Duty [by Mattress Cannon]
- Rock and Roll Creation [by Graveyard School]
- America [by Kimon]
- Cups and Cakes [by Derwood Andrews]
- Big Bottom [by The Dennis Dunaway Project]
- Sex Farm [by Joe Harvard Stuporgroup]
- Stonehenge [by Dave Lister]
- Gimme Some Money [by Digger Phelps]
- (Listen To The) Flower People [by Shawn Mars]
- All The Way Home [by Bon Jaffe]
Album Notes
- One of several themed covers compilations released by Main Man Records. (Other target artists have included Devo, AC/DC and Queen.) Of course, this particular disc contains covers of tracks appearing on the soundtrack for "This Is Spinal Tap."
- "All The Way Home" is included as a 'bonus track,' as it was not originally part of the film's soundtrack LP.
- Unfortunately, as with many Tap-related releases, the physical edition of this album is out of print; however, it is still available on iTunes.
- More information can be found at this page.
UNHENGED: A COVERVILLE TRIBUTE TO SPINAL TAP
(Coverville, 2009)
- Hell Hole [by Schnauzer Radio Orchestra]
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight [by Le Butterface]
- Heavy Duty [by James Ghofulpo]
- Rock and Roll Creation [by Dogs Of Winter]
- Cups and Cakes [by Zapruder Point]
- Big Bottom [by Paul and Storm]
- Sex Farm [by Bongo Orkest]
- Us, Stonehenge, and Them [by Chance]
- Gimme Some Money [by Brian Grosz]
- (Listen To The) Flower People [by Arrica Rose]
- Bitch School [by Chris Cohoon]
- Break Like The Wind [by Dave Verdick]
- Christmas With The Devil [by John Dissed]
Album Notes
- Another album of "This Is Spinal Tap" covers (and three from BREAK LIKE THE WIND), this time released in celebration of the film's 25th anniversary.
- Oddly, "America" is not covered.
- Chance's cover of "Stonehenge" is sung to the tune of Pink Floyd's "Us and Them."
- No physical edition of this album seems to have ever existed; rather, this disc is available in MP3 format for no charge.
- More information can be found at this page.
NONE MORE RED: A COMMUNIST DAY CARE CENTER TRIBUTE TO SPINAL TAP
(Communist Day Care Center, 2011)
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight [by JFn'K]
- Hell Hole [by Artie Fufkin and His Bitch School]
- Rock and Roll Creation [by The Ashleys]
- Sex Farm [by Dinosaur Monster]
- Stonehenge [by Oliver Thompson]
- Gimme Some Money [by Crappy Future]
- All The Way Home [by DandyLyon Whine]
- America [by The Accidentals]
- (Listen To The) Flower People [by Red China]
- Big Bottom [by KB and the CDCC Bass All-Stars]
- Heavy Duty (Live) [by Dinosaur Monster]
- Lick My Love Pump [by Nick Kish]
Album Notes
- A download-only release focusing on independent Detroit musicians, done in honor of 11/11/11, better known as Nigel Tufnel Day.
- This album contains studio versions of these covers; live versions appeared on a companion release, THIS SHOW GOES TO ELEVEN.
- Preceding track 1 (which is mistitled "Tonight We're Gonna Rock It, Tonight") is a lengthy snatch of dialogue from Tap's "Simpsons" appearance.
- More information can be found at this page.
THIS SHOW GOES TO ELEVEN
(Communist Day Care Center #CDCC-10, 2011)
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight [by JFn'K]
- Rock and Roll Creation [by The Ashleys]
- Hell Hole [by Artie Fufkin and His Bitch School]
- All The Way Home [by DandyLyon Whine]
- Gimme Some Money [by DandyLyon Whine]
- Spatafora gets lost underneath the stage [by Red China]
- (Listen To The) Flower People [by Red China]
- Sex Farm / Heavy Duty [by Dinosaur Monster]
Album Notes
- A download-only release focusing on independent Detroit musicians, done in honor of 11/11/11, better known as Nigel Tufnel Day.
- Released as a live companion disc to NONE MORE RED.
- More information can be found at this page.
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Questions? Comments? Contributions?
Steve can be contacted at steve@steveworek.com.