Back from the Dead is the third studio album by Spinal Tap, though it is the fourteenth when including fictional albums. Released on June 16, 2009, it is the first release under the Spinal Tap name since 1992's Break Like the Wind.

Concept and music

The concept of Back from the Dead is that Spinal Tap has reunited in honor of the 25th anniversary of This Is Spinal Tap, and have launched an "unwigged and unplugged" tour.

Back from the Dead features re-recorded versions of songs featured in This Is Spinal Tap and its soundtrack album, and five new songs: "Warmer Than Hell", "Short and Sweet", "Celtic Blues", "Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare", and "Back from the Dead". "Jazz Oddyssey", which appeared briefly during the film, appears in three parts within Back from the Dead. "Sex Farm" appears in a funk-oriented version, while "(Listen to the) Flower People" appears in a reggae-oriented version.

Back from the Dead features guest appearances by Phil Collen, Keith Emerson, John Mayer and Steve Vai.

Release and reception

Back from the Dead was released on June 16, 2009. The album is packaged with a DVD featuring commentary on each of the album's tracks. Preceding the album's release, it was streamed for free by Entertainment Weekly and Spinner. An exclusive version of Back from the Dead was made available through Amazon MP3, featuring a newly-recorded version of "(Listen to the) Flower People" in its original style. An additional track, "Saucy Jack", was released through the official Spinal Tap website. Fourteen of the songs have been released as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series, along with "Short and Sweet" appearing as a packaged song in Lego Rock Band.

The packaging for Back from the Dead can be unfolded to form a diorama of Spinal Tap performing on stage, which the band members poorly demonstrated during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, June 15, 2009

While Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt that the straightforward approach of the re-recorded songs hurt the remakes, which "pale next to the originals", he wrote that the new songs are "top-notch, eclipsing the often forced Break Like the Wind, and striking the right balance between parody and real rock & roll. They're the reason to hear Back from the Dead, which otherwise is just a tad too satisfied with its own humor for its own good." Back from the Dead was nominated for Best Comedy Album for the 52nd Grammy Awards.

Personnel

;Spinal Tap

*Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) – bass guitar, vocals

*David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) – lead vocals, guitar

*Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) – lead guitar, vocals

;Additional musicians

*Gregg Bissonette (Gregg Bissonette) – drums

*"Caucasian" Jeffrey Vanston (C. J. Vanston) – keyboards

References

Category:2009 albums

Category:Spinal Tap albums

Artist/Band Information

Spinal Tap (officially spelled "Spıal Tap", with a non-functional umlaut over the letter n—n-diaeresis—and a dotless letter i) is a Grammy-nominated parody fictional heavy metal band that first appeared on a failed 1979 ABC TV sketch comedy pilot called "The T.V. Show", starring Rob Reiner. The sketch, actually a mock promotional video for the song "Rock and Roll Nightmare", was written by Reiner and the band, and included songwriter/performer Loudon Wainwright III on keyboards. Later the band became the fictional subject of the 1984 rockumentary/​mockumentary film This Is Tap