(Shock)

A man walks into a bar. Oh, you’ve heard this one before…

Two of the main facets of humour relate to timeliness and insider knowledge. A joke is much better within days of an occurrence than six months down the track – although this doesn’t stop radio shock jocks wheeling out tired Bill Clinton jokes – while there’s a perverse satisfaction in knowing why something is funny when others don’t. Back From The Dead (both the album and stomping title track, teeming with trademark innuendo and overzealous guitar solos) is up against the wall in these two respects. The 1984 release of mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap was met with equal parts amusement and bemusement, a riotous portrayal of the easily-swayed David St. Hubbins, dim-witted Nigel Tufnel and troubled intermediary Derek Smalls as their long-running heavy/glam/hair/cock metal band slowly faded into obscurity. Lampooning bands from the era like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and most notably Saxon with fantastic detail, there are urban legends of heavy metallers questioning why the director didn’t film a more famous band. So can Spinal Tap continue as an insider joke when everyone is in on it, and when most of their target bands have disappeared into the ether? Well, yes and no. Thankfully, musicians will continue to do very stupid things, while the best songs on this album are the new songs nestled alongside re-interpreted older material. The straight-faced prog wankery of Warmer Than Hell is much more satisfying than a reggae (Listen To The) Flower People, while the appearance of Jazz Odyssey brings more of a knowing smile than prolonged enjoyment. Still, Back From The Dead is likely to be more enjoyable and believable than the next Wolfmother release, if only for realising when a joke is a joke.

***½

MITCH ALEXANDER

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