This Is Spinal Tap: Official Companion

by Karl French

Book Overview

The companion to the funniest film ever made about rock bands. Rob Reiner's hilarious "rockumentary" about an aging British heavy-metal group has reached legendary status since its release in 1984.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582341257
• ISBN13: 9781582341255
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

This book goes to eleven

Spinal Tap rules and if you don't think so, you must not get the joke. The Spinal Tap official companion is a complete script and includes all lyrics and a funny intro from Michael Mckean AKA David St Hubbins. Any fan of Tap needs this book. There is a complete history of Spinal Tap in an A-Z section that is really funny and full of Tapistory.

Mute-Nostril Agony

"This is Spinal Tap: The Official Companion" is a good overall reference for fans of the movie, although there are areas for improvement. I very much enjoyed the unadulterated transcript of the film's dialogue, and loved the transcripts of the outtakes (oh, how I wish the entire 100 hours of film shot for the movie could be released to the public); the song lyrics were a nice addition and included a couple of ultra-rarities. The bulk of the book is in a bizarrely organized alphabetical dictionary format, "A-Z." Unless it is crystal clear what you have to look up (e.g., "Nigel Tufnel"), you may have to really hunt to find entries (e.g., "U2: See 'Rock and Roll Creation'"), which can get irritating. Despite this, the book is a delight for any Taphead, and the color photos are an excellent addition to this volume. One of the more interesting parts of the book is the well-written introduction to the A-Z section, where Karl French discusses Spinal Tap within several contexts. I especially loved Alice Cooper's proclamation that the effect Tap's music has on its fans is one of "mute-nostril agony." I'm sure that Nigel, David, and Derek would agree wholeheartedly.