Once you play Royal Albert Hall, you're not a parody of a rock band anymore. You ARE a rock band- just a rock band with a huge gimmick, (and a better one than most, actually).
Christopher Guest nails an elaborate and bombastic solo with an effortless precision that would steamroll over most heavy metal guitarists and he does it in service of a joke. Legendary.
I heard these guys learned to play their instruments AFTER Spinal Tap was formed (the concept). When you watch Tufnel playing that solo that thought is CRAZY (because he looks as if he was BORN to do this, perform music)!
The incredible irony with the whole Spinal Tap thing is that these guys are really good. It’s quite amazing. It’s a parody and a spoof, but it isn’t at the same time because of the quality and professionalism of the parody.
If it wasn't done well, the gag wouldn't work. Frank Zappa said something along the lines of "if you're going to parody heavy metal, you have to actually be able to play heavy metal. if you're going to parody jazz, you have to actually be able to play jazz."
They're one of the best bands ever. I remember watching Spinal Tap with a friend of mine and he was so confused. He kept saying "I thought you said this wasn't a real band, but it all seems so real."
@@GusFogle Absolutely correct. It's the same with P. D. Q. Bach in the world of classical music, and Allan Sherman with his folk song parodies. Allan Sherman didn't have a very good voice, so he made sure he had top-notch, really professional arrangements, background singers, and musicians, all of them very skilled in the styles he needed. Weird Al has an excellent band who can play any style, and his voice has a range of about 3 octaves, maybe more, which is really impressive.
I saw these guys at an outdoor venue on their one and only full scale world tour (I think this show was the last stop on that tour). They were loud enough at the beginning, but one of their gags was asking if they were loud enough (at several points in the concert) and then turning up the volume a bit. By the end of the concert they were easily the loudest concert I've ever experienced. At that time, I had seen Metallica several times (indoor and out) and later I was at the "New Year's Evil" stop on the Sabbath/Megadeth/Slayer tour in 1999. I still think Tap was louder at the end of their concert.
there's a whole lot of crossover these days isn't there? imagine 3 actors, who also happen to be very adept at singing and playing musical instruments, putting out a movie like Spinal Tap, then discovering that they also have a legit band of the same name because fans love you so much that they'll pay to see you do a concert? must have been pretty cool for Guest, Shearer and McKean?
@@SirManfly What's great is a cartoon metal band plays out with real musicians as members. Dethklok. Metalocalypse. Gotta love what Tap started👍 They truly DID "Tap into the future"...& open up a whole new bag for future musicians in this category👍
I know it’s been said before, but I feel like I have to say it again: how in the hell can you still be considered a parody when you are better than 90% of the bands you were supposed to be parodying?
Michael McKean has always worked music into his acting career. He had Lenny and the Squigtones on Laverne and Shirley, on whose album, Nigel Tufnel was a guest musician.
Who can forget Micheal McKean in Light of day with Micheal J. Fox and Joan Jett which also had Trent Reznor make a cameo before anybody knew who he was
This is awesome they played this kinda sloppy in the movie I do believe as part of the gag but they are dead on here good mix as well. Kinda always thought they were holding back the talent in the movie these guys have and will always rock.
That’s what I always loved about Spinal Tap…the band (in fiction) was talented but made poor choices and came late to trends My favourite scene is the whole Stonehenge bit…whilst we already know the ending, when we hear them play the song we realise that they genuinely have talent So when the small Stonehenge descends we’ve gone from laughing at them as immature idiots to being sympathetic! Even at their best they’re not going to catch a break 😂
As someone else said below... TAP RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is hard rock glory to the max. Sheer poetry. When will we again find visionaries like the lads of Spinal Tap?
The great story of a fake band who pretended to be a real band who became real band because the fake band was so popular. I doubt this has ever been duplicated on this scale. Only thing close is the Monkee's and.....the Herdsmen? from Australia.
Rumour has it David St Hubbins was moved to write this song after his experience in a house he used to in. Whilst in the bath one day he caught sight of a spider crawling down the wall, and thought 'god what I'm I doing here, I'm living in a hell-hole!''
And the fake band that's actually a real band (or is it the other way round?) Is back in 2024 for the Spinal Tap 40 year movie sequel. Still going strong after all this time. Maybe the joke was on us?
The greatest thing about the song Hell Hole is Tufnel and Hubbins want out of their Hell Hole and then after seeing that fame creates it's own Hell, want back in their own Hell Hole.
Hello who are the band members ( names ) ? One of those guys plays on Laverene and Shirley ......Lenny ? Is he in the band ? John from North Carolina...
John - Michael McKean (David St. Hubbins in Spinal Tap) was Lenny on Laverne & Shirley. Here’s where it gets fun: Lenny had a band named Lenny and the Squigtones on that show and their guitar player was none other than Nigel Tufnel played by Christopher Guest. Additional trivia: their keyboardist was Murph from the Blues Brothers.
"Folks lend a hand in a Hell Hole", "Its in the mud and its in your Blood" brilliant but totally meaningless lyrics just crack me up and their ability on their guitars and you see them doing their folk band thing and total professionals while trying to look like past hacks when they were "great" and filing less and less rooms! haha These guys are so good as musicians, comics, writers, actors and performers and voice of Simpsons too!! plus what else?? Damn....
Who was the keyboard player on this tour. I know the drummer in the movie died from being blown up on stage but I don't think the keyboard player here is Viv Savage. 🤔🤪
I think that I know where the inspiration for this song came from: When royals were put in prison for the rest of their lives in the old days; the situation was sometimes so deplorable, so depressing, you'd just want to die and get it over with.
Their lyrics playing ability and performance are just as good/bad as any of the heavy metal bands out there in some cases a lot better e.g. Judas Priest/Iron Maiden. When you listen to some of their stuff if not most you think: did someone actually write that AND think it was good? 😂
I don't think they're playing the guitars on this one, to me it seems like some songs they actually play but this one I think is just the drums & vocals live, if you watch closely
it's probably just because it's a vid from 1992. Nigel's (Christopher's) solo is different to the album version, there's less wah pedal on it, and... nah, their fingering looks legit. If you can find it, dig up a performance that "Nigel Tufnel" did with Les Paul on a late night show back in the late 80s - he's actually a very good player, they just used their existing music skills to form a very long running joke :)
