It’s never “too late to rock”. At least, that’s what the fictional-turned-real-but-still-very-fictional band Spinal Tap says in the long-awaited sequel to the mockumentary that changed cinematic history back in 1984, This Is Spinal Tap.
Now 41 years later, you’d think that bandmates David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel, and Derek Smalls (played by Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer, respectively) would only be able to rock wheelchairs. Think again.
Playing into the aging process, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues — led once again by documentary filmmaker Marty Di Bergi (aka, Rob Reiner) — takes viewers into the twilight years of the veteran musicians who must reunite at long last to give fans what they so desperately want.
There must be one final concert.
It’s the final countdown… and in the literal sense as Spinal Tap members creep towards “The Urn”, as one new song puts it. With a large number of callbacks to the first film, like not being able to hold down a drummer, these old, yet agile lads are turning it up to 11 with celebrity guests galore! Classics like “(Listen To The) Flower People” and “Stonehenge” make a royal return, both featuring the talents of Sir Elton John, while “Big Bottom” gets a country twist with features from Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. Personally, my favorite is the comforting interlude from the heavy rocking on the LP, when Spinal Tap takes a timeout to have “Cups and Cakes” with Sir Paul McCartney. Basically, if you’re knighted and British, you’re making an appearance in the sequel.
But, don’t think that The End Continues is lacking in new music… Apt fans are blessed with nine new tracks, complete with a poem from Nigel talking days of yore. It’s always fantasy motifs and Druidian sagas with these guys, themes that pop up like flower people throughout the new album’s lyrics. “TICK TOCK // IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO ROCK // WE’VE MOUNTED OUR MIGHTY STEEDS YET ONCE AGAIN — LIKE MEN,” chants the band in “Let’s Just Rock Again”. The band even gets a bit demonic with their wordplay in “Blood To Let” and “The Devil’s Just Not Getting Old”, the latter spouting a laundry list of maladies the devil is NOT experiencing.
But it’s not all Satan and self-indulgence, now that they’re senior citizens.
Like the yin and yang, Spinal Tap balances their debauchery with soft, sugary songs like “Angels” and the aforementioned “Cups and Cakes” (which is really quite nice, as McCartney admits at the end of the interlude). Well-rounded, like the “mud flaps” they can’t leave behind, The End Continues is an essential sequel soundtrack to for Spinal Tap fan. AND, if you want the full experience, the soundtrack is available on vinyl — the only format that truly captures the 80s rock sound from the first movie.
Of course, you can always listen to the soundtrack digitally on all streaming outlets. There’s that. And go see the movie in theatres. There’s that, too. Whatever way you want to take the latest of Spinal Tap, it is very much encouraged, as you won’t be disappointed. Check out the link here to stream or order today.
Spinal Tap – “Stonehenge”, feat. Elton John
Track listing:
- Nigel’s Poem
- Let’s Just Rock Again
- (Listen To The) Flower People, feat. Elton John
- Brighton Rock
- The Devil’s Just Not Getting Old
- Cups and Cakes, feat. Paul McCartney
- I Kissed A Girl
- Angels
- Big Bottom, feat. Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood
- Judge and Jury
- Rockin’ In The Urn
- Blood To Let
- Stonehenge, feat. Elton John
Stream ‘The End Continues’ album:
Cover photography by Henry Diltz
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Disclaimer: All views presented in this album review are those of the reviewer and not necessarily those of Top Shelf Music.
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