Back from the Dead (Spinal Tap album)

Concept and music

The concept of Back from the Dead is that Spın̈al 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 Spın̈al Tap and its soundtrack album, and five songs not previously available on an album: "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. Fifteen 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 demonstrated during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

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