by Mott the Dog
*********** 11 Stars Rating
“Smell The Glove” is Spinal Tap’s seventeenth
album, and probably their finest to date, but don’t bother buying this
newly digitally remastered, ultimate, gold edition, strictly numbered,
black edged CD unless you have a suitable player which will go to 11 on
the volume control, or you will miss the point of this masterpiece of Big
Hair music.
What first attracted me to this music was the fantastic
artwork that had gone into the cover, I mean you cannot get more black
than this (forget parody band Metallica’s Black album, the cover was
actually just dark grey). Mott is the proud owner of an original Vinyl
copy of this 1982 release, signed by the members of the band, although you
do have to hold it at a forty-five degree angle to catch a glimpse of them
as the band signed in black marker pen. Well at least I think it was the
band; it was a bit dark at the time.
But what of the music? Well it’s good, in fact
“Very Good”. But I will not leave you with a two-word review as my
competition from Rolling Stone did when reviewing “Tap’s” tenth
album “Shark Sandwich” which, whilst very succinct, was completely
misunderstood by the general public.
What you get from “The Tap” here is full throttle
Rock & Roll, firing on all seven cylinder’s, (not six... seven!)
where all five Taps play as loud as they can, except for the quiet bits.
Co-founder David St. Hubbins (who looks nothing like
actor Michael McKeen) plays the best air guitar ever recorded, and you can
hear the Dandruff fly on Rockers like “America”. Nigel Tufnel (who
does actually look very much like actor Christopher Guest) the band’s
lead guitarist excels on all the solos here, especially whilst playing
with his feet, or the breathtaking solo spot playing his Stradivarius
electric guitar with a Renoir violin. Bassist Derek Smalls (who doesn’t
care if he looks like actor Harry Sheoer) made famous the Gibson flying
triple bass, the instrument designed to give real “Bottom” end to some
of Tap’s better known songs. The other two musicians on the album were
Vic Savage, who joined the band on the condition he had so many keyboards
that neither the band nor the audience could actually see him, so he may
still be a member of the band or not, nobody knows.
Drummer I.C.N.O. Evil unfortunately is not with us
anymore, due to a nasty moment involving a horse, a game of water polo, a
rubber ring and an old World War One Torpedo; no suspicious circumstances
were found.
These days you can hear “Tap’s” influence on many
of Hard Rock’s top bands, including Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, The
Wombles, and Fat Boy Slim. But none can live up to the true glory of Tap
at their best, losing their way to the stage, the echoes of a dwarf
trampling all over Stonehenge, Derek Smalls caught in a cocoon, or Nigel
throwing his back out on stage.
For the purist, a wee hit of trivia for you: the album
cover is not just black but actually a very, very close picture of a
ladies black leather glove.
For those of you that haven’t seen the movie I
apologize (but get out and see it).
Musicians
Michael St. Hubbins - Air Guitar, & Vocals
Nigel Tufnel - Brother of England Spin Bowler, Lead
Guitar, Pump & Vocals
Derek Smalls - Metal Cucumber, Bass Guitar, Double Bass
& Flying V Treble Bass
Viv Savage - Every Keyboard Imaginable plus assorted
explosive Drummers
Track Listing
1. Hell Hole
2. Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight
3. Heavy Duty
4. Rock And Roll Creation
5. America
6. Cups And Cakes
7. Big Bottom
8. Sex Farm
9. Stonehenge
10. Gimme Some Money
11. (Listen To The) Flower People
To contact Mott the Dog email: [email protected]