POP MUSIC : ALBUM REVIEW

*** SPINAL TAP “Break Like the Wind” MCA/Dead Faith

Never mind the reverence, here’s Spinal Tap. After a streak of compilations paying homage to Neil Young, the Grateful Dead, Elton John, et al., it took the Tap to whiff the musty air of rock tribute, pick up the satiric gauntlet, and let us once more smell the glove.

“Wind” doesn’t break new ground for Spinal Tap: Recent hard-rock developments like speed-metal may be so extreme as to be spoof-proof, and these guys probably can’t play fast enough for that, anyway. Deflating pomposity, however, is a timeless calling, and it’s what Spinal Tap does best, via musical caricature and lyrical non sequitur.

The stylistic range is ample (from frothy Beatle-isms to Moody Blues mysticism to bellowing Judas Priest), the melodies quite good and the performances more than credible, even discounting the occasional use of big-name ringers. The jokes aren’t such that your belly will quake (the targets are too easy for that), but “Break Like the Wind” will make your nose crinkle. With a grin, that is.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent).