Break Like the Wind

Spinal Tap | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 17, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B000002OJH
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #259,788 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Bitch School

2. The Majesty of Rock

3. Diva Fever

4. Just Begin Again

5. Cash on Delivery

6. The Sun Never Sweats

7. Rainy Day Sun

8. Break Like the Wind

9. Stinkin' up the Great Outdoors

10. Springtime

11. Clam Caravan

12. Christmas With the Devil

13. All the Way Home

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Music Reviews

Has there ever been a rock band more unjustly maligned than Spinal Tap? Accused of everything from heralding the demise of heavy metal to being the very raison d'être for alternative rock, they suffered their greatest indignity at the hands of director Rob Reiner (cowardly hiding behind the moniker Marty DiBergi), whose 1984 "rockumentary," This Is Spinal Tap, muckraked its way through the band's courageous, tragedy-strewn history in service of a few mocking laughs. Reiner/DiBergi even stooped so low as to employ a heartless, mercenary band of Hollywood writer/comedians to burlesque the band's core members--David St. Hubbins (played by mendacious Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (callow Christopher Guest), and Derek Smalls (haughty Harry Shearer). But the great ones just won't be denied; Spinal Tap reached deep down in 1992 and let loose with Break Like the Wind, another potent blast of the very stuff that made their legend. Featuring an all-star supporting cast (the title track alone boasts Slash, Steve Lukather, Joe Satriani, and Tufnel look-alike Jeff Beck), the Tap gallantly tried to stem the tide of flannel and tattoos with thundering odes to gender enlightenment ("Bitch School"), mystic quests ("Clam Caravan"), and its own glorious rock-fest legacy ("Stinkin' Up the Great Outdoors"). Pop diva Cher and St. Hubbins share a vocal tryst on the uplifting ballad "Just Begin Again," while even Steely Dan's reclusive Walter Becker pens technical notes, praising the album's pioneering use of the Crosley Phase Linear Ionic Induction Voice Processor System. Sadly, they just don't make albums like this anymore. --J.D. Swift

Product Description

Enhanced UK pressing of Spinal Tap's 1992 rockin' return to the charts features two bonus tracks: 'All The Way Home' and the Enhanced Video for 'Bitch School'. Crank this one up to 11! MCA. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And that's the Majesty of Rock!, November 25, 2004

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Break Like the Wind (Audio CD)

Spinal Tap returns! The most prolific nonexistant band ever is back with "Break Like The Wind," a wonderfully warped metal album that celebrates rock'n'roll, bad lyrics and exploding drummers. This a bad album -- gloriously, magnificently bad, in the way only a spoof can be.

It opens with the roaring male dominance rocker "Bitch School," which would be offensive if it weren't tongue-in-cheek, then lurches on to the wonderfully bloated "Majesty of Rock," a gloriously ghastly duet with Cher, the insanely pretentious "The Sun Never Sweats" ("Bolder than the pirates who used to rule the sea/Braver than the natives, who never heard of tea...")

The peak of this album may be the song "Break Like the Wind," which aspires to be deep and inspirational despite lyrics like "We are the thumb on a stranger's hand." And two of the most priceless songs are at the end: the mope ballad "All the Way Home," and the truly twisted Christmas song, "Christmas With the Devil."

The world was first introduced to Spinal Tap in "This is Spinal Tap," the classic rockumentary about England's loudest band. With the help of Cher (yes, that Cher) and Dweezil Zappa, they take it upon themselves to roundly mock metal, hard rock, rock ballads, and quite a few other things as well -- they're funny because they put so much effort into doing a nudge-wink bad job.

The music itself is pretty standard hard rock riffs -- it's merely okay, and therein lies the irony. What's really startling is that while the music is not amazing in the technical sense, it's actually much better than many real-life bands were. Scary, no? It does have its moments of brilliance, due to Zappa and Jeff Beck mostly, as well as some gloriously ghastly sitar.

It's not the music but the lyrics that are genius. Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer are true geniuses of the bad song -- what's even better, these are the sort of bad songs that people write, but don't know that they are bad. "And that's the Majesty of Rock!/The Mystery of Roll!/The darning of the sock,/the scoring of the goal!" Does it get worse than that? Yes, if you include lines like "Rise! for you are cream" and "We may be gods or big marionettes/But the sun never sweats."

"Break Like the Wind" is a wonderful album by the loudest band in Britain, and the best band that never technically existed. Tap into this!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Back from the dead, October 17, 2003

By 

Johnny Heering "trivia buff" (Bethel, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Break Like the Wind (Audio CD)

This 1992 album was Spinal Tap's first album in 8 years. It featured new songs, as well as rerecordings of older songs from their out of print albums. Here is a track by track analysis:

1. "Bitch School" is a song about a disobedient dog. This one really rocks.
2. "The Majesty of Rock" is about the life affirming power of rock and roll. Yeah, baby!
3. "Diva Fever" is about how "high maintenance" women can make a man miserable. Ain't it the truth!
4. "Just Begin Again" is a duet by David St. Hubbins & Cher. It is a really inspirational ballad.
5. "Cash on Delivery" features a rare lead vocal by Derek Smalls. It uses money as a clever metaphor for sex.
6. "The Sun Never Sweats" is a rerecording of the title song from a classic Spinal Tap album. There is a good reason that they chose to rerecord this one!
7. "Rainy Day Sun" was originally the b-side of their hit "Flower People". It is a fun bit of hippie nonsense.
8. Nigel Tufnel is one of the most influential guitarists in rock. On "Break Like the Wind", some of his disciples (Slash, Steve Lukather, Joe Satriani and Jeff Beck) provide guest solos in tribute to him.
9. "Stinking Up the Great Outdoors" is an autobiographical song about the band's appearance at the US Festival.
10. In "Springtime", Nigel sings about his favorite season. I won't spoil it by telling which one.
11. In "Clam Caravan", Nigel sings about traveling through the desert. The Saharah, I think.
12. "Christmas With the Devil" is a remake of their classic Xmas song. Ho ho ho!
13. "The 13th Song" is about a dying man. It's very different for Tap, and very strange.
14. "All The Way Home" was the first song David and Nigel every wrote together. This one is a real treat for longtime Tap fans.

In short (too late), this CD is a must get for all Tapheads.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best thing Spinal Tap has ever produced., July 5, 2001

By 

Gary (Zwolle, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Break Like the Wind (Audio CD)

I got into Spinal Tap when I saw the hilarious "rockumentary" for the first time a couple of years ago. I soon bought the video and memorized almost every line. The comedic genius of Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest could be clearly seen in the movie and the original soundtrack... but their real talents come through every note on this album. They outdid themselves by showing that they can still poke fun at mainstream metal bands while, at the same time, rivaling them in songwriting. These songs, while at times intentionally off-key a bit, are extremely well made.

The songs are, in my opinion, funnier and catchier than the ones on the original soundtrack. "B**** School" starts off the album, wallowing in male-dominant lyrics. "The Majesty of Rock" comes in with a sweeping melody and beat, and lyrics such as "And it feels so real, you can feel the feeling!". "Diva Fever" is a faster song with amazing solos by Dweezil Zappa. And what would a good parody album be without a ballad? Nothing, exactly! "Just Begin Again" is a beautiful (chuckles) and uplifting (laughs hysterically) song. The appearance of Cher really adds a lot to this song. Just listen to David and Cher try to harmonize, you'll be rolling on the floor. "Cash On Delivery" is just an awesome song. Its classic hard rock, with great riffs and a great beat. "Rainy Day Sun" is the obligatory hippie song. Its pretty good, not the albums best, but pretty cool. Things build up to what could be the album's highlight, "Break Like the Wind". The title track really shows off what Spinal Tap can do. There are some awesome solos in this song by about 4 different people, including Slash and Jeff Beck. There are so many guitars going at the end, it starts to get really distorted. Amazing song. "Stinking Up the Great Outdoors" is a great Southern rock tune, complete with harmonicas and slide guitar. Along comes the albums strangest song, "Springtime". Nigel Tuffnel comes in with what sounds like a cross between Louis Armstrong and Johnny Rotten... its hilarious. He then commences with a guitar solo made with his voice, I guess through some kind of effects thingie. Thats also hilarious. The ending is very disjointed. "Clam Caravan" could also be the albums highlight, very soothing Eastern-sound, and a horrible sitar solo (this is intentional, of course). "Christmas With the Devil" is another great hard rock tune. Track 13, though not listed, is a great little filler track, and it actually has something to say! And the album ends with the classic "All the Way Home". All Spinal Tap fans should remember this song from the fast food scene in the movie.

Well, this is a long review, but all I want to say is that, if you think this can't possibly be as good as the film or the original soundrack, give it a good listen to. You'll grow to love it.