Spinal Tap

That which looks good on paper rarely holds up in real life. Few know this better than fictitious metal outfit Spinal Tap, purveyors of such timeless classics as "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight," "Stonehenge" and more. As is the case with their hilarious legacy of things never going quite right, latest effort Back From The Dead, a silver jubilee celebration, fails to live up to expectations. Compiling almost every tune from the film, real or merely hinted at, other than "All The Way Home," this deluxe package also boasts a pop-up insert of the band's main men and a DVD. Sure, that sounds great but there's one problem: creators Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer have re-recorded the tracks to "update" them. You've got 60-year-old men playing 25-year-old tunes. It's interesting and adequate but that's about it. These renditions of tunes are slower and less enthusiastic than their originals, the new songs are passable at best and while there's a funky version of "Sex Farm" and "Jazz Oddyssey" is represented in its entirety, these inside gags are amusing to diminishing returns. Once again, the band are more engaging when discussing their music than playing it, as the DVD featuring track-by-track commentary immediately proves.