I finally got round to watching the Spinal Tap film this evening. A brief VPN switch and a little creative searching led me to where I needed to be - and then the local village cinema announced that it will also be screening The End Continues in a couple of weeks. Hey hoe.

It’s not a bad film - in fact it’s rather good - but it struggle to compete with the original. No shit. Sequels are rarely a good idea, especially when all that went before was groundbreaking and spawned a whole new cinematic genre.

And so I won’t compare The End Continues to the first film. Much…

But it’s impossible to escape the backstory. Even the film itself includes footage from the first Tap movie, to help fill in the gaps for anyone who isn’t up to speed.

The plot is irrelevant. For the film to work, Tap need to be back together again. A rather unnecessary hook is developed in which to hang the next couple of hours or so. All you want to do is to observe the current state of the band relationships.

And that’s what works with The End Continues. It’s a very warm, life-affirming film, more about friendships than it is about rock ‘n’ roll. Trainspotting II tried something similar, but didn’t quite pull it off. Tap get away with it.

It’s impossible not to have any love for the main characters. The axis is around David and Nigel, and their love hate relationship. Age is also a major theme. The End Continue isn’t afraid to focus on death - and not in a metal style, either.

Some of the star cameos by the likes of Macca and Elton don’t work. They feel very forced and distract from the amateurish nature of the band. The ending is predictable, but also needed doing. Look away now if you’re a drummer, etc.

It’s a lovely film that I’m sure even the stiffs in the village cinema will enjoy. All the signposts are there from the original - Nigel and his pedals, the back and forth banter, and even the structure of the end credits.

The End Continues is about growing old ever so slightly gracefully, and a little wiser. But without the drugs.

I had no idea T Bone Burnett was involved in this. It’s still bloody whiny in places. Mr Jones remains a delight. It’s one of those albums that I think I’m suppose to take seriously. But sometimes I just don’t give a shit and want to listen to something that bounces along and makes me want to bop. Counting Crows aren’t that band.

⭐⭐

Fuck this shit. Seriously.

⭐

I’ve become quite obsessed with the mid 80’s Mile Davis. You BOUNDER! You CHEAT! Gosh, that’s something that would seriously annoy the Birth of the Cool jazz heads. But it’s just so accessible, in a way that, say. Sketches of Spain can be something of a… struggle.

In particular, You’re Under Arrest is constantly streaming right now. It’s gets off to a bloody awful start with some US cops scene being played out. You’re Under Arrest, natch. But stick with it, and the pop, jazz crossover soon kicks in. Think Kenny G for the cool kids.

There’s a cover of Human Nature - a lovely, lovely song, but one that I find hard to listen to the original now, given what we now know about MJ. Miles' cover of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time is Lush. You can see how Prince was keen to hang out with Miles during this time.

The period from around the start of ‘85 through until ‘87 was a rich picking for soul and jazz meets pop. The production values were experimenting, and there was still a strong belief in the song. Christ, even Five Star were half decent.

Miles and Five Star in the same blog post. Now that seriously will piss off the jazz heads.

A delight to listen to, from start to finish. The thing with any Lee Perry album is that you think you already know it, even those most of the tunes are fresh. No one makes a sound like him, stretching out every note, yet still holding the rhythm. This music works best when the sun is shining and you have optimism for what is ahead. Monday was one of those mornings. Aye.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I’m a sucker for prog shit. Except this is 80’s prog, with even elements of funk coming through. The songs slide all over the place as the scales change continuously. It’s quite an unsettling experience. Unsettling is good when it comes to music. You should never feel too comfortable.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I dismissed this initially as horrid metal turge. But wait! What’s this? There’s actually some half-forced tunes in there. Blimey. I wouldn’t buy it, obvs. I wouldn’t even dance to it. I don’t think that you can dance to ISIS. But it did hold my attention for more than fifteen minutes - a rarity with some of the metal shit on this list.

⭐ ⭐

aka Rio outtakes. That’s harsh.

⭐

Nine Below Zero’s Live at the Marquee debut, doubled up with Don’t Point Your Finger. It’s quite a statement to launch a live album as your debut, But Nine Below Zero were - and still are - a working band. You can almost hear the sweat seeping off the walls of the old Marque.

I’ve always had Nine Below Zero down as a horrid New British Metal band. How wrong I was. They broke through a year or two early for me to pick up on them.

The sound has more of a high energy mod rhythm, with the blues breaking through. It’s a brilliant English mismatch of style fusing together, aka a right old racket.

Live at the Marquee is great fun, from start to finish.

The list of influences for Gaelle on the wiki page was impressive - Cocteau’s, Prince, Trevor Horn. My kinda girl, I thought. Sadly I heard none of the above throughout the album. It’s pleasant enough as the chords sweep over you. She’s got a half decent voice to match. But sadly not for me.

⭐ ⭐