Spinal Tap A to Zed

Rainy Day Sun: Three-minute flipside to 1967 hit, "(Listen to the) Flower People." A longer version recorded with London Panharmonic Orchestra was never released. (BB) The song originally had been pulled from circulation after the release of the Small Faces’ "Itchypoo Park" and the Beatles’ "I Am the Walrus" in order to prevent confusion in the marketplace. For "Break Like the Wind," Nicky Hopkins, who had done the original track, was called in. David: "He listened to the track and we said, ‘Is there anything you’d like to change?’ And he said, "Nope, did it right 25 years ago. No use going back.’ So he charged us triple session, even though he didn’t play a note. But he was worth it." (NOSE) Tap, in a 1992 interview, would voiced suspicions that the Beatles lifted the song and used it for inspiration for "Good Morning Good Morning" on Sergeant Pepper. David: "We’re not saying, ‘Yeah, the Beatles heard Spinal Tap doing barnyard fowl and macaque.’ We’re not saying that they stole it from us. But we’re saying it’s....puzzling." Derek: "It’s like the JFK movie. It leaves you scratching your head and going, I wonder...." David: "You want to do acoustic testing to see if there was a grassy knoll on the song." (TP) "Rainy Day Sun" was later released on 1983’s "Heavy Metal Memories" and 1992’s "Break Like the Wind," the latter with help from producer T-Bone Burnett. Prior to 1983, the song was only available on the rare single or on bootlegs such as "Top Hit for Nows" and a Japanese album that translates as "Maximum Tap." (SV) Eric "Stumpy Joe" Childs, then the band’s studio drummer, played on the original track released in 1967, although he didn’t officially join the band until 1969.See also Burnett, T-Bone; Davies, Ray; Pudding, Ronnie.

click here for another random entry