Spinal Tap's "Jap Habit" - a real album!!

Yes, you heard me correctly.

The rarest item produced in relation to "This Is Spinal Tap" was the band's supposed 1975 live album, "Jap Habit". Only a handful exist (intended only for select members of the cast and crew), but the recipients received both the UK and US variations described in the band's back story - and yes, the 'UK' package was just as legend described it, with three LP's, a paper kimono, and samples of tuna sushi.

I learned about this when contacting record collectors in and around the Pittsburgh area in search of the "Break Like The Wind" picture disc. One collector (no, their name will not be revealed here) loved Spinal Tap, and had built up an enormous collection of material related to the band - including a battered "Jap Habit" set, which he purchased for a very high amount from a friend whose father worked on "This Is Spinal Tap." I mentioned that, at the time, I was working on a discography of Tap's fictional back catalogue, and he said that he was willing to let me listen to both versions of the album and take notes, so long as I didn't record it in some way. I said that was fine.

A week or so later, my parents dropped me off at a small apartment not far from the South Side; thankfully, the treasure trove of Tap in front of me made it worthwhile, because his apartment was small, disgusting, and had a ridiculously strong pot smell no matter where you went. But, nitpicking aside, I was able to take notes. So without further ado, allow me to describe the contents of "Jap Habit".

First, the UK version. Housed in the black cardboard box (think something like the LP box of "All Things Must Pass" but a little thicker) were three genuine albums, as follows. And if you're wondering, no, the sushi samples were no longer intact. :-P (The package still reeked of them, though, so I'm guessing that it was years before the father got around to throwing them away.)

I wanted to be as thorough as possible, since this was a one-off opportunity, so I transcribed the banter as well. Enjoy!

SIDE ONE

• Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
• David St. Hubbins: "We're going to kick things off with another little number from the album before this last one, called 'Intravenus De Morphine'..."
• Intravenus de Milo [yes, a song by this title!]
• Saliva Of The Fittest
• Swallow My Love
• David St. Hubbins: "Here's a tune for all the ladies in the house, so feel free to shower the stage with knickers and aphrodesiacs..."
• Big Bottom

SIDE TWO

• David St. Hubbins: "Let's take a bit of a nostalgia trip, shall we?"
• Gimme Some Money
• (Listen To The) Flower People
• Break Like The Wind
• David St. Hubbins: "Feel free to sing along with this one. It's called 'We Are All Flower People.'"
• We Are All Flower People
• The Incredible Flight Of Icarus P. Anybody

SIDE THREE

• Brainhammer
• Lie Back And Take It
• Nerve Damage
• Blood To Let
• David St. Hubbins: "Are you ready for another visit from the Goddess Intravenus?"
• Rock and Roll Nightmare [I'm assuming that this song was meant to be from 'Intravenus de Milo', though no official discography describes it as such.]

SIDE FOUR

• Band Intros
• David St. Hubbins: "Anyone here want to help us stink up the Budokkan?"
• Nice 'N' Stinky
• Silent But Deadly
• David St. Hubbins: "We'd like to give you a taste of the album we're working on at the moment, so to get you jumping in anticipation, here's a little heavy duty rock 'n' roll featuring Mr. Nigel Tufnel, MBE on lead guitar..."
• Heavy Duty [featuring a lengthy Nigel solo]
• David St. Hubbins: "Nigel Tufnel, ladies and gentlemen!"

SIDE FIVE

• David St. Hubbins: "This is a little suite of songs from our new album, called 'The Sun Never Sweats'.... it's an educational piece about Britannia. I hope you enjoy it."
• Daze Of Knights Of Old
• The Sun Never Sweats
• Devil Take The Hindmost
• Nocturnal Mission [an instrumental, with pounding drums - resembled something from a movie score]
• Stonehenge
• David St. Hubbins: "Thank you, Japan! Hope to see you again soon!"

SIDE SIX

• Rockin' Robin
• Short 'N' Sweet [long version, around 15 minutes]
• David St. Hubbins: "We love you all! Good night and may the Devil bless all of you!"

From this tracklist, you can see where the titles in Tap's scanty official discography (seen in the back of the "TIST: Official Companion" book originated from; those were the songs that were actually written. (It makes one sad to think that we could've gotten these instead of remakes of familiar songs on "Back From The Dead". Oh well... perhaps a future album?)

Now, onto the "US version". This one had the same front and back covers as were pasted onto the UK box, but this time, the album had no goodies, and was housed in a simple gatefold sleeve.

SIDE ONE

• Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
• David: 'Intravenus de Morphine' banter
• Intravenus de Milo
• Swallow My Love
• Big Bottom
• David: 'nostalgia trip' banter
• (Listen To The) Flower People

SIDE TWO

• Break Like The Wind
• The Incredible Flight of Icarus P. Anybody
• Brainhammer
• Blood To Let
• David: 'Goddess Intravenus' banter
• Rock 'N' Roll Nightmare

SIDE THREE

• David: 'educational piece' banter
• Daze Of Knights Of Old
• The Sun Never Sweats
• Devil Take The Hindmost
• Nocturnal Mission
• Stonehenge [followed by 30 seconds of applause, rather than the farewell from the UK version]

SIDE FOUR [Essentially, this version creates a fake 'encore' by combining material from the fourth UK side with an edited "Short 'N' Sweet".]

• Band Intros
• David: 'stink up the Budokkan' banter [edited rather awkwardly onto the end of the band intros]
• Nice 'N' Stinky
• Heavy Duty
• Short 'N' Sweet [edited down to seven minutes]
• David: 'thank you Japan' banter [originally from UK side five - replaces the 'Devil blessing' that originally ended the album]

One thing I couldn't determine from listening to these was whether or not it was an actual live performance, though I'm sure that I was just hearing overdubbed applause. (If Tap actually held a concert where they played a wealth of material otherwise unavailable on their legitimate albums, *someone* in attendance would have either recorded it or spoken about it. The 1984 concert held to promote the movie, wherein they played "Rockin' Robin", is circulating amongst fans.)

I just can't stress enough how wonderful it would be to have an official CD release of this finally, especially if the guys don't plan on making a true follow-up to "Back From The Dead".

Time will tell, I suppose.

Incidentally, if any other 'back catalogue' albums are found to exist, please let me know! (I've heard rumblings about "Smell The Glove", but given the confusion between that and the soundtrack LP because of their similar covers, it's possible that someone was just mistaken.)