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diversions
Tenacious D debut
rocks
By Greg Smith
On-line Forty-Niner
The rock 'n' roll
parody is something that can be either great or absolutely
awful. Until now, the ultimate in rock parody was hands down
Rob Reiner's classic film "Spinal Tap."
"Spinal Tap"
scathingly attacked big-hair rock with superb improvisational
acting and wonderfully hilarious, well-crafted songs. But
there may just be a new top dog with Epic Record's release
of Tenacious D's self-titled debut album.
Tenacious D began
as a two-man acoustic comedy rock act playing the Los Angeles
club scene. They were later picked up by HBO to create a half-hour
comedy show produced by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross of "Mr.
Show with Bob and David" fame. The show and the band
gained a cult following of the likes not seen for many years.
Much of the fame
Tenacious D saw was very much due to the acting success of
lead singer Jack Black, who gained stardom playing a manic
record store clerk in "High Fidelity" and is starring
opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in the soon to be released "Shallow
Hal."
Tenacious D's debut
record is not just a comedy record a la Weird Al Yankovic.
The comedy is far surpassed by the skilled musicianship and
song-writing skills of Black's cohort Kyle Gass and the superb
production of music industry heavies The Dust Brothers. The
band switched their all-acoustic format to a full-on band
with Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters on drums and members of Phish,
the Vandals and Redd Kross sitting in.
Tenacious D does
something from start to finish that many recent bands haven't
pulled off well ? they ROCK! Their goal of rocking is well
stated and they achieve and surpass this goal.
The first single
"Wonder-boy" is a perfectly crafted rock 'n' roll
song that tells the amusing story of Wonderboy and Young Nasty
Man joining forces to form Tenacious D. The song moves with
Black's superb voice in the soft chorus to full-on rocking.
"Wonderboy"
and "Rock Your Socks" showcase Gass' awesome guitar
skills with intricate rock and classical soloing.
Interspersed among the songs are short interludes of
dialogue between Black and Gass. Tenacious D is like the Abbott
and Costello of rock music with Black as the enthusiastic
know-nothing-know-it-all and Gass as the naive straight man.
They play off each other like the best friends that they are
and the outcome is comic gold.
Tenacious D fans
will notice some classic tracks from the TV show reworked
for the record including "Tribute," "The Road"
and "Lee." The reworking's are fun to hear for fans
but the new material truly shines.
With a nation-wide
tour currently taking place, a movie in the works and a rumored
tour with Weezer and Jimmy Eat World coming soon, Tenacious
D is definitely within reach of its goal of rocking the socks
off the world.
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