A Mighty Wind: The Album
As he did withSpinal Tap, Christopher Guest has the uncanny ability to perfectly mockandpay tribute to a music sub-culture. This time around, he spoofs the folk revival scene of the 1960s that spawnedthe Kingston Trio,Limeliters, andPeter, Paul & Marywith a movie about the reunion concert of fictitious groups Mitch & Mickey, the Folksmen, and the New Main Street Singers. Mitch & Mickey's romance-themed duets sound more earnest than campy, though it's hard not to laugh at the autoharp solo on "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow." The real highlights belong to tracks by the hilarious Folksmen, whose repertoire somehow included a goofy song about the Spanish Civil War ("Skeletons of Quinto"), a harmonizing take onthe Stones' "Start Me Up," and a tune seemingly about a train wreck in a coal mine ("Blood on the Coal"). Simply hilarious.--Jason Verlinde