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A longtime pal says Phil Spector 'has quite the mouth on him' which may explain why he got knocked around by a fellow inmate.

Has Phil Spector gotten a bloody taste of jail-yard justice? The hot-tempered music legend is minding his tongue after having several teeth knocked out by a fellow inmate at the state prison in Corcoran, Calif., two Spector confidants tell us.

"Phil has quite a mouth on him," says longtime pal and defender Steven Escobar. "Not everyone understands his humor. He said the wrong thing to the wrong inmate in the yard."

Lacking any of his trusty firearms, Spector wound up with a bruised nose, black eye and the loss of a couple of caps, according to Escobar.

"He mouthed off to a big guy, who punched him," concurs another source close to Spector, who's serving 19-to-life for fatally shooting actress Lana Clarkson in the mouth in 2003.

"At first, Phil said he fell down a flight of stairs," says Escobar. "Later, he told family and friends what really happened."

A spokesman for Spector's wife, Rachelle, initially corroborated that there was an incident in November, telling us:

"There are still safety concerns. We don't want the people who put him in this position to retaliate."

But later, Rachelle called to say, "Phil was not assaulted. Absolutely not."

A Corcoran spokesman, Lt. Stephen Smith, says: "We have no reports that he was involved in any altercations."

Spector, 70, did visit a dentist outside of prison in December. Rachelle maintains that was only because "he had an abscess and issues with crowns and implants."

Mrs. Spector, 29, argues that "anyone who meets Phil loves him. He's so freakin' funny. He's an idol to the other inmates. They look out for him. They also know he was wrongfully convicted."

But Spector himself complained about his fellow prisoners in a letter to Escobar last August: "These lowlife scumbag gangsters kill you here for a 39-cent bag of soup!"

Spector also said he was alarmed when a guard delivered a note from fellow Corcoran convict Charles Manson, proposing that he and Spector collaborate on some music. (A prison spokesman said the letter was a fake.)

Spector's missive earned him a "dressing down from officials," says Escobar. "They wanted him to read a phony speech about what a wonderful time he was having in Camp Prison ... almost like they had a gun to his head. They also jerked him around ... didn't give him his meds. That spooked him to a point where he hasn't communicated with anybody."

Prison officials deny they pressured or punished Spector. Says Rachelle: "My husband's safety is the prison's No. 1 priority. They have him segregated in a sensitive-needs ward. All his health concerns are being taken care of."

While describing him as "fragile," Rachelle says her husband is "very upbeat" after his attorneys filed a 148-page brief last week that seeks to overturn his murder conviction.

The former Playboy model also says he's excited that an album they worked on before his conviction will come out June 8. "I do lead vocals," she chirps.

"My husband is so proud of me, and I'm so proud of him for withstanding what he's withstanding." Whatever that may be.