Are We Not Men? We Are Diva!

Personnel: Spike Slawson (vocals); Jake Jackson (guitar); Darius Koski (accordion); Jamin Barton (saxophone); Samon Rajabnik (keyboards); Joe Raposo (upright bass); Dave Raun (drums); Fat Mike, Eric Melvin, Joey Cape, Paddy Skinner (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Jason Livermore.
Liner Note Author: Dr. Heinrich von Beexo.
Recording information: I Can't Believe It's a Studio Studios, Burbank, CA; Motor Studios, San Francisco, CA; Studio 606, Northridge, CA.
Photographer: Jay Blakesberg.
Despite its nod to Devo's 1978 classic, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes' eighth album, Are We Not Men? We are Diva!, is not collection of new wave covers by the red-hatted ones or any other of their ilk. Instead, the SoCal theme punks have turned their affection to pop's greatest female divas from Celine Dion to Lady Gaga and beyond. The six-year gap between this album and 2008's Have Another Ball!, which was essentially a companion piece to their 1997 debut, has not softened their sound or dimmed their flame. They hit the ground running with a ripping version of Gloria Gaynor's iconic "I Will Survive" that contains all the pop punk flair that they've successfully applied to country, folk, and classic pop tunes throughout their career. Re-imaginings of Cher's "Believe" (complete with Auto-Tune), the Carpenters' "Top of the World," and even Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon" follow, proving that even male divas aren't safe from the Gimmes' treatment. The collection ends with a rave-up of one of diva-dom's greatest ballads, Barbara Streisand's "The Way We Were." ~ Timothy Monger