Spiv: Don’tcha Know

It has never been uncommon in popular music that an artist may choose to change from their uncool, unhip given name to one that is more representative of who they are personally, or the alter-ego they wish to portray professionally. In most instances, artists will leave well enough alone and go with the name given to them by mom and dad. In others, the change was probably not a bad idea after all. Imagine buying hit records by artists like Reginald Dwight (Elton John), Annie Mae Bullock (Tina Turner), Eileen Edwards (Shania Twain), Patricia Andrejewski (Pat Benatar), Steveland Morris (Stevie Wonder), or jammin’ to the likes of Sylvester Stewart and the Family Stone, Rufus featuring Yvette Marie Stevens, Hugh Cregg and the News, James Osterberg, Jr. and the Stooges, or Frank Castelluccio and the Four Seasons. And how freaky and over-the-top sounding would Marilyn Manson be if Marilyn choose to go by his given name of Brian Warner. It’s just not quite as effective.

Apparently, Chris Barber saw the writing on the wall and decided upon a name/image change of his own. Barber, who grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, played in a variety of punk-rock outfits and continued to do so into the early ’90s while attending Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington where he played along side the likes of Nirvana and Bikini Kill. After releasing two records with his band Riddlehouse (the second which featured Cream drummer Ginger Baker and son Kofi), Barber decided it was time for a change. As legend has it, he grabbed an unabridged Webster’s dictionary, closed his eyes and dropped his finger on a page which landed on the word, “spiv”, which translated means “one who lives by his wits”. With the name change came a change in musical direction as well.

Spiv traded in his decidedly punk-rock past for a more melody-based pop path which resulted in deal with Pop Sweatshop in 1999. Spiv’s debut album By Definition was released in October of 1999 and received national airplay. He followed this up with two EPs, Junior and Everybody’s a Rock Star Tonight which featured the production prowess of Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, Big Star, R.E.M.).

For Spiv’s latest effort Don’tcha Know, he again teams up with Stringfellow who not only produces, but plays on the record as well. Don’tcha Know is replete with its share catchy moments, superb pop songcraft, high energy and Spiv’s own tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. But the one thing that this album isn’t is original. Half of Don’tcha Know sounds as if Spiv had crafted these numbers in the style of his favorite artists. For instance, as infectious as “Beatley” is, it’s a dead ringer for Jason Falkner, while “When We Woke Up” wreaks of Apple Venus Vol. II-period XTC complete with Andy Partridge-styled vocals. And then there is the acoustically-driven “Seedy Release”, which is a real beauty, but without question is White Album-era Paul McCartney. If you’re up for a little Flaming Lips, then you’ll love the spacey, echo-laden “Because I’m in Love”. As for the rest of the album, the real Spiv chooses to stand up. “Everybody’s a Rock Star Tonight” is an anthemic pop-rocker which takes a few punches at the MP3 generation of musicians who dream of their 15 minutes of fame via the Internet. “Not For Years” takes on a classic ’60s vibe with a cool “She’s a Woman” cadence leading the charge. “Goddess Surprise” is one of the crunchiest compositions on the record, meaning that Spiv hasn’t totally abandoned his punk-ish roots. If there is a downside to Don’tcha Know it would definitely be “VIPs of the Street”. Spiv’s attempt at his brand of white techno-rap is totally out of step with the rest of the album, and should have been left off the record.

While an artist like Spiv may be pretty tough to pin down at times, the guy does know how write good songs. But in all honesty, if you were to give this record just a cursory listen, chances are you’d never pick it up again. Don’tcha Know doesn’t immediately reel the listener in, instead it has that grow-on-you characteristic that brings the quality of each track into brighter focus with each subsequent listen. And while Don’tcha Know is not a spectacular album, if you have the time to give it a couple of spins, you’ll find that it is a pretty fine outing whether the musician’s name happens to be Chris Barber or Spiv.