The rock group Devo is one of the most influential bands in music's history. Their lyrics, energy, and fashion have influenced many since their inception in 1973. Their music has affected me greatly and they exposed me to many strange pursuits and new traditions. Here is my tribute...
An excellent debut, this is a very ambitious album as it explores the limits of punk and doesn't hesitate to experiment with song structure at all. The lyrics are very interesting and quite funny. A recording of Devo's 2009 London show performing all of the album's songs is included on re-issue copies of this album on CD, showing that Devo can still rock 30 years later!
I don't have this album yet, but I really need it. I only know a few songs from it, but I love-love-love the ones I've heard ("Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA", "The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprise", "Block Head")!
In the songs I've heard, synthesizers have become more prevalant but it is still very punk. The songs are very cutting-edge.
The break-out album for Devo and their best known record for the famous single "Whip It". This was the first Devo album I ever owned, and it's a great way to start.
This EP contains six songs from a 1980 live performance. It was originally recorded for a radio show, but it was so popular that it was officially released. It has a strange package design; instead of a normal slide-in cover, it comes in a clear protective sleeve with a thin double-sided cardboard title card that is a bit smaller than a normal record cover alongside the record. The pictures on the card are really cool!
Many consider this to be Devo's best effort. Devo fully embraces synthezisers, but they retain a sharp punk attitude. This is their most political album, especially in the songs "Beautiful World" and "Enough Said" It has the excellent anthem "Through Being Cool", the ominous "Super Thing", and the rappy dance song "Going Under".
Devo was definetly aiming towards dancehall frequenters for this lively album. It is full of earworms, synthesizer and some of their most simply-written songs ("Peek-A-Boo!", "That's Good"); but that doesn't mean there's no substance. The fun dance beat is set to really good lyrics. The music videos, which feature Devo performing in front of a large bluescreen to replicate the 1982 3-Devo Tour, are very fun as well.
In 1983, Devo was asked to write the theme song for the film Doctor Detroit. The song appears on the soundtrack as well as another Devo song called "Luv Luv" that I am not familiar with. The Devo song is catchy and punchy, so it is perfect for a theme song. And the other song, "King Of Soul" by James Brown, is very funky.
Despite its innovative and creative usage of the Fairlight CMI syntheziser, this album is considered a low point by many Devo fans. However, this is not the case. I got this album on cassette for Christmas 2017, and I loved this album the second I heard the first synthesizer trumpet. This album contains irresistable synth-pop songs that are great for dancing and thinking about. It contains an excellent version of "Are You Experienced?" by Jimi Hendrix, which was paired with a crazy music video. I even have a poster with all the lyrics on it. This album was going to have a tour, but the album didn't sell well enough, so it was sadly cancelled. I would have loved to see footage of the tour if it had happened, because it would have been superb!
This was my second Devo album. It's exactly what it sounds like-Devo's best known songs all on one CD. "Here To Go (Go Mix)" is an extended mix of "Here To Go" from Shout. It is very catchy, and it extends specific bits of the songs into their own unique instrumentals. Its music video is a mash-up of all of Devo's past music videos with new effects, so it's kind of the visual equivilent of a Greatest Hits CD like this one.
After 20 years with some spinoff projects, a popular single, and no new true Devo album, Devo released the album Something For Everybody in 2010, but not before having focus groups test their songs to be certain that the songs would be scientifically good ones. "Fresh" and "What We Do", two of the most popular songs from the focus groups, were released as a Record Store Day 2010 12-inch single on pretty blue vinyl.
In 2016, Devo bassist Gerald V. Casale released this single. It is a really good song about wanting to be left alone by society and how that happens to lots of people.Its video, which thankfully for me was NOT directed by Casale, is atrocious! It's got really uncanny 2-D animation, but not in the cute and good way. It's real pictures manipultated and animated really horribly. It is, however, very Devo I guess. Maybe that was the point, they've de-evolved so far they can't even hire real people and they have to use creepy animations...All of the other tracks are hyper-modern dance club remixes that really take away from the song...which was probably the point!
This set has many demos of Devo songs from the late 1970s to the 2010s spread across 4 records and a minidisc! It is interspersed with audio snippets from interviews with Devo. Hearing primitive versions of wonderful songs and even some songs I've never heard at all before is facinating!
This album contains many old, pre-record label Devo songs. They are very experimental and creative.
The second volume continues Volume 1's excellence with even more songs spread across two records! It is even weirder and raunchier than Volume 1!
This was a documentary film of sorts made by Devo in 1979. It contains many Devo videos and live performances linked by interview clips and commentary. It is very experimental and definetly unlike any film I've seen before. Apparently, it was going to be released in 1979 as the world's first Video Album, but Warner Brothers thought the film was anti-establishment and anarchic, so it wasn't released until 1981 after Devo was seen as more consumer-friendly.
The Island Of Doctor Moreau by HG Wells is a book that inspired Devo's philosophy-specifically the 1930s movie adaptation "The Island Of Lost Souls". I got my version of the book at The York Emporium and I loved it!
Devo posters are always in style. I have a few-The New Traditionalists poster that came with my copy of the album, the Shout poster with all the lyrics which I got as a Christmas gift, and the double-sided Recombo DNA poster.
I also have the book Rock Video Super Stars, which I found at The York Emporium as well. It has a spread about Devo with information about four of their music videos. It contained an excellent picture of Devo from probably 1979. I tore it out (gently) and hung it on my bedroom wall.
