A lot of people take Devo for granted. They've long been written off as something of a novelty act thanks to cheeky hits like "Whip It" and "Workin' In A Coalmine", wearing kooky matching outfits (like those bright yellow radiation suits), acting like robots, and creating videos that may have been innovative for the time, but, and this is my own personal opinion, kinda worked against them.
How I came to know of Devo was much the same way as everyone else. I didn't discover them years before "Whip It" stormed up the charts, or anything. I loathed the song - still do - and only happened upon their other stuff when my brother bought "Freedom Of Choice" and started playing the crap out of it. It was then that I realized these guys had some cool-ass songs and they weren't just a synth band, either. There were guitars aplenty on songs like "Gates Of Steel", "Girl U Want" and the title cut.
The great thing about discovering a band a few albums into their career (which I've done many times) is that you're able to go forward and backward, absorbing new material at the same time you're digging into the band's past. Upon discovering the group's first album, "Q: Are We Not Men, A: We Are DEVO", I was completely enamored by the band and just shook my head at the me I used to be; the guy who'd totally missed that album when it was released.
The band's forth album, "New Traditionalists" was missing a "Whip It" of its own and slowly Devo's chart success began sliding gradually with each new album. Quite frankly, that mattered little to me at the time. My friends and I remained huge Devo fans and I'm sure the powers that be at Warner Brothers were quite impressed with the unusually high record sales that took place in a small town in Michigan that didn't even appear on most maps. Well, not the good maps, anyway.
Of course, "New Traditionalists" contains my favorite Devo song, "Beautiful World", which should have been a massive hit, but priority was given to "Jerkin' Back & Forth" and "Through Being Cool" instead.
I was with Devo through "Peek-a-boo", which had cool tracks like "Patterns" and the completely over-the-top title cut, but "Shout!", their last album for Warner Brothers, left me cold. So cold, in fact, that I completely ignored their first release for Enigma Records, "Total DEVO".
Yet, a couple years later, I was in the process of unloading a good portion of my paycheck at the now defunct Dr. Wax Records when I noticed a new Devo album in the bins called "Smooth Noodle Maps". I bought it without giving it a second thought and ended up playing it relentlessly. Sure, it was a little more dance-oriented than I liked, but whatever. I was also listening to a lot of dance/industrial stuff at the time, so it wasn't that far a stretch.
My love affair with Devo had been rekindled, to a point. When the band's tour found its way to Chicago, I caught their appearance at the Metro. Going in, I was a little hesitant. I was plagued by the idea that the band was gonna let me down by putting on one of those shows that a lot of bands give you when they've been reduced to a club-level act after years at the arena level. They started the show with an acoustic set, believe it or not, and, although it was good enough, I thought my suspicions were on their way to being confirmed.
Then the band tossed the unplugged instrumentation aside like dirty laundry and rocked me off my unprepared ass. Seriously, these guys brought it.
After the show, I chatted a bit with their new drummer David Kendrick (formerly of Gleaming Spires and Sparks), who'd been browsing in the record store located in the same building as the club, and he ended up showing me his kit and stuff, which had yet to be torn down by the crew. In looking at the rest of the band's equipment, I laughed to myself at the site of vintage Moog synthesizers with keys broken or missing entirely. If I hadn't just seen them blow the roof off the joint with my own eyes, I'd have never believed them capable of such intensity at this point in their career.
The funny thing is, seventeen years later, they're STILL bringin' it and, quite frankly, if Devo is ever in your neck of the woods, you owe it to yourself to check them out.
Until then, these live cuts will hold you over. Enjoy!
Uncontrollable Urge
Mongoloid
Satisfaction
It Takes A Worried Man
Girl U Want
Gates Of Steel
I Saw Jesus/Through Being Cool
Smart Patrol Theme/Jerkin' Back And Forth
Patterns
That's Good
Working In A Coalmine
3 comments:
awesome! I'm guessing I may be a few years older than you because I was introduced to Devo by their SNL appearance in the late 70s. I bought the first album and loved it. Of course all my friends hated Devo and I caught hell for being a fan!
For me, my DEVOtion peaked just before the first album. (I'm a faithless fan, I admit.) Not that I didn't have high hopes for the first album when it came and it still remains one of my favorites from the era. (I had all of the original preWB singles and even the Mechanical Man EP all of which I sold for nothing to a disinterested record store years later.) I loved the first album but there was something missing from the band I so enjoyed in the clubs (Los Angeles) before they were signed. I was never a fan of the movies and videos, either. I had the first two albums but only bought the second out of loyalty. (I later gave it to somebody else.) I missed the guitars! For me, it was over. Still, they had a brilliant moment and it was a bright one while it lasted.
I just found your blog and have really enjoyed reading it. Thanks for posting so much interesting music.
One striking thing about Devo: I saw the SNL performance on a TV in a college dorm common room, and I've rarely seen such strong reactions to anything on TV. Some loved it, others hated it, but either way I gave Devo a lot of credit for creating such a stir.
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