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Five crazy guys! Five maniacs! From the American rubber capital, ladies and gentlemen... the Devo! Comprised of the twins Bob and Jerry Casale (guitar and bass, respectively), the brothers Bob and Mark Motherbaugh (vocals and keyboards), and Alan Myers (drums), they debuted in 1978, produced by the ever-present "I'm always there" Brian Eno, with an incredible, innovative album, full of Kraftwerk-like character, with a taste for garage rock. Disturbing synths rhythmically contrasting with acoustic instruments, and never as a mere background; nervous, jerky singing, colleagues of David Byrne, and so much irony and zaniness, which especially emerges in the incredible lyrics and their lives, where our heroes would appear in yellow suits and radiation glasses, playing modified instruments with a space-age design.
Before arriving at this record, Devo set their image, and their theory, unfortunately true.
"De-evolution" which is not Bossi's devolution, but the philosophy according to which "the human species is mutating to adapt to the technological environment. De-evolution is then the disappearance of emotions, the rise of a uniform mediocrity where the individual is just a number, the progressive blind trust in the machine- the problem solver (up to the point where the servant/master relationship becomes ambiguous and undefined), the awareness of having nothing to fear from technology" (Piero Scaruffi).
From then on, the trend of robotic singing and movements broke out, influencing even Italian artists like Alberto Camerini (rock n'roll robot).
Q: Are we not men? A: We are Devo! starts with "Uncontrollable urge", a punk-rock that would kick the likes of Offspring and similar. It continues with the fantastic over-modified cover of "(I can't get no) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones, recognizable only by the lyrics, and "Praying heads". Broken rhythms and dissonant synths, as in "Space Junk". The two tracks that positively affirm the album are "Mongoloid" (mongoloid he was a mongoloid happier than you and me), devastating bass lines and chasing instruments, and "Jocko homo" Devo's manifesto, where in addition to quoting the album’s title in the lyrics, the "De-evolution" theory is exposed. This last track, with a robotic arrangement, has a crazy variation in the end, where synths, bass, guitars, and drums alternate, creating an unsettling and obsessive atmosphere. The remaining tracks are a summary of the characteristics previously listed, where one must cite the obsessive and thrilling "Gut feeling (Slap your mummy)", where an endlessly repeated arpeggio develops into a magnificent instrumental run, concluded by a sonic and disturbing finale.
This is Devo's masterpiece, where adjectives are wasted trying to define it. A punch in the face to compositional standardization, prog, solos, and melody for its own sake. The fathers of musical multimedia. Strange, yes, but easily memorable. I honestly prefer their subsequent album "Duty now for the future" where they got rid of Brian Eno, to create a second album, where the robotic and jagged sound, and the rock 'n roll/electronic mix, becomes the ultimate expression. But the cover and the music of this ingenious work is history and therefore important. The word "recommendation" is superfluous. 5/5 deserved!
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Uncontrollable Urge (03:10)
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeahyeahyeahyeah!
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeahyeahyeahyeah!
Got an urge got a surge and it's out of control
Got an urge I wanna purge 'cause I'm losing control
Uncontrollable urge I wanna tell you all about it
Got an uncontrollable urge make me scream and shout it
(chorus)
He's got an uncontrollable urge (''I've got an uncontrollable...'')
He's got an uncontrollable urge (''I've got an uncontrollable...'')
It's got style it's got class
So strong I can't let it pass
I gotta tell you all about it
Make me scream and shout it
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeahyeahyeahyeah!
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeahyeahyeahyeah!
Got an urge got a surge and it's out of control
Got an urge I wanna purge 'cause I'm losing control
Uncontrollable urge I wanna tell you all about it
Got an uncontrollable urge make me scream and shout it
(chorus)
I got an uncontrollable urge I wanna tell you all about it
An uncontrollable urge make me scream and shout it
And I say yah (''he says yah!'')
And I say yea-ah (''he says yea-ah!'')
And I say yah (''yah!'')
And I say yea-ah (''yea-ah!'')
And I say yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeahyeah yeahyeah!
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeahyeahyeahyeah!
03 Praying Hands (02:48)
YOU GOT YOUR LEFT HAND
YOU GOT YOUR RIGHT HAND
THE LEFT HAND'S DIDDLING
WHILE THE RIGHT HAND GOES TO WORK
YOU GOT BOTH HANDS
YOU GOT PRAYING HANDS
THEY PRAY FOR NO MAN
O.K....RELAX...
ASSUME THE POSITION
GO INTO DOGGIE SUBMISSION
04 Space Junk (02:14)
SHE WAS WALKING ALL ALONE
DOWN THE STREET IN THE ALLEY
HER NAME WAS SALLY
SHE NEVER SAW IT
WHEN SHE WAS HIT BY SPACE JUNK
IN NEW YORK MIAMI BEACH
HEAVY METAL FELL IN CUBA
ANGOLA SAUDI ARABIA
ON XMAS EVE SAID NORAD
A SOVIET SPUTNIK HIT AFRICA
INDIA VENEZUELA (IN TEXAS
KANSAS)
IT'S FALLING FAST PERU TOO
IT KEEPS COMING
AND NOW I'M MAD ABOUT SPACE JUNK
I'M ALL BURNED OUT ABOUT SPACE JUNK
OOOH WALK & TALK ABOUT SPACE JUNK
IT SMASHED MY BABY'S HEAD
AND NOW MY SALLY'S DEAD
05 Mongoloid (03:44)
MONGOLOID HE WAS A MONGOLOID
HAPPIER THAN YOU AND ME
MONGOLOID HE WAS A MONGOLOID
AND IT DETERMINED WHAT HE COULD SEE
MONGOLOID HE WAS A MONGOLOID
ONE CHROMOSOME TOO MANY
MONGOLOID HE WAS A MONGOLOID
AND IT DETERMINED WHAT HE COULD SEE
AND HE WORE A HAT
AND HE HAD A JOB
AND HE BROUGHT HOME THE BACON
SO THAT NO ONE KNEW
MONGOLOID, MONGOLOID
HIS FRIENDS WERE UNAWARE
MONGOLOID, MONGOLOID
NOBODY EVEN CARED
MONGOLOID HE WAS A MONGOLOID
ONE CHROMOSOME TOO MANY
MONGOLOID HE WAS A MONGOLOID
AND IT DETERMINED WHAT HE COULD SEE
AND HE WORE A HAT
AND HE HAD A JOB
AND HE BROUGHT HOME THE BACON
SO THAT NO ONE KNEW
--Solo--
MONGOLOID HE WAS A MONGOLOID
HAPPIER THAN YOU AND ME
MONGOLOID HE WAS A MONGOLOID
AND IT DETERMINED WHAT HE COULD SEE
MONGOLOID HE WAS A MONGOLOID
ONE CHROMOSOME TOO MANY
MONGOLOID HE WAS A MONGOLOID
AND IT DETERMINED WHAT HE COULD SEE
AND HE WORE A HAT
AND HE HAD A JOB
AND HE BROUGHT HOME THE BACON
SO THAT NO ONE KNEW
MONGOLOID
06 Jocko Homo (03:39)
They tell us that
We lost our tails
Evolving up
From little snails
I say it's all
Just wind and sails
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O!
Monkey men all
In business suits
Teachers and critics
All dance the poot
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O!
Are we not pinheads?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O!
We're pinheads now
We are not whole
We're pinheads all
Jocko Homo
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O
God made man
but he used the monkey to do it
Apes in the plan
we're all here to prove it
I can walk like an ape
talk like an ape
do what monkey do
God made man
but monkey supplied the glue
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O
We must repeat!
We are Devo!
We must repeat!
D-E-V-O
Okay! Let's go!
Some versions of this song include a second bridge:
I got a rhyme that comes in a riddle
O-Hi-O
What's round on the end and high in the middle?
O-Hi-O
07 Too Much Paranoias (01:57)
THINK I GOT YOUR DIAL TONE
THINK I GOT BILLY BAXTER'S BONE
THINK I GOT A BUBBLE-SAC
THINK I GOT A BIG MAC ATTACK
HOLD THE PICKLES HOLD THE LETTUCE
SPECIAL ORDERS DON'T UPSET US
ALL WE ASK IS THAT YOU LET US
SERVE IT YOUR WAY
TOO MUCH PARANOIAS
MY MOMMA'S AFRAID TO TELL ME
THE THINGS SHE'S AFRAID OF
I BEEN DIPPED IN DOUBLE MEANING
I BEEN STUCK WITH STATIC CLING
THINK I GOT A RUPTO-PAC
THINK I GOT A BIG MAC ATTACK
09 Come Back Jonee (03:48)
JONEE WENT TO THE PAWNSHOP
BOUGHT HIMSELF A GUITAR
NOW HE'S GONNA GO FAR
YOU GOTTA LOVE 'EM AND LEAVE 'EM
SOMETIMES YOU DECEIVE 'EM
YOU MADE HER CRY
JONEE YOU'RE BAD
YOU'RE GONNA MAKE HER SAD
JONEE JUMPED IN HIS DATSUN
DROVE OUT ON THE EXPRESSWAY
WENT HEAD-ON INTO A SEMI
HIS GUITAR IS ALL THAT'S LEFT NOW
HE MADE HER CRY
NOW SHE CALLS HIS NAME
JONEE YOU'RE TO BLAME
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