Back in my day, Devo's Whip It was required listening. Unfortunately, it relatively stopped there, and as a result, one would be forgiven to classify the band as a one hit wonder. Even being a staple of the era, the reality is that the song only reached number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980. Its relevance perhaps came more so from its music video, which was among the earliest played on the station.
From there, they had two other minor Billboard hits. The first was the cover version of Working In The Coal Mine, which peaked at number forty-three in 1981. While it was recorded during the Freedom Of Choice sessions, it would not be included on the album. Instead, it was contributed to the animated film, Heavy Metal, and its subsequent soundtrack. Ironically, it would be another soundtrack contribution which would be their third and final charting hit when the Theme From Doctor Detroit landed at fifty-nine in 1983 on the Billboard.
Personally, my knowledge of the band was limited to just Whip It and Working In The Coal Mine for the longest time. For the longest time, the only albums in my collection were 1980's Freedom Of Choice, and the Heavy Metal soundtrack. However, while out shopping at a used CD store in 2022 for my birthday, I came across, Oh No, It's Devo, which I decided to pick up. It definitely wasn't an album I wanted per se, but rather, grabbed because it was there, and from a band I knew.
Returning to the same used CD store in January 2023, I found their 1978 debut, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, and followed this up with a purchase on ebay for a compilation album I'd had on my want list, but never pulled the trigger on, 2000's Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology. Though I typically steer clear of greatest hits, I wanted this one specifically for the inclusion of the cover, Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, used in the 1987 film, Revenge Of The Nerds II: Nerds In Paradise. The film itself never received a soundtrack release.
It was at this same time that I also came across 1981's New Traditionalist, and for whatever reason, I also grabbed it for my collection. However, it wouldn't be until May of 2026, when deciding which Retro Spins to tackle next that I decided to look into their remaining two album, 1984's Shout, and 1988's Total Devo. It was at this point why I remembered that Devo was a slow band to be added to my collection; most of their albums are so freaking expensive.
This does at least make sense, as CD releases were relatively few and far between. With exception of Japanese releases, legit or otherwise, options in the USA were mostly limited to the 1996 Infinite Zero Archive series, or 2005 Collectibles releases. Mind you, not every album was released during these periods. Yes, there are anomalies in there, such as Freedom Of Choice which saw a wider CD release, due in part to Whip It, and Total Devo, which was released during the boom of CD popularity. But for the most part, the majority of their earlier work is quite rare outside of vinyl and cassettes.
Devo was a new wave and synth pop bad through and through, and this is exactly what I expected to get from today's Retro Spin. Yes, they do incorporate lead, rhythm and bass guitars into the tracks, but these are utilized sparsely. Mainly, you're getting keyboards and drums.
Ever present are those quirky lyrics the band became known for. In retrospect of listening to Weird Al Yankovic's Dare To Be Stupid, the song, which parodies liberally from the guys, it's actually not far off from how their lyrics come off. I do, however, favor the latter to Devo.
With an understanding of what I was going to be getting, it was easier to mentally wrap my mind around everything. Tracks like Snowball, Freedom Of Choice, and That's Pep delivered catchy hooks, and along with Whip It, stood out as the superior tracks. Overall, while I'm not necessarily sold on the band, I am intrigued enough to continue on. With four more to go, I suppose that's a good mindset to have.
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