97-724: Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! is the debut studio album by the American new wave band Devo . It was originally released in August 1978 on Warner Bros. in the North America and Virgin Records in Europe. Produced by Brian Eno , the album was recorded between October 1977 and February 1978, primarily in Cologne , West Germany . The album peaked at No. 78 on the U.S. Billboard chart and No. 12 on
194-587: A concert venue , at home, in the field, or a mix of places. The time frame for completely recording an album varies between a few hours to several years. This process usually requires several takes with different parts recorded separately, and then brought or " mixed " together. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed "live", even when done in a studio. Studios are built to absorb sound, eliminating reverberation , to assist in mixing different takes; other locations, such as concert venues and some "live rooms", have reverberation, which creates
291-420: A "live" sound. Recordings, including live, may contain editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology , artists can be recorded in separate rooms or at separate times while listening to the other parts using headphones ; with each part recorded as a separate track . Album covers and liner notes are used, and sometimes additional information is provided, such as analysis of
388-452: A DVD of the Don't Look Back concert, a DVD of music videos, a 7-inch single, and a poster. The album's opening track, "Uncontrollable Urge", has been used in several films and television shows, including The Wolf of Wall Street , Fun with Dick and Jane , Ridiculousness (as a cover along with Mark Mothersbaugh and "yeahs" provided by Rob Dyrdek ) and Jackass . "Gut Feeling" appeared in
485-473: A Surprize", "S.I.B. (Swelling Itching Brain)" and "Triumph of the Will") for the second album's sessions and elected to abandon some of the previously chosen songs. Bob Mothersbaugh later stated that "We had been touring extensively after the first album; maybe we rushed to get another album out." In a 2015 interview, Gerald Casale said that the new material "was kind of still incubating and probably wasn't ready" at
582-458: A bound book resembling a photo album ; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl long-playing (LP) records played at 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm . The album was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption from the mid-1960s to the early 21st century, a period known as the album era . Vinyl LPs are still issued, though album sales in the 21st-century have mostly focused on CD and MP3 formats. The 8-track tape
679-458: A brown heavy paper sleeve with a large hole in the center so the record's label could be seen. The fragile records were stored on their sides. By the mid-1920s, photo album publishers sold collections of empty sleeves of heavier paper in bound volumes with stiff covers slightly larger than the 10" popular records. (Classical records measured 12".) On the paper cover in small type were the words "Record Album". Now records could be stored vertically with
776-412: A collection of pieces or songs on a single record was called an "album"; the word was extended to other recording media such as compact disc, MiniDisc , compact audio cassette, 8-track tape and digital albums as they were introduced. An album (Latin albus , white), in ancient Rome, was a board chalked or painted white, on which decrees, edicts, and other public notices were inscribed in black. It
873-403: A compilation of songs created by any average listener of music. The songs on a mixtape generally relate to one another in some way, whether it be a conceptual theme or an overall sound. After the introduction of Compact discs, the term "Mixtape" began to apply to any personal compilation of songs on any given format. The sales of Compact Cassettes eventually began to decline in the 1990s, after
970-424: A current or former member of a musical group which is released under that artist's name only, even though some or all other band members may be involved. The solo album appeared as early as the late 1940s. A 1947 Billboard magazine article heralded " Margaret Whiting huddling with Capitol execs over her first solo album on which she will be backed by Frank De Vol ". There is no formal definition setting forth
1067-557: A customer buys a whole album rather than just one or two songs from the artist. The song is not necessarily free nor is it available as a stand-alone download, adding also to the incentive to buy the complete album. In contrast to hidden tracks , bonus tracks are included on track listings and usually do not have a gap of silence between other album tracks. Bonus tracks on CD or vinyl albums are common in Japan for releases by European and North American artists; since importing international copies of
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#17328769925601164-518: A lengthy world tour, lasting from October 1978 to June 1979. The look of the tour was largely based around the live act they'd been developing throughout the previous year, with the only differences being the increased budget allowing for higher quality costumes and a basic set, and a focus on the album's material, whilst teasing then unreleased songs for the next album. The show would open with The Truth About De-Evolution , followed by their 1978 promo videos for " Satisfaction " and "Come Back Jonee". When
1261-526: A pamphlet in Akron and the two began using it in their own art, accompanied by the phrase "Duty Now for the Future", coined by Casale. After first using it on a promotional item for Virgin Records , the band were contacted by the owners of the logo, which resulted in them acquiring the rights to the image. Casale was seemingly unaware of the author of the design until being contacted by Kaufman's son in 2024, after which
1358-484: A post was made to Devo's social media to commemorate him for his work. The inner sleeve included the lyrics of all the songs printed in a single block of closely printed text. The sleeve also featured a West Hollywood address from which one could request information and news about the band. In addition, an address was included to allow purchasers to order a copy of the Devo-vision videocassette from Time Life . This tape
1455-523: A punch-out postcard, which according to Mark Mothersbaugh was "a piece of art that you could take away, a repurposed album cover." Although Warner Bros. originally rejected the idea, saying it was too costly, Devo instructed the label to use the band's own money to pay for it. The cover photograph of the band was taken by photographer Allan Tannenbaum for the SoHo Weekly News in New York City. It
1552-504: A quartet consisting of Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale, Bob Mothersbaugh, and drummer Jim Mothersbaugh . In 1976, Alan Myers replaced Jim Mothersbaugh, and Bob Casale ("Bob 2") re-joined as rhythm guitarist and additional keyboardist following a two-year absence. By February 1977, Devo were also performing "Shrivel-Up" live, as well as early versions of "Uncontrollable Urge," "Praying Hands," "Mongoloid," "Too Much Paranoias," and "Jocko Homo." In March 1977, Devo released their first single,
1649-568: A self-produced recording of " Mongoloid " / "Jocko Homo". By May 19, 1977, the group had debuted all of the album's tracks live, and would continue to develop the material throughout the year. In 1977, David Bowie and Iggy Pop received a tape of Devo demo songs from the wife of Michael Aylward, guitarist in another Akron, Ohio , band, Tin Huey . Both Pop and Bowie, as well as Brian Eno and Robert Fripp , expressed interest in producing Devo's first release. In October 1977, Patrick Gleeson invited
1746-588: A series of engagements prevented Bowie from undertaking the recording. The band were flown to Germany in February 1978. Bowie was busy filming Just a Gigolo at the time, but assisted Eno on weekends. Since Devo had not yet been signed to a record label, Eno paid for the flights and studio cost of the band, confident that they would be signed; in return, he asked for a share of any subsequent deals. The Different Fur recordings of "Come Back Jonee" and "Shrivel-Up" had been overdubbed upon during these sessions. Gerald Casale
1843-467: A single artist, genre or period, a single artist covering the songs of various artists or a single artist, genre or period, or any variation of an album of cover songs which is marketed as a "tribute". Duty Now for the Future Duty Now for the Future is the second studio album by American new wave band Devo , released on June 1, 1979, by Warner Bros. Records . Produced by Ken Scott ,
1940-522: A single case, or a triple album containing three LPs or compact discs. Recording artists who have an extensive back catalogue may re-release several CDs in one single box with a unified design, often containing one or more albums (in this scenario, these releases can sometimes be referred to as a "two (or three)-fer"), or a compilation of previously unreleased recordings. These are known as box sets . Some musical artists have also released more than three compact discs or LP records of new recordings at once, in
2037-433: A solo album for several reasons. A solo performer working with other members will typically have full creative control of the band, be able to hire and fire accompanists, and get the majority of the proceeds. The performer may be able to produce songs that differ widely from the sound of the band with which the performer has been associated, or that the group as a whole chose not to include in its own albums. Graham Nash of
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#17328769925602134-414: A studio. However, the common understanding of a "live album" is one that was recorded at a concert with a public audience, even when the recording is overdubbed or multi-tracked. Concert or stage performances are recorded using remote recording techniques. Albums may be recorded at a single concert , or combine recordings made at multiple concerts. They may include applause, laughter and other noise from
2231-518: A synthesizer. On this album, we did much more with the guitars, too. Sometimes you don't know that they're guitars." According to Scott, to record the solo for "Secret Agent Man", they "overloaded mic amps and fed the signal through headphones which were taped to the mic." Several band members voiced dissatisfaction with the sound of the album in retrospect. Gerald Casale has stated that "Scott wanted something processed. We wanted something aggressive." Bob Mothersbaugh felt that Scott did not understand
2328-406: A theme such as the "greatest hits" from one artist, B-sides and rarities by one artist, or selections from a record label , a musical genre , a certain time period, or a regional music scene. Promotional sampler albums are compilations. A tribute or cover album is a compilation of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may involve various artists covering the songs of
2425-509: A trend of shifting sales in the music industry , some observers feel that the early 21st century experienced the death of the album . An album may contain any number of tracks. In the United States, The Recording Academy 's rules for Grammy Awards state that an album must comprise a minimum total playing time of 15 minutes with at least five distinct tracks or a minimum total playing time of 30 minutes with no minimum track requirement. In
2522-430: A way of promoting the album. Albums have been issued that are compilations of older tracks not originally released together, such as singles not originally found on albums, b-sides of singles, or unfinished " demo " recordings. Double albums during the seventies were sometimes sequenced for record changers . In the case of a two-record set, for example, sides 1 and 4 would be stamped on one record, and sides 2 and 3 on
2619-580: Is any vocal content. A track that has the same name as the album is called the title track. A bonus track (also known as a bonus cut or bonus) is a piece of music which has been included as an extra. This may be done as a marketing promotion, or for other reasons. It is not uncommon to include singles, B-sides , live recordings , and demo recordings as bonus tracks on re-issues of old albums, where those tracks were not originally included. Online music stores allow buyers to create their own albums by selecting songs themselves; bonus tracks may be included if
2716-552: Is not necessarily just in MP3 file format, in which higher quality formats such as FLAC and WAV can be used on storage media that MP3 albums reside on, such as CD-R-ROMs , hard drives , flash memory (e.g. thumbdrives , MP3 players , SD cards ), etc. The contents of the album are usually recorded in a studio or live in concert, though may be recorded in other locations, such as at home (as with JJ Cale's Okie , Beck's Odelay , David Gray's White Ladder , and others), in
2813-402: Is recorded on both the "A" and "B" side of the tape, with cassette being "turned" to play the other side of the album. Compact Cassettes were also a popular way for musicians to record " Demos " or "Demo Tapes" of their music to distribute to various record labels, in the hopes of acquiring a recording contract . Compact cassettes also saw the creation of mixtapes , which are tapes containing
2910-603: The All Tomorrow's Parties festival's Don't Look Back concert series. On September 16, Warner Bros. and Devo announced vinyl and deluxe CD re-releases of both Q: Are We Not Men? and Freedom of Choice , as well as a tour in which they would perform both albums on back-to-back nights in selected cities. On December 22, the Ultra Devo-Lux Ltd. Edition box set was released, which featured the remastered versions of Q: Are We Not Men? and Freedom of Choice with bonus tracks,
3007-484: The UK Albums Chart . Retrospectively, the album has been included on several "best of" lists from publications including Rolling Stone , Pitchfork , and Spin . Mark Mothersbaugh , Gerald Casale , and Bob Mothersbaugh wrote the album over three years between 1974 and 1977. " Jocko Homo ", written by Mark Mothersbaugh, was demoed in 1974 and first played live on October 31, 1975. During this period, Devo were
Q. Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-517: The iPod , US album sales dropped 54.6% from 2001 to 2009. The CD is a digital data storage device which permits digital recording technology to be used to record and play-back the recorded music. Most recently, the MP3 audio format has matured, revolutionizing the concept of digital storage. Early MP3 albums were essentially CD-rips created by early CD- ripping software, and sometimes real-time rips from cassettes and vinyl. The so-called "MP3 album"
3201-605: The 100 best albums of the 1970s. It was ranked number 447 in Rolling Stone ' s 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time , climbing to number 442 in the 2012 update and then to number 252 in the 2020 version of the list. It is also listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . On May 6, 2009, Devo performed the album live in its entirety for the first time at the Forum in Kentish Town , London , as part of
3298-514: The 1970s. Appraising the concept in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said most "are profit-taking recaps marred by sound and format inappropriate to phonographic reproduction (you can't put sights, smells, or fellowship on audio tape). But for Joe Cocker and Bette Midler and Bob-Dylan -in-the-arena, the form makes a compelling kind of sense." Among
3395-502: The 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou , as well as the 2007 video game skate. The album was covered in full by Claw Hammer in 1991. 1993 Virgin Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! / DEV-O Live CD bonus tracks: 2009 Warner Bros. CD bonus tracks: 2009 Ultra Devo-lux Ltd. Ed. CD bonus tracks: Credits adapted from Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology CD liner notes: Devo Credits adapted from
3492-443: The 25-minute mark. The album Dopesmoker by Sleep contains only a single track, but the composition is over 63 minutes long. There are no formal rules against artists such as Pinhead Gunpowder referring to their own releases under thirty minutes as "albums". If an album becomes too long to fit onto a single vinyl record or CD, it may be released as a double album where two vinyl LPs or compact discs are packaged together in
3589-454: The European version depicts Mark Mothersbaugh wearing goggles, a bow tie, and rubber gloves, while the back cover features Gerald Casale, Jim Mothersbaugh, and Bob Mothersbaugh wearing sunglasses under nylon stockings . Devo received offers to release Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! from Warner Bros. , Island , Virgin and David Bowie's production company, Bewlay Brothers. Virgin obtained
3686-491: The Hollies described his experience in developing a solo album as follows: "The thing that I go through that results in a solo album is an interesting process of collecting songs that can't be done, for whatever reason, by a lot of people". A solo album may also represent the departure of the performer from the group. A compilation album is a collection of material from various recording projects or various artists, assembled with
3783-638: The Spiders from Mars (1972) and Aladdin Sane (1973). According to Scott, Devo were "quite professional in the studio" and he "loved every minute" of the sessions. Recording for the album began in September 1978, a month after the release of their first album. Scott discussed his role in the recordings and how Devo came to choose him for the album: "I know they chose me because of the Bowie records I did, but I don't know if it
3880-516: The United Kingdom, the criteria for the UK Albums Chart is that a recording counts as an "album" if it either has more than four tracks or lasts more than 25 minutes. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as mini-albums or EPs . Albums such as Tubular Bells , Amarok , and Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield , and Yes's Close to the Edge , include fewer than four tracks, but still surpass
3977-487: The United States on July 27, 2001 ( 2001-07-27 ) . Tom Carson, writing in Rolling Stone , claimed that "There's not an ounce of feeling anywhere, and the only commitment is to the distancing aesthetic of the put-on", and opined that "Devo lacks most of Eno's warmth and much of Bowie's flair for mechanized melodrama. For all its idiosyncrasies, the music here is utterly impersonal." Record World said that
Q. Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-505: The Virgin album also featured the US cover postcard as an insert. Devo produced one music video for this album. "The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprize" combined animation with blue screen effects of the band performing. In this video, Devo chiefly wore white shirts and pants and silver 3D glasses. The video also features Alex Mothersbaugh, the daughter of Bob Mothersbaugh. Alex would later be featured on
4171-699: The album "undeniably catchy and fun." In a retrospective review for AllMusic , reviewer Mark Deming opined that the album "captures the group in the midst of a significant stylistic shift", while contending that "Triumph of the Will" "embraces fascism as a satirical target without bothering to make it sound as if they disapprove." 1993 Virgin Duty Now for the Future / New Traditionalists CD bonus track: 1995 Infinite Zero Archive/ American Recordings CD bonus tracks: 2010 Warner Bros. CD bonus tracks: Credits adapted from Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology CD liner notes: Devo Credits adapted from
4268-413: The album can be cheaper than buying a domestically released version, Japanese releases often feature bonus tracks to incentivize domestic purchase. Commercial sheet music is published in conjunction with the release of a new album (studio, compilation, soundtrack, etc.). A matching folio songbook is a compilation of the music notation of all the songs included in that particular album. It typically has
4365-462: The album was more accessible, it was "lacking the zany magic of old". Scott Isler of Trouser Press stated that the album "doesn't score as many bull's-eyes as the first but includes two anthems of malaise, 'Blockhead' and 'S.I.B. (Swelling Itching Brain)'", and noted the band's "disturbing signs of portentousness". The Boston Globe dismissed Duty Now for the Future as "largely a failure." Among positive reviews, The New York Times deemed
4462-456: The album was recorded between September 1978 and early 1979 at Chateau Recorders in Hollywood . Both Duty Now for the Future and its predecessor, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978), contained material from a backlog of songs the band had written between 1974 and 1977. By December 1976, Devo were already performing "Clockout", "Timing X" and "Blockhead" live, following the expansion of
4559-516: The album's artwork on its cover and, in addition to sheet music, it includes photos of the artist. Most pop and rock releases come in standard Piano/Vocal/Guitar notation format (and occasionally Easy Piano / E-Z Play Today). Rock-oriented releases may also come in Guitar Recorded Versions edition, which are note-for-note transcriptions written directly from artist recordings. Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one-half of
4656-556: The album, but we used them on three or four songs." After conflicts arose between the group and Eno, Bowie was brought in to remix the album. Outtakes from the album included " Be Stiff ", released as a non-album single that same year; "Social Fools", released as the B-side to "Come Back Jonee"; and "Penetration in the Centrefold", released as the B-side to "The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprize" from
4753-500: The album, illustrated with a still from The Truth About De-Evolution . In North America, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! peaked at No. 78 on the Billboard charts , while in the United Kingdom it entered the charts on September 16, 1978, and remained there for seven weeks, peaking at No. 12. Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! was also successful in Japan. The album went "silver" in the United Kingdom on January 15, 1979, and "gold" in
4850-503: The album. If a pop or rock album contained tracks released separately as commercial singles , they were conventionally placed in particular positions on the album. During the sixties, particularly in the UK, singles were generally released separately from albums. Today, many commercial albums of music tracks feature one or more singles, which are released separately to radio, TV or the Internet as
4947-474: The amount of participation a band member can solicit from other members of their band, and still have the album referred to as a solo album. One reviewer wrote that Ringo Starr 's third venture, Ringo , "[t]echnically... wasn't a solo album because all four Beatles appeared on it". Three of the four members of the Beatles released solo albums while the group was officially still together. A performer may record
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#17328769925605044-510: The audience, comments by the performers between pieces, improvisation, and so on. They may use multitrack recording direct from the stage sound system (rather than microphones placed among the audience), and can employ additional manipulation and effects during post-production to enhance the quality of the recording. Notable early live albums include the double album of Benny Goodman , The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert , released in 1950. Live double albums later became popular during
5141-506: The back cover of Devo's 1984 album Shout . A short clip of the band standing at attention and then saluting was filmed to accompany "Devo Corporate Anthem", which was used in concert performance. Duty Now for the Future was on the Billboard charts for 10 weeks, peaking at No. 73. In Canada, the album reached number 87. Dave Marsh , writing in Rolling Stone , condemned the album, feeling that "inspired amateurism works only when
5238-445: The band arrived on stage, they performed two songs that were not on the album supporting the tour. Then Mark Mothersbaugh would get a modified electric guitar, which would only be used for the songs "Satisfaction" and "Too Much Paranoias". As the show would continue, the group's signature yellow suits would be gradually torn, until " Jocko Homo ", where Devo would strip down to black shorts and T-shirts with knee and shoulder pads. During
5335-439: The band away from guitars. The band were excluded from the final mixing process, with Casale later stating that they "barely knew how bland it sounded", and that, for the most part, Scott did not take their suggestions. The artwork was designed by Janet Perr , based on a concept by Devo. Universal Product Codes were a then-new phenomenon and the band devised a satirical fake code for the front cover. The cover also featured
5432-514: The band to record "Come Back Jonee" and "Shrivel-Up" at his Different Fur studio in San Francisco . The following month, Devo returned to New York and were introduced ahead of a show at Max's Kansas City by Bowie, who told the audience that he planned to produce Devo's first album in Tokyo over the winter. Eventually, Eno was chosen to produce the album at Conny Plank 's studio near Cologne after
5529-479: The band's "ideas and vision." Mark Mothersbaugh recalled that, at the time, he thought Scott had erred in recording the album one instrument at a time to a click track —to emphasize the band's tight, robotic qualities—rather than recapturing their live sound. Mothersbaugh ultimately felt that the results were not as satisfying as playing the material on the following tour. However, Casale later stated that Mothersbaugh, who loved synthesizers, had already wanted to move
5626-522: The band's line-up from a quartet to a quintet, with the addition of drummer Alan Myers (replacing Jim Mothersbaugh ) and multi-instrumentalist Bob Casale . "Clockout" took advantage of this newly expanded line-up and featured Bob Casale playing bass instead of Gerald Casale . "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA" was already being performed by November 1977. While the song selections for the band's first two albums were devised ahead of time, Mark Mothersbaugh brought in three new compositions ("The Day My Baby Gave Me
5723-406: The best selling live albums are Eric Clapton 's Unplugged (1992), selling over 26 million copies, Garth Brooks ' Double Live (1998), over 21 million copies, and Peter Frampton 's Frampton Comes Alive! (1976), over 11 million copies. In Rolling Stone ' s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time , 18 albums were live albums. A solo album , in popular music , is an album recorded by
5820-456: The corporate interference and misunderstanding of the business side of Warner Bros. Records, actually unwittingly produced something far more Devo than the original [image]." The original cover illustration, with Rodriguez's face intact, appeared on the picture sleeve for the "Be Stiff" single. The European version had completely different artwork, featuring stills taken from the band's short film The Truth About De-Evolution . The front cover of
5917-612: The field – as with early blues recordings, in prison, or with a mobile recording unit such as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio . Most albums are studio albums —that is, they are recorded in a recording studio with equipment meant to give those overseeing the recording as much control as possible over the sound of the album. They minimize external noises and reverberations and have highly sensitive microphones and sound mixing equipment. Band members may record their parts in separate rooms or at separate times, listening to
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#17328769925606014-500: The follow-up album Duty Now for the Future in 1979. The cover was illustrated by Joe Heiner, based on an image of golfer Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodríguez that the band had found on a golf strap. According to Casale, David Berman, Senior Vice President of business affairs at their record label, Warner Bros., decided that the image could not be used because "he was a golf fan and felt we were making fun of Chi Chi." The band offered to contact Rodriguez personally but had time constraints, due to
6111-494: The form of a prototype. Compact Cassettes became especially popular during the 1980s after the advent of the Sony Walkman , which allowed the person to control what they listened to. The Walkman was convenient because of its size, the device could fit in most pockets and often came equipped with a clip for belts or pants. The compact cassette used double-sided magnetic tape to distribute music for commercial sale. The music
6208-480: The form of boxed sets, although in that case the work is still usually considered to be an album. Material (music or sounds) is stored on an album in sections termed tracks. A music track (often simply referred to as a track) is an individual song or instrumental recording. The term is particularly associated with popular music where separate tracks are known as album tracks; the term is also used for other formats such as EPs and singles . When vinyl records were
6305-424: The forthcoming production of their album. The manager of the company's art department, Rick Serini, recommended an artist who could airbrush and alter the face of the picture, while lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh offered a picture he had procured from a local newspaper that morphed the faces of U.S. presidents John F. Kennedy , Lyndon B. Johnson , Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford . These ideas were later morphed with
6402-521: The intro to "Smart Patrol", the group donned orange helmets, which were shaken off during the next song, "Mr. DNA". The show was ultimately concluded with lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh becoming Booji Boy and singing "Red Eye" and "The Words Get Stuck in My Throat". Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! has been featured on several "best of" lists, including Spin ' s 2001 list of the "50 Most Essential Punk Records" and Pitchfork ' s 2004 list of
6499-582: The later '30s, record companies began releasing albums of previously released recordings of popular music in albums organized by performer, singers or bands, or by type of music, boogie-woogie , for example. When Columbia introduced the Long Playing record format in 1948, it was natural the term album would continue. Columbia expected that the record size distinction in 78s would continue, with classical music on 12" records and popular music on 10" records, and singles on 78s. Columbia's first popular 10" LP in fact
6596-488: The longer 12-inch 78s, playing around 4–5 minutes per side. For example, in 1924, George Gershwin recorded a drastically shortened version of his new seventeen-minute composition Rhapsody in Blue with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra. The recording was issued on both sides of a single record, Victor 55225 and ran for 8m 59s. By 1910, though some European record companies had issued albums of complete operas and other works,
6693-483: The mid-1930s, record companies had adopted the album format for classical music selections that were longer than the roughly eight minutes that fit on both sides of a classical 12" 78 rpm record. Initially the covers were plain, with the name of the selection and performer in small type. In 1938, Columbia Records hired the first graphic designer in the business to design covers, others soon followed and colorful album covers cover became an important selling feature. By
6790-479: The mid-1960s to the late 1970s when the Compact Cassette format took over. The format is regarded as an obsolete technology, and was relatively unknown outside the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Stereo 8 was created in 1964 by a consortium led by Bill Lear of Lear Jet Corporation , along with Ampex , Ford Motor Company , General Motors , Motorola , and RCA Victor Records . It
6887-454: The original album's liner notes (except where noted): Technical Shipments figures based on certification alone. Studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music ) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette ), or digital . Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records (78s) collected in
6984-471: The original image of Rodríguez to create the cover art of the album. The band did eventually get Rodríguez's permission to use the original photograph. Since the "morphed" album sleeves were already in production by that time, Serini claimed it would cost the band $ 2,500 to halt production and reinstate the image intended originally by the band, which forced the band to keep the morphed version. According to Casale, "we were able to come out with something that by
7081-443: The other parts of the track with headphones to keep the timing right. In the 2000s, with the advent of digital recording , it became possible for musicians to record their part of a song in another studio in another part of the world, and send their contribution over digital channels to be included in the final product. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing or multi-tracking are termed "live", even when done in
7178-414: The other. The user would stack the two records onto the spindle of an automatic record changer, with side 1 on the bottom and side 2 (on the other record) on top. Side 1 would automatically drop onto the turntable and be played. When finished, the tone arm's position would trigger a mechanism which moved the arm out of the way, dropped the record with side 2, and played it. When both records had been played,
7275-458: The players aspire to something better." Robert Christgau of The Village Voice panned side one as "dire" and "arena-rock", but felt that "The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprize" and "Secret Agent Man" were "as bright as anything on the debut, and the arrangements offer their share of surprizes." Red Starr of Smash Hits described it as "unimpressive", but noted that the "change of style definitely grows on you". They went on to say that, although
7372-464: The practice of issuing albums was not widely taken up by American record companies until the 1920s. By about 1910, bound collections of empty sleeves with a paperboard or leather cover, similar to a photograph album, were sold as record albums that customers could use to store their records (the term "record album" was printed on some covers). These albums came in both 10-inch and 12-inch sizes. The covers of these bound books were wider and taller than
7469-406: The primary medium for audio recordings a track could be identified visually from the grooves and many album covers or sleeves included numbers for the tracks on each side. On a compact disc the track number is indexed so that a player can jump straight to the start of any track. On digital music stores such as iTunes the term song is often used interchangeably with track regardless of whether there
7566-404: The record industry as a standard format for the "album". Apart from relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound capability, it has remained the standard format for vinyl albums. The term "album" was extended to other recording media such as 8-track tape , cassette tape , compact disc , MiniDisc , and digital albums, as they were introduced. As part of
7663-617: The record not touching the shelf, and the term was applied to the collection. In the early nineteenth century, "album" was occasionally used in the titles of some classical music sets, such as Robert Schumann 's Album for the Young Opus 68, a set of 43 short pieces. With the advent of 78 rpm records in the early 1900s, the typical 10-inch disc could only hold about three minutes of sound per side, so almost all popular recordings were limited to around three minutes in length. Classical-music and spoken-word items generally were released on
7760-451: The recording, and lyrics or librettos . Historically, the term "album" was applied to a collection of various items housed in a book format. In musical usage, the word was used for collections of short pieces of printed music from the early nineteenth century. Later, collections of related 78s were bundled in book-like albums (one side of a 78 rpm record could hold only about 3.5 minutes of sound). When LP records were introduced,
7857-497: The records inside, allowing the record album to be placed on a shelf upright, like a book, suspending the fragile records above the shelf and protecting them. In the 1930s, record companies began issuing collections of 78s by one performer or of one type of music in specially assembled albums, typically with artwork on the front cover and liner notes on the back or inside cover. Most albums included three or four records, with two sides each, making six or eight compositions per album. By
7954-452: The release and distribution Compact Discs . The 2010s saw a revival of Compact Cassettes by independent record labels and DIY musicians who preferred the format because of its difficulty to share over the internet . The compact disc format replaced both the vinyl record and the cassette as the standard for the commercial mass-market distribution of physical music albums. After the introduction of music downloading and MP3 players such as
8051-422: The rights to release the album in the United Kingdom, while Warner Bros. held the rights for North America. The album was originally planned for a spring 1978 release, but had to be delayed due to legal disputes between Warner and Virgin. It was eventually released by Warner in the United States on August 28, 1978, and by Virgin in the United Kingdom on September 1, 1978. Virgin also released a picture disc version of
8148-425: The single "Come Back Jonee" "utilizes [Devo's] unique tongue-in-cheek approach to its maximum" and praised Eno's production. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice reacted with muted praise, highlighting Devo's "catchy, comical, herky-jerky rock and roll " while concluding: "In small doses it's as good as novelty music ever gets, and there isn't a really bad cut on this album. But it leads nowhere." Nonetheless, it
8245-509: The surface, 'The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprize' seems like one of Devo's happiest, bounciest pop confections, but a closer look reveals peculiar things lurking beneath." The band's cover of Johnny Rivers ' "Secret Agent Man" features a rare lead vocal from Bob Mothersbaugh. Duty Now for the Future was produced by Ken Scott . Like Brian Eno , who had produced Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! , Scott had also worked with David Bowie , most notably on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and
8342-439: The time of recording. "Devo Corporate Anthem" and its accompanying video were a nod to the 1975 film Rollerball , in which the titular sport is preceded by players and the audience standing solemnly while listening to a regional "corporate hymn". "Triumph of the Will" takes its title from Leni Riefenstahl 's Nazi propaganda film of the same name , although the song is about desire. Music historian Andy Zax stated that, "On
8439-461: The user would pick up the stack, turn it over, and put them back on the spindle—sides 3 and 4 would then play in sequence. Record changers were used for many years of the LP era, but eventually fell out of use. 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8: commonly known as the eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, or simply eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound recording technology popular in the United States from
8536-592: Was Frank Sinatra's first album, the four-record eight-song The Voice of Frank Sinatra , originally issued in 1946. RCA's introduction of the smaller 45 rpm format later in 1948 disrupted Columbia's expectations. By the mid-1950s, 45s dominated the singles market and 12" LPs dominated the album market and both 78s and 10" LPs were discontinued. In the 1950s albums of popular music were also issued on 45s, sold in small heavy paper-covered "gate-fold" albums with multiple discs in sleeves or in sleeves in small boxes. This format disappeared around 1960. Sinatra's "The Voice"
8633-422: Was a direct recommendation from Mr. Jones. Devo always wanted to learn. That's why they worked with each producer only once." Duty Now for the Future found the band bringing synthesizers more into the forefront than before. Additionally, guitar sounds were often manipulated; in a 1979 interview with BAM magazine, Gerald Casale stated, "A guitar can only do what a guitar does. It's like only one tiny piece of
8730-491: Was a further development of the similar Stereo-Pak four-track cartridge created by Earl "Madman" Muntz . A later quadraphonic version of the format was announced by RCA in April 1970 and first known as Quad-8, then later changed to just Q8. The Compact Cassette was a popular medium for distributing pre-recorded music from the early 1970s to the early 2000s. The first "Compact Cassette" was introduced by Philips in August 1963 in
8827-414: Was from this that in medieval and modern times, album came to denote a book of blank pages in which verses, autographs, sketches, photographs and the like are collected. This in turn led to the modern meaning of an album as a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item. The first audio albums were actually published by the publishers of photograph albums. Single 78 rpm records were sold in
8924-399: Was issued in 1952 on two extended play 45s, with two songs on each side, in both packagings. The 10-inch and 12-inch LP record (long play), or 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm microgroove vinyl record, is a gramophone record format introduced by Columbia Records in 1948. A single LP record often had the same or similar number of tunes as a typical album of 78s, and it was adopted by
9021-449: Was never actually made available and was issued a few years later under the title The Men Who Make the Music via Warner Home Video . The artwork used on Virgin pressings of the album in the UK, which prominently featured the "Science Boy" logo on the cover, was created by John Zabrucky, again based on a concept by Devo, with graphic co-ordination by Malcolm Garrett . Initial pressings of
9118-547: Was not present for the first day of recording, as he had missed the flight. With their bassist missing, the rest of the group spent the day playing with Eno, Bowie, Holger Czukay of Can , and Dieter Moebius of Cluster and Harmonia . The recording sessions were a source of frustration for Eno and Devo. Eno found the band unwilling to experiment or deviate from the sound of their demo recordings. Devo later admitted that "we were overtly resistant to Eno's ideas. He made up synth parts and really cool sounds for almost every part of
9215-446: Was the first tape format widely used alongside vinyl from 1965 until being phased out by 1983, being gradually supplanted by the cassette tape throughout the 1970s and early 1980s; the popularity of the cassette reached its peak during the late 1980s before sharply declining during the 1990s. The cassette had largely disappeared by the first decade of the 2000s. Most albums are recorded in a studio , although they may also be recorded in
9312-498: Was used in the album artwork by simply taking it from the front page of the newspaper in the exact same dimensions, unbeknownst to the photographer. When he discovered this, he contacted the record company and was paid for its use. The "Science Boy" logo was designed by George L. Kaufman in 1956 for the Cleveland Press newspaper's "Science Emblem" contest. The logo was rediscovered by Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh in 1976 on
9409-472: Was voted one of the best albums of the year in The Village Voice ' s Pazz & Jop critics poll for 1978. In January 1980, Trouser Press also named it one of the best albums of 1978. In a retrospective review, Steve Huey of AllMusic deemed it "arguably Devo's strongest set of material" and "a seminal touchstone in the development of American new wave ." To support the album, Devo undertook
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