Devo is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic lineup consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales, along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", the song that gave the band mainstream popularity.
Mark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose "Whip It" was a top 20 single in the US in 1980, peaking at No. 14, and which has since maintained a cult following. Mothersbaugh is one of the main composers of Devo's music.
Oh, No! It's Devo is the fifth studio album by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in October 1982, on the labels Warner Bros. and Virgin. The album was recorded over a period of four months, between May and September 1982, at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles. By the time of its release, Devo were a full-fledged synth-pop act, with guitar-based new wave sounds pushed more towards the background. Most of the music on Oh, No! It's Devo was created by electronic means, giving it a much different sound than the band's earlier albums, such as their 1978 debut Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, which relied more on guitars than synthesizers. This alienated some fans, despite the band stating since at least 1978 that their goal was to "de-emphasize" guitars. The album was produced by prominent producer Roy Thomas Baker, who had notably worked with, among others, Queen and the Cars.
Robert Edward "Bob" Casale, Jr., or "Bob 2", was an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer and audio engineer.
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 the Warner Bros. label. Produced by Brian Eno, the album was recorded between October 1977 and February 1978, primarily in Cologne, West Germany.
Duty Now for the Future is the second studio album by American rock band Devo, released in July 1979 by Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Ken Scott, the album was recorded between September 1978 and early 1979 at Chateau Recorders in Hollywood. The majority of the songs on the album had been performed in Devo's live set as early as 1976.
Shout is the sixth studio album by American new wave band Devo, released on October 9, 1984 by the labels Warner Bros. and Virgin. Arriving two years after their previous album, Oh, No! It's Devo, the album retained the synth-pop sound of their previous few records, with an extensive focus on the then-new Fairlight CMI Series IIx digital sampling synthesizer. Despite the popularity of synth-pop in 1984, the album was a critical and commercial failure, peaking at only No. 83 on the Billboard 200 and ultimately leading to Warner Bros. dropping the band from their label.
Total Devo is the seventh studio album by American new wave band Devo, released on May 24, 1988 by Enigma Records, just under four years after their previous album, Shout (1984). Despite initial negative reception of the album, "Disco Dancer" hit No. 45 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart for the week of September 3, 1988.
E-Z Listening Disc is a compilation album by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in 1987, on the label Rykodisc. The album is a compilation of all but one of the tracks from Devo's two E-Z Listening Muzak Cassettes, which had been available only through Club Devo in 1981 and 1984, respectively, consisting of instrumental versions of classic Devo songs performed in the style of easy listening Muzak or New-age music. The original E-Z Listening Muzak Cassette, Volume 2 contained two versions of "Shout," but only one appears on the CD due to time constraints. The "Hello Kitty" version, featuring synthesizers and an electric guitar, was included on the CD, whereas the other is a lounge music version featuring electronic piano, synth bass and drums. Additionally, the CD does not replicate the original cassette track-order.
Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh, Jr., or by his stage name "Bob 1", is an American songwriter, composer, musician and singer.
Hardcore Devo: Volume One is the first of two collections of demos by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in 1990, on the label Rykodisc. It was out of print for years; however, it was re-issued on Superior Viaduct in 2013 both as a vinyl release and a CD containing both volumes and bonus tracks.
Smooth Noodle Maps is the eighth studio album by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in June 1990 and would be their last album released through Enigma. The album was recorded over a period of three months between October 1989 and January 1990, at Master Control Studios, in Burbank, California. Smooth Noodle Maps was Devo's last full-length studio album until the release of Something for Everybody in 2010, as well as the last Devo studio album to feature David Kendrick on drums. The album includes a cover version of Bonnie Dobson's song "Morning Dew," transformed into a dance song.
Greatest Hits is a collection of songs by Devo released in 1990. The album includes several photos from previous albums, and the first half of an article on the band by Howie Klein. The second half of this article appears in the accompanying material for Devo's Greatest Misses.
Greatest Misses is a compilation album of songs by American new wave band Devo, released in 1990 by Warner Bros. Records. Greatest Misses contains lesser-known tracks and alternate versions of tracks from other albums. It has a Parental Advisory label because of the song "Penetration in the Centrefold".
Now It Can Be Told: DEVO at the Palace is a live album released by American new wave band Devo, recorded during their 1988 "comeback tour" in promotion of the Total Devo album. It contains performances of several cuts from Total Devo but largely focuses on earlier material and also contains one exclusive song, "It Doesn't Matter to Me."
Hardcore Devo: Volume Two is the last of two collections of demos by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in August 1991, on the label Rykodisc. It was out of print for over twenty years; however, it was re-issued on Superior Viaduct in 2013 both as a vinyl release and a CD containing both volumes and bonus tracks.
The Truth About De-Evolution is a 9-minute short film written by Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, for the band Devo, and directed by Chuck Statler. Filmed in May 1976, it contains two separate songs: "Secret Agent Man" and "Jocko Homo". It won First Prize at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1977, and was routinely screened before Devo live concerts. It is included as an extra on the Criterion Collection's release of Island of Lost Souls (1932). Stills from the film were used for the front and back cover of European releases and the inner sleeve of American releases of Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! in 1978.
Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology is a compilation album by the American new wave band Devo, released in 2000 by Rhino Records. 17 of the 50 tracks were previously unreleased on CD, including single B-sides, outtakes, remixes, soundtrack songs and spoken word material. The band recorded the long-time concert favorite "The Words Get Stuck in My Throat" in the studio for the first time, specifically for inclusion on this compilation.
Hot Potatoes: The Best of Devo is a compilation of songs by American new wave band Devo, released in 1993 by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom. It contains an exclusive remix of "Whip It" by Psychoslaphead. Originally released on CD and cassette formats, a double-LP edition by Simply Vinyl was later released in 2001.
Mechanical Man is a semi-official EP by new wave musicians Devo, released in 1978. It includes four 4-track basement demos by the band, recorded before they were signed to a record contract with Warner Bros. Records.
