 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2022) |
| Mechanical Man EP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| EP by | ||||
| Released | 1978 | |||
| Recorded | 1975–1976 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 13:48 | |||
| Label | Elevator Records | |||
| Producer | Devo | |||
| Devo chronology | ||||
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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.
The EP was a 7-inch single housed in a plain sleeve that came in a variety of colors including pink, blue, red, yellow and green. Most EP sleeves were numbered on the back, although the exact number of EPs pressed is unknown. [1]
Opinions differ as to the legitimacy of the EP, with some sources considering it a bootleg. [2] Devo webmaster and archivist Michael Pilmer states that it was produced by Virgin Records and included with some copies of the band's debut album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! in the United Kingdom. [1] Devo member Gerald Casale later stated that the songs were "the five tracks we were most excited about at the time". [2]
"Blackout" was later known as "Clockout" and "Auto-Modown" includes an unlisted track: "Space Girl Blues".[ citation needed ]
The tracks "Mechanical Man" and "Auto-Modown" were recorded in 1975, when the band was a quartet and Jim Mothersbaugh was their drummer. [3] "Blackout" was recorded in 1976, when Bob Casale had joined and Alan Myers had replaced Jim. [4]
In 2023, Electronic Sound magazine repressed a limited edition of the Mechanical Man EP on yellow 7-inch vinyl and offered it as a bundle with issue 103, a 100-page celebration of Devo's 50th anniversary. [2] The bundle became their fastest-selling issue ever, quickly selling out on the website, and the magazine later made a poster of the cover available for sale. [5]
Side one
Side two
Instrumental credits adapted from liner notes of 2013 Superior Viaduct reissues of Hardcore Devo: Volume One (1990) [3] and Hardcore Devo: Volume Two (1991). [4] Credits for "Blockhead" cannot be confirmed.
Devo
Technical
Devo, often stylized as DEVO, is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up 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.
Robert Edward Casale Jr., or "Bob 2", was an American musician, composer and record producer. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as the rhythm guitarist and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, which released a Top 20 hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It". The band has maintained a cult following throughout its existence. He was the younger brother of their co-founder and bass guitarist Gerald Casale.
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.
Duty Now for the Future is the second studio album by American rock band Devo, released in 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 8, 1984 by Warner Bros. Records.
E-Z Listening Disc is a compilation album by the American new wave band Devo, originally released in 1987 by 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 Devo songs performed in the style of easy listening Muzak or New-age music.
DEVO Live 1980 is a live album and video DualDisc release by American new wave band Devo, released by Target Video in 2005.
"Jocko Homo" is the B-side to Devo's first single, "Mongoloid", released in 1977 on Devo's own label, Booji Boy Records and later released in the UK on Stiff Records. The song was re-recorded as the feature song for Devo's first album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! on Warner Bros. Records in 1978. The original version peaked at No. 62 on the UK Singles Chart.
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.
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.
DEV-O Live is a live EP by American new wave band Devo. It was recorded during the Freedom of Choice tour on August 16, 1980, at the Fox Warfield Theatre in San Francisco.
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 by American new wave band Devo, released in 1989 by Enigma Records. The album was 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 American new wave band Devo, released on August 23, 1991, by Rykodisc.
DEVO Live: The Mongoloid Years is a live album consisting of recordings from three early performances by American new wave band Devo, released by Rykodisc in 1992.
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! (1978).
B Stiff is the first EP by American new wave band Devo, released in 1978 by Stiff Records.
Adventures of the Smart Patrol is a compilation album featuring tracks from the 1996 Inscape CD-ROM computer game of the same name created by American new wave band Devo. It was released in 1996 by Discovery Records.
Theme from Doctor Detroit is an EP by American new wave band Devo, released in 1983 by MCA Records. It includes the two songs from the Doctor Detroit movie soundtrack recorded by the band, plus a dance mix of the title theme. A music video for the song, containing scenes from the movie as well as footage of the band, was released on the We're All Devo home video in 1984 and also appears on the 2014 re-release of The Complete Truth About De-Evolution video collection.
Hardcore Devo Live! is a concert film and live album, showcasing Devo's June 28, 2014, performance at the Fox Theatre in Oakland, California on the 2014 Hardcore Devo Live tour. The tour commemorates the 40th anniversary of the band and pays tribute to former band member Bob Casale, who died February 17, 2014. The set list exclusively focuses on songs written between 1974 and 1977, before Devo had a recording contract. Many of the songs had not been performed by the band since 1977. While the music is largely performed as a quartet, the band is augmented offstage by Brian Applegate on additional keyboards and bass guitar.
