Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

by Devo, Mick Jagger, Mark Mothersbaugh, Brian Eno, Patrick Gleeson

Overview

These self-proclaimed "spud boys" from the darkest recesses of Akron, Ohio, claimed to know the truth about de-evolution -- a theory of human disntigration that grows more prescient with each passing year. More important, however, the quintet chose to preach its gospel through a strain of sinister, robotic synth-rock that sounded utterly otherworldly when it burst upon the scene in the late '70s. Heck, songs like "Mongoloid" and "Jocko Homo" (the one with the unforgettable chant that gives this 1978 album its title) still sound like aliens had a hand in the mix. Devo's herky-jerky minimalism and radiation-suit stage wear may have given some onlookers the perception that they were only kidding -- which, occasionally (as on a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction"), they were. Still, the band's impact -- both on an increasingly synthetic music scene and a pop-culture Nostradamus level -- can't be underestimated.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/03/2009
Label:	Warner Records
UPC:	0093624972211
catalogNumber:	521441
Rank:	23073

Tracks

1. Uncontrollable Urge
2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
3. Praying Hands
4. Space Junk
5. Mongoloid
6. Jocko Homo
7. Too Much Paranoias
8. Gut Feeling/(Slap Your Mammy)
9. Come Back Jonee
10. Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin')
11. Shrivel-Up
12. Uncontrollable Urge
13. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
14. Praying Hands
15. Space Junk
16. Mongoloid
17. Jocko Homo
18. Too Much Paranoias
19. Gut Feeling/(Slap Your Mammy)
20. Come Back Jonee
21. Sloppy (I Saw My baby Gettin')
22. Shrivel-Up

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Devo   Primary Artist
Mark Mothersbaugh   Handwriting

Technical Credits

Mick Jagger   Composer
Brian Eno   Producer
Patrick Gleeson   Engineer
Konrad Plank   Engineer
Tim Summerhayes   Engineer
Tom Whalley   Executive Producer
John Cabalka   Graphic Supervision
Ian Dyekhoff   Engineer

Editorial Reviews

Produced by Brian Eno, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! was a seminal touchstone in the development of American new wave. It was one of the first pop albums to use synthesizers as an important textural element, and although they mostly play a supporting role in this guitar-driven set, the innovation began to lay the groundwork for the synth-pop explosion that would follow very shortly. Q: Are We Not Men also revived the absurdist social satire of the Mothers of Invention, claiming punk rock's outsider alienation as a home for freaks and geeks. While Devo's appeal was certainly broader, their sound was tailored well enough to that sensibility that it still resonates with a rabid cult following. It isn't just the dadaist pseudo-intellectual theories, or the critique of the American mindset as unthinkingly, submissively conformist. It was the way their music reflected that view, crafted to be as mechanical and robotic as their targets. Yet Devo hardly sounded like a machine that ran smoothly. There was an almost unbearable tension in the speed of their jerky, jumpy rhythms, outstripping Talking Heads, XTC, and other similarly nervy new wavers. And thanks to all the dissonant, angular melodies, odd-numbered time signatures, and yelping, sing-song vocals, the tension never finds release, which is key to the album's impact. It also doesn't hurt that this is arguably Devo's strongest set of material, though several brilliant peaks can overshadow the remainder. Of those peaks, the most definitive are the de-evolution manifesto "Jocko Homo" (one of the extremely few rock anthems written in 7/8 time) and a wicked deconstruction of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," which reworks the original's alienation into a spastic freak-out that's nearly unrecognizable. But Q: Are We Not Men? also had a conceptual unity that bolstered the consistent songwriting, making it an essential document of one of new wave's most influential bands.

All Music Guide - Steve Huey