#189
May 1980
by Steve Caisse
Devo
Freedom Of Choice
Allen’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Steve’s Rating: 4 out of 5
Allen’s Highlights:
Girl U Want
It’s Not Right
Whip It
Ton O’Love
Freedom of Choice
Steve’s Highlights:
Whip It
Gates Of Steel
Freedom Of Choice
Girl U Want
“Freedom of choice Is what you got … Freedom from choice Is what you want”
Reviewed by Steve Caisse
I have a distinct memory of exercising my freedom of choice when I bought a K-Tel album for the purpose of getting a copy of “Whip It”. I still think it’s a fantastic piece of pop craft. It has a great hook, ear candy in the arranging, it makes you want to move, and it has lyrics that are easy learn and fun to mimic. It’s got it all going on. That being said, I never explored Devo beyond this song. I casually know a few others but do not have a proper Devo album in my collection. And that’s a shame because all the things that make “Whip It” such a great record can be found throughout the rest of the album.
Other highlights include “Girl U Want”. It has a similar feel to “My Sharona” with choppy, angular rhythms and an octave bounce in the main riff. It is the next most obvious radio hit on the album. The title track is also a real standout with a driving rhythm and a good guitar to synth ratio. The lyric perfectly sums up the Devo aesthetic with a critique of Americans relinquishing their freedom for consumerism. But the song that really caught my ear is “Gates Of Steel”. It’s Devo meets power pop and was an immediate add to my regular playlist. It’s also the one song where the guitar really takes the spotlight from the synthesizer. I wish more of the album let the guitar shine. When it does it brings life to the mechanized synth work that dominates the arranging.
Overall you get 12 short and punchy new wave tunes that encapsulate what most people associate with Devo – geeky synth pop, often with a satirical or ironic message, and played by guys donning red flower pots. It’s not as guitar driven as I like my music, but had more guitar than I expected. There are no obvious bad tunes, but the four highlighted really stand out among the others. The rest are standard Devo fare so your mileage will vary depending on your love of listening to synthesizers. One other note – the mastering on this album is real uneven. Some tracks are loud and crisp and others dull and lifeless. I checked a few sources and it was that way everywhere. Someone should whip that – and whip it good. This album is more than worthy of sounding the best it can.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6UsP4NQ9K4L4Nqxj0Qis41?si=cclom-FiTAeTe4SzGW23qA
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