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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.
© Steve Huey /TiVo
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Devo, Contributor, Performance, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Composer, Writer - Conrad Planck, Engineer - Brian Eno, Producer, Recorded by
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 2009 Warner Records Inc.
Devo, Performance, MainArtist - KEITH RICHARDS, Writer - MICK JAGGER, Writer - Conrad Planck, Engineer - Brian Eno, Producer, Recorded by
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 2009 Warner Records Inc.
Gerald V. Casale, Writer - Devo, Contributor, Performance, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Writer - Conrad Planck, Engineer - Brian Eno, Producer, Recorded by
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. 1978 ℗ 2009 Warner Records Inc.
Bob Mothersbaugh, Writer - Gerald V. Casale, Writer - Devo, Contributor, Performance, MainArtist - Conrad Planck, Engineer - Brian Eno, Producer, Recorded by
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. 1978 ℗ 2009 Warner Records Inc.
Gerald V. Casale, Writer - Devo, MainArtist - Brian Eno, Producer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. 1978 ℗ 2009 Warner Records Inc.
Devo, Contributor, Performance, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Composer, Lyricist, Writer - Conrad Planck, Engineer - Brian Eno, Producer, Recorded by
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. 1978 ℗ 2009 Warner Records Inc.
Devo, Contributor, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Lyricist - Brian Eno, Producer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. 1990 ℗ 2009 Warner Records Inc.
Bob Mothersbaugh, Writer - Gerald V. Casale, Writer - Devo, Performance, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Writer - Conrad Planck, Engineer - Brian Eno, Producer, Recorded by
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. 1978 ℗ 2009 Warner Records Inc.
Gerald V. Casale, Writer - Devo, Performance, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Writer - Conrad Planck, Engineer - Brian Eno, Producer, Recorded by
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. 1978 ℗ 2009 Warner Records Inc.
Bob Mothersbaugh, Writer - Gerald V. Casale, Writer - Devo, Contributor, Performance, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Writer - Conrad Planck, Engineer - Brian Eno, Producer, Recorded by - Mark Allen Mothersbaugh, Writer - Gary Jackett, Writer - Gary L. Jackett, Writer - Robert L. Motherbaugh, Writer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. 1978 ℗ 2009 Warner Records Inc.
Bob Mothersbaugh, Lyricist - Gerald V. Casale, Lyricist - Devo, Producer, Contributor, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Lyricist
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. 1990 ℗ 2009 Warner Records Inc.
Ryan Smith, Masterer - Devo, Contributor, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Composer, Writer - Tom Whalley, ExecutiveProducer - Paul David Hager, Mixer - Tim Summerhayes, Engineer - Ian Dyckhoff, Recorded by - Chris Johnston, AdditionalEngineer - Ollie Nesham, AssistantEngineer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 2009 Devo, Inc. and Warner Records Inc.
Ryan Smith, Masterer - Devo, MainArtist - Tom Whalley, ExecutiveProducer - KEITH RICHARDS, Writer - MICK JAGGER, Writer - Paul David Hager, Mixer - Tim Summerhayes, Engineer - Ian Dyckhoff, Recorded by - Chris Johnston, AdditionalEngineer - Ollie Nesham, AssistantEngineer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 2009 Devo, Inc. and Warner Records Inc.
Ryan Smith, Masterer - Gerald V. Casale, Writer - Devo, Contributor, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Writer - Tom Whalley, ExecutiveProducer - Paul David Hager, Mixer - Tim Summerhayes, Engineer - Ian Dyckhoff, Recorded by - Chris Johnston, AdditionalEngineer - Ollie Nesham, AssistantEngineer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 2009 Devo, Inc. and Warner Records Inc.
Ryan Smith, Masterer - Bob Mothersbaugh, Writer - Gerald V. Casale, Writer - Devo, Contributor, MainArtist - Tom Whalley, ExecutiveProducer - Paul David Hager, Mixer - Tim Summerhayes, Engineer - Ian Dyckhoff, Recorded by - Chris Johnston, AdditionalEngineer - Ollie Nesham, AssistantEngineer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 2009 Devo, Inc. and Warner Records Inc.
Gerald Casale, Writer - Ryan Smith, Masterer - Devo, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Writer - Tom Whalley, ExecutiveProducer - Paul David Hager, Mixer - Tim Summerhayes, Engineer - Ian Dyckhoff, Recorded by - Chris Johnston, AdditionalEngineer - Ollie Nesham, AssistantEngineer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 2009 Devo, Inc. and Warner Records Inc.
Ryan Smith, Masterer - Devo, Contributor, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Composer, Lyricist, Writer - Tom Whalley, ExecutiveProducer - Paul David Hager, Mixer - Tim Summerhayes, Engineer - Ian Dyckhoff, Recorded by - Chris Johnston, AdditionalEngineer - Ollie Nesham, AssistantEngineer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 2009 Devo, Inc. and Warner Records Inc.
Ryan Smith, Masterer - Devo, Contributor, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Lyricist - Tom Whalley, ExecutiveProducer - Paul David Hager, Mixer - Tim Summerhayes, Engineer - Ian Dyckhoff, Recorded by - Chris Johnston, AdditionalEngineer - Ollie Nesham, AssistantEngineer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 2009 Devo, Inc. and Warner Records Inc.
Ryan Smith, Masterer - Bob Mothersbaugh, Writer - Gerald V. Casale, Writer - Devo, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Writer - Tom Whalley, ExecutiveProducer - Paul David Hager, Mixer - Tim Summerhayes, Engineer - Ian Dyckhoff, Recorded by - Chris Johnston, AdditionalEngineer - Ollie Nesham, AssistantEngineer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 2009 Devo, Inc. and Warner Records Inc.
Ryan Smith, Masterer - Gerald V. Casale, Writer - Devo, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Writer - Tom Whalley, ExecutiveProducer - Paul David Hager, Mixer - Tim Summerhayes, Engineer - Ian Dyckhoff, Recorded by - Chris Johnston, AdditionalEngineer - Ollie Nesham, AssistantEngineer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 2009 Devo, Inc. and Warner Records Inc.
Ryan Smith, Masterer - Bob Mothersbaugh, Writer - Gerald V. Casale, Writer - Devo, Contributor, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Writer - Tom Whalley, ExecutiveProducer - Paul David Hager, Mixer - Tim Summerhayes, Engineer - Mark Allen Mothersbaugh, Writer - Ian Dyckhoff, Recorded by - Chris Johnston, AdditionalEngineer - Ollie Nesham, AssistantEngineer - Gary Jackett, Writer - Gary L. Jackett, Writer - Robert L. Motherbaugh, Writer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 2009 Devo, Inc. and Warner Records Inc.
Ryan Smith, Masterer - Bob Mothersbaugh, Lyricist - Gerald V. Casale, Lyricist - Devo, Contributor, MainArtist - Mark Mothersbaugh, Lyricist - Tom Whalley, ExecutiveProducer - Paul David Hager, Mixer - Tim Summerhayes, Engineer - Ian Dyckhoff, Recorded by - Chris Johnston, AdditionalEngineer - Ollie Nesham, AssistantEngineer
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 2009 Devo, Inc. and Warner Records Inc.
Album review
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.
© Steve Huey /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 22 track(s)
- Total length: 01:14:15
- Main artists: Devo
- Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh
- Label: Warner Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock Alternative & Indie
© 2009 Warner Records Inc. 1978 ℗ 2009 Warner Records Inc.; 2009 Devo, Inc. and Warner Records Inc.
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