Customer Reviews

New Traditionalists

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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"New Traditionalists" found DEVO in a precarious state. Their arty irony and brainy pop smarts had made them a flavor of the moment via the "F.O.C." "Whip (H)it" single and video, and suddenly the whole world was chanting "are we not men?" It both emboldened them and deepened their cynicism. "Through Being Cool" rallied the alienated to rise against the ninnies and the twits at the same time "Beautiful World" wearily declared that it might have been a beautiful world for you, but "it's not for me." After all, how could you rail against the lemming/jock mentality when they were the ones donning your energy domes at the football games and singing "Whip It" at corporate synergy rallies?

But having been touched by the gold finger of hit making, DEVO did their best to fill an album with enthusiastic pogo anthems about their favorite topics; love, sex, and the willful decline of the human condition. "Jerking Back and Forth" and "Love Without Anger" are typical visions of human relationships ala DEVO. (The stop motion doll video for "L.W.A." is among the band's best.) "Going Under" had them tinkering with their sound a little, and "Working In A Coal Mine" was given the DEVO oldie treatment. Sonically, this is probably the band's best production job next to what Eno gave their debut. All in all, a solid album.

This was the first of the Devo albums I purchased and has remained my favourite for the past 10 years. If you are looking for the best of Devo's music, get this one...

This apparently is Devo's biggest selling lp, even more than Freedom of Choice which preceded it [maybe that just had big hit singles?]. This begins w/ the anthem Thru Being Cool, in case you haven't heard it, it's basically a defiance of the supposedly need to avoid geekiness @ all times in modern society or something like that. After this is a funky little number called Jerkin' Back & Forth, very much definitive of its era in sound. Apart from Thru Being Cool, the other most famous song here is Beautiful World, a sarcastically joyous tune, not unlike what the Mothers did in the 60s w/ Plastic People etc. Contemporary single Working In The Coal Mine is appropriately included as a bonus track, seeing the single did come w/ many copies of the lp back in the day. unfortunately you probably don't get the catalogue of wacky clothes & poster w/ the cd though. Probably their 3rd or 4th best album.

Devo began as a quirky band in the early new wave movement with a sound and style that no one but themselves could even have conceived of. People who disliked their music (most people) hated it intensely, and those who liked it (me) became fanatical in their devotion. In my opinion, their career was marked by a wild burst of creativity in the beginning, followed by a longer period of stagnation and self-imitation.

Their first album was a masterpiece. Their second, in a completely different vein, was classic as well. The first two albums contained mostly songs they had written over the prior few years and had performed as part of their act. The creative impetus began to wear thin with their third album, "Freedom of Choice," although it did contain the great hit single "Whip It." By the time "New Traditionalists" came out, Devo's downward spiral was in full swing. "New Traditionalists" does contain a few good songs, although they are not up to Devo's early standards. And then there are the bad songs... The bad songs here are really weak and seem to justify the criticism that naysayers hurled at the band in their early days.

Vintage Devo could throw 10 great songs at you, none of which resembled any of the other in the slightest. By the time "New Traditionalists" came out, their stuff was pretty much was created by a "cookie cutter" approach. Unless you're a diehard fan of the band, this is album is a pleasant diversion at best.