Customer Reviews

Total Devo

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This album marks a drastic change in Devo's previous sound. Gone are the bouncy, immature, ironic humor laced lyrics of the albums before it. They are now replaced by more mashed up love lyrics. Devo sounds like they matured on this one.

Low points: Most of the songs are just not so memorable. Most of it is bland synth-pop.

High points: Baby Doll! Very catchy and a Swedish version was featured on the movie Tapeheads. Disco Dancer is a really energetic tune, especially the included 12" remix by Ivan Ivan. Some Things Never Change is a classic song of the Devo view on the fallability of the human race.

This isn't a terrible album, but it's certainly not Devo's best. If you are looking for the more techno oriented Devo, try Smooth Noodle Maps. I recommend Are We Not Men? We are Devo!, Freedom of Choice, and New Traditionalists as better albums to start with.

A note about the album art: They are posing naked on the back cover! I hear it's a parody of a Prince album. The front cover has a poorly pasted chin on David Kendrick's face. It's like sliding down his jaw! What happened was that Bob2's shirt was covering David's chin during the photo shoot. They didn't feel like posing for the same photo again, so they did a little last-minute "plastic surgery" on Kendrick.

Some things never change.

This was the album that first started shaking my set-in-stone, leg-humping love for the Boys From Akron. Overall it's quite good; however, some of the songs on the album were borderline _preachy_...dig it! Instead of gnawing-at-your-throat lyrics that if you were so stupid that you didn't understand them you were probably the target of them, the listener is presented with songs that are _blatantly _preachy_, with all the _blatant_ social commentary of a Monkees' song. However, this is still a pretty good album, and well worth obtaining, especially for the loverly cover of "Don't Be Cruel"....

this album (1988) was Devo's 7th studio album and first with the Enigma record label (their previous 6 (Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo! - 1978; Duty Now for the Future - 1979; Freedom of Choice - 1980; New Traditionalists - 1981; Oh, No! It's Devo - 1982; and Shout - 1984) were with Warner Bros.). they would
later release their 8th and final studio album (Smooth Noodle Maps - 1990) once again under Enigma, who ultimately failed to promote Devo after the band were 'blacklisted' by executives at Warner Bros. some argue that Devo ultimately 'sold out' when the video for 'peek-a-boo!' aired for the first time on MTV back in late '82 or early '83. I, on the other hand, was immediately drawn to them because of that video. not only did they look different, they played music in a way like no other band. they were truly unique. naturally, the masses just didn't get it, and like other seminal bands (e.g. - The Ramones), Devo sequentially failed to succeed commercially. looking back these past years, this album is arguably Devo's last good album, as the new partnership with Enigma would sadly mark the beginning of the end for the spud boys. in some ways, 'Total' was one of Devo's greatest efforts, as the album was written and recorded over a span of 3 years. unlike previous recordings, this album shows a much darker side of Devo, with lyrics that are not only cynical, but filled with emotion as well. in some cases they are down-right depressing, as in 'I'd Cry if you Died' which brings back feelings (whether they be sadness, guilt, or anger) of being let go by someone you love, while other songs touch on the dichotomy in life (love/hate, joy/sadness, pleasure/pain, etc.). in 'Baby Doll' we're reminded that what a person wants and what they have to offer can result in a painful reality when the two don't coincide, while 'Disco Dancer' explores feelings about a world and a man that have lost touch with one another. in 'Some Things Never Change' we get (what I think) are some of Devo's best lyrics "Small minds play at some big time games and everybody else pays; make no mistake they're on the take - they like to keep it that way." of course, in typical Devo fashion the album also offers some lighter, more fun tracks such as 'Blow Up' (if you've ever heard 'Explosions' on 'Oh, No!...' think of the background voice - "Oh, Yeah" as the same technology was used) or the sick (I mean that in a good way) Elvis Presley cover, 'Don't Be Cruel.' unlike the vinyl production of the album, this CD offers 4 bonus tracks in addition to a special track ('Sexi Luv'), which didn't appear on the original album. if you're an avid Devo fan, I recommend giving this one a try. if it doesn't do it for you, perhaps it will in the '4th Dimension.'

Buy this CD for the extended version of "Disco Dancer." Pop it into your car's CD and go driving somewhere at night. Anywhere, it doesn't matter. Just play it LOUD. Tracks 8-12--yeah, do those next. Think seriously about changing your license plate to read "AGIT8ED." There is something wearily triumphant about this CD--sort of like the feeling you get when some dolt slowly gets the joke you just told, and it's on him. :-)

But Buyer beware...there are several editions floating about,,,,this listing is actually the 13 song edition, not 16 song as noted by Amazon.

The best tracks, in my opinion, are "Some Things Never Change", "Don't Be Cruel", and "Blow Up"

Most of the other songs are good, but I prefer these three, especially the longer version of "Some Things Never Change". It has a great bass line, a mild industrial feel, and good vocals.

"Don't be Cruel" is an Elvis cover. It's fun to hear DEVO impersonate Elvis in their own "Uh-Whu aWhu-ay"

It's a good beat and you can dance to it!

It's not that this is a bad album. It isn't. All of the songs on the album are pretty good. The trouble is that the whole affair is so straightforward and low key.. both lyrically and musically... that it doesn't feel like a Devo album.

There really isn't a bad song here though. Most of them feel like they belong in an 80s John Hughes movie, meaning that all they need is iconic imagery to make the emotion of the song come alive.

Maybe that's the problem with this album. Devo has always been a very visual band. Part of the fun of discovering Devo is seeing the videos and the costumes. There isn't much to visualize in this music, and the rather bland approach to most of it doesn't help.

Still. I can't knock it. My rating is - 3 stars as an album by Devo, 4 stars as an album by anyone else.

Bought this CD for two songs,Baby Doll and Disco Dancer. Not there best album but what can I say ,Were All DEVO!

This album may not have the same sound as other DEVo albums, but it is a winner in my book. It features a non-ending supply of pleasing keyboard synthesizer riffs. It has a lot of fun lyrics (like "you know you're my sweet hot chihuahua-if I can't have you, I'm going to blow up!") and catchy melodies. If you like the sound, all of the songs on the album are listenable. This album reminds me of the Cars (their first album), only with a sense of humor.

1988 found DEVO getting belated recognition as the pioneers that they are, but you wouldn't know it from "Total Devo." There are exactly two great songs here, and they are "Baby Doll" and "Disco Dancer." Both are available on "Pioneers That Got Scalped," if you must. But after that, only "Sexi-luv" gets it devo-tee right. Oddly enough, this is also the longest DEVO disc! Maybe all those years of tight compostions and short running times made them hungry for more....but in this case, more was not better.

On a positive note, this CD took the band back out on the road. The resulting tour CD, "Now It Can Be Told" is worth looking into. The studio album after this, "Smooth Noodle Maps," is superior in just about every way. "Total DEVO" might be worth a used CD investment for the curious, but there are many other, better places to start.

Don't listen to anyone when they say this CD is awful. This is one of my favorites. Sure it may sound different then past recordings, but the music is still good! Also Shout is pretty good. All the songs are good! If you want BAD devo cds, go out and find the HArdcore Devo cds! Now thats bad! (and im a hardcore devo fan!) Just listening to 30 seconds clips on Amazon proves it(and covers can give you nightmares). Any way this cd is great. PErsonally I think their later stuff is some of the best. Why does everyone think this cd is bad? Have you ever gave it a chance? If you find this cd, BUY IT! If you don't like it, no you'll like it.