Devo Hardcore Vol. 1 LP

DEVO is an American New Wave band formed in 1972 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic lineup of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It" and has maintained a cult following throughout its existence. Their style over time has shifted between punk, art rock, post-punk, and New Wave. Their music and stage show mingle kitsch science-fiction themes, deadpan surrealist humor, and mordantly satirical social commentary. DEVO dramatized conformity, emotional repression, and dehumanization in order to attack them, not to pay tribute to them.

Their often discordant pop songs feature unusual synthetic instrumentation and time signatures that have proven influential on subsequent popular music, particularly New Wave, industrial and alternative rock artists. Devo was also a pioneer of the music video, creating many memorable clips for the Laser Disc format, with "Whip It" getting heavy airplay in the early days of MTV.

The name "Devo" comes "from their concept of 'de-evolution' - the idea that instead of continuing to evolve, mankind has actually begun to regress, as evidenced by the dysfunction and herd mentality of American society." This idea was developed as a joke by Kent State University art students Gerald Casale and Bob Lewis as early as the late 1960s. Casale and Lewis created a number of satirical art pieces in a devolution vein. At this time, Casale had also performed with the local band 15-60-75 (The Numbers Band). They met Mark Mothersbaugh around 1970, who introduced them to the pamphlet Jocko Homo Heavenbound, which includes an illustration of a winged devil labeled "D-EVOLUTION" and would later inspire the song "Jocko Homo." However, the "joke" became serious, following the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970, which Casale witnessed. This event would be cited multiple times as the impetus for forming the band Devo.

During a five-year hiatus the band released Hardcore Devo Volumes 1 & 2, early '70s era compilation. Vol. 1 is the first of two collections of demos which showcase DEVO's seminal, minimalist electronic rock recordings. The Hardcore Devo albums are collections of 4-track basement demos recorded by the band between 1974-1977. Some tracks are earlier versions of some of Devo's best known tracks that would later be re-recorded and used on subsequent Devo records (e.g. "Jocko Homo," "Mongoloid"), but a majority of the tracks were never re-used and remained unreleased until the Hardcore Devo compilations.

[T]he first... compilations of early four-track recordings made in Devo's basement is a necessary item for devoted fans. In addition to the original Booji Boy releases of 'Satisfaction,' 'Jocko Homo,' and 'Mongoloid,' Hardcore, Vol. 1 contains the full-length version of 'Mechanical Man,' the sarcastic satire of 'Social Fools,' and the flat-out weirdness of songs like 'Golden Energy,' 'I'm a Potato,' and 'Uglatto.' Most of these songs had not been previously available in an authorized format; many are reminiscent of the minimalist weirdness of the Residents... [the tracks] amply illustrate Devo's D.I.Y. garage-band origins and their seemingly inexhaustible (at that point) supply of satirically humorous ideas, as well as the fact that the band's patented sound was present right from the start of their long gestational period.