Oh, No! It's Devo
Encyclopedia
Oh, No! It's Devo is the fifth studio album by Devo
. By the time of its 1982 release, Devo
were a full-fledged synth-pop act, with New Wave pushed more towards the background. Most of the music on Oh, No! was created by electronic means which gave it a much different sound to, for example, their 1978 debut Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
, which relied more on guitars than synthesizers. This alienated some fans despite the band stating since at least 1978 that their goal was to "de-emphasize" guitars. The album was produced with 'big name' producer Roy Thomas Baker
, who had famously worked with Queen
, The Cars
, and many others. In recent interviews, Devo's Gerald V. Casale stated that the album grew from critical reviews in which the band were described as "fascists" and "clowns".
The song "I Desire" brought the band controversy because the lyrics were taken from a poem written by John Hinckley, Jr.
(the man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan
in a bid to impress actress Jodie Foster
). "Big Mess" was inspired by a series of letters sent by the personality "Cowboy Kim", believed to be schizophrenic.
Devo took on another new look for this album, wearing black t-shirts and slacks with white "Spud Ring" collars. In concert these were augmented with Energy Dome
s, and the New Traditionalists
shirt and ascot uniforms for part of the performance. The LP jacket had a cutout on the back so it could be stood up like a picture frame.
. The juxtaposition of the image of a cartoon of a french fry penetrating the hole of a donut
then quickly cut to a writhing, smiling nude woman, shot from the neck up, was considered too risque for airplay.
The first show of the tour, October 30, 1982 at the Warner Beverly Hills Theater in Beverly Hills, California
, was filmed and transmitted live in 3-D to college campuses around the country. It was billed as 3-DEVO, and featured Wall of Voodoo
as an opening act. However, this performance was marred by technical mishaps. The film went out of sync with the backing track during "Speed Racer", forcing the band to abandon the performance of "Big Mess". Mark's radio microphone cut out during "Out of Sync", and he performed the rest of the first set with Bob Motherbaugh's microphone. In the second half of the show, the 3-D effects were ineffective, and the band attacked the company providing the video twice, once during "Jocko Homo
" with a series of cheap 3-D tricks by Mothersbaugh, and a rant during "Beautiful World" delivered by Booji Boy
. This concert was the only time Devo performed the song "Explosions" live.
The 3-DEVO concert was later rebroadcast in a severely edited form on Pay-Per-View
television, making sure to omit the snide remarks, and the technical gaffes. Both versions are available as bootlegs, and several audio recordings of the tour exist in varying quality.
Devo
Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
. By the time of its 1982 release, Devo
Devo
Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
were a full-fledged synth-pop act, with New Wave pushed more towards the background. Most of the music on Oh, No! was created by electronic means which gave it a much different sound to, for example, their 1978 debut Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
Question: Are We Not Men? Answer: We Are Devo!
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! is the debut album by the American new wave music band Devo. Produced by Brian Eno, it was recorded primarily in Cologne, Germany and released in the U.S. by Warner Bros. Records company in 1978....
, which relied more on guitars than synthesizers. This alienated some fans despite the band stating since at least 1978 that their goal was to "de-emphasize" guitars. The album was produced with 'big name' producer Roy Thomas Baker
Roy Thomas Baker
Roy Thomas Baker is a multiple award-winning Anglo-American music producer, songwriter, arranger and Recording Academy Governor, who has produced Platinum and Gold certified pop and rock records from the 1970s to the present.- Career :Baker began his career at Decca Records in England at the age...
, who had famously worked with Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, The Cars
The Cars
The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
, and many others. In recent interviews, Devo's Gerald V. Casale stated that the album grew from critical reviews in which the band were described as "fascists" and "clowns".
The song "I Desire" brought the band controversy because the lyrics were taken from a poem written by John Hinckley, Jr.
John Hinckley, Jr.
John Warnock Hinckley, Jr., attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 1981, as the culmination of an effort to impress teen actress Jodie Foster. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and has remained under institutional psychiatric care since...
(the man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
in a bid to impress actress Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
). "Big Mess" was inspired by a series of letters sent by the personality "Cowboy Kim", believed to be schizophrenic.
Devo took on another new look for this album, wearing black t-shirts and slacks with white "Spud Ring" collars. In concert these were augmented with Energy Dome
Energy dome
Energy dome refers to the red terraced headgear first worn by Devo during their Freedom of Choice years. Other incorrect names include "power dome" and "flowerpot" . Energy Domes have been a regular part of Devo's stage costumes since 1980, worn in their 1982, 1988, and 1990 tours, as well as most...
s, and the New Traditionalists
New Traditionalists
New Traditionalists is the fourth studio album by the New Wave rock band Devo, released in 1981. It features the minor hits "Through Being Cool" and "Beautiful World." The sound continued in the vein of the previous album Freedom of Choice, with synthesizers moved to the forefront and guitars more...
shirt and ascot uniforms for part of the performance. The LP jacket had a cutout on the back so it could be stood up like a picture frame.
Promotional music videos
Devo produced three music videos for the album, "Time Out For Fun", "Peek-A-Boo!", and "That's Good". All three videos eschewed Devo's previous narrative style for a basic performance against a bluescreen background displaying related visuals to the song. This was intended to replicate the band's intention for the tour to those who would be unable to attend. The video for That's Good ran into censorship troubles on MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. The juxtaposition of the image of a cartoon of a french fry penetrating the hole of a donut
DONUT
DONUT was an experiment at Fermilab dedicated to the search for tau neutrino interactions. Even though the detector operated only during a few months in the summer of 1997, it was largely successful. By detecting the tau neutrino, it confirmed the existence of the last lepton predicted by the...
then quickly cut to a writhing, smiling nude woman, shot from the neck up, was considered too risque for airplay.
Tour
Devo's tour for the album replicated the look in the videos for at least the first half of the concert. Seven songs from the album were performed against a 12 foot, rear-projected background which presented synchronized video. In several songs, members of the band interacted with the visuals, such as being kicked down by a giant pirate at the end of "Peek-A-Boo", or shooting icons of unsynchronized dancing girls in "Out of Sync".The first show of the tour, October 30, 1982 at the Warner Beverly Hills Theater in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, was filmed and transmitted live in 3-D to college campuses around the country. It was billed as 3-DEVO, and featured Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo was an American New Wave group from Los Angeles best known for the 1983 hit "Mexican Radio". The band had a sound that was a fusion of synthesizer-based New Wave music with the spaghetti western soundtrack style of Ennio Morricone.-Formation:...
as an opening act. However, this performance was marred by technical mishaps. The film went out of sync with the backing track during "Speed Racer", forcing the band to abandon the performance of "Big Mess". Mark's radio microphone cut out during "Out of Sync", and he performed the rest of the first set with Bob Motherbaugh's microphone. In the second half of the show, the 3-D effects were ineffective, and the band attacked the company providing the video twice, once during "Jocko Homo
Jocko Homo
"Jocko Homo" is the B-side to Devo's first single, "Mongoloid," released as a single in 1977 on Devo's own label, Booji Boy Records and later released in the UK on Stiff Records. The song was re-recorded as the feature song for Devo's first album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! on Warner Bros....
" with a series of cheap 3-D tricks by Mothersbaugh, and a rant during "Beautiful World" delivered by Booji Boy
Booji Boy
Booji Boy is a character created in the early 1970s by American New Wave band Devo. The name is pronounced "Boogie Boy"—the strange spelling "Booji" resulted when the band was using letraset to produce captions for a film, and ran out of the letter "g"...
. This concert was the only time Devo performed the song "Explosions" live.
The 3-DEVO concert was later rebroadcast in a severely edited form on Pay-Per-View
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
television, making sure to omit the snide remarks, and the technical gaffes. Both versions are available as bootlegs, and several audio recordings of the tour exist in varying quality.
Track listing
All Tracks written by Casale/Mothersbaugh except where noted.- "Time Out for Fun" – 2:48
- "Peek-a-Boo!" – 3:01
- "Out of Sync" – 3:34
- "Explosions" – 3:01
- "That's Good" – 3:23
- "Patterns" – 2:57
- "Big Mess" – 2:42
- "Speed Racer" (Mothersbaugh) – 2:38
- "What I Must Do" – 2:34
- "I Desire" (Casale/Hinckley/Mothersbaugh) – 3:13
- "Deep Sleep" – 3:24
- In 1995, Infinite Zero Archive/American Recordings reissued a remastered version of this album on CD with six bonus tracks: the "Peek-A-Boo!" b-side "Find Out," the previously unreleased "Part Of You," two 12" remixes of "Peek-A-Boo!" and, curiously, two remixes of "Here To Go" (even though the song was initially included on ShoutShout (Devo album)Shout is a 1984 album by the New Wave rock band Devo. It was their sixth album for Warner Bros. Records and retained the synth-pop sound of their previous records with a heavy focus on the new Fairlight CMI computer synthesizer. Despite the popularity of synth-pop in 1984, the album was a critical...
).
- "Find Out" was later re-recorded by Gerald CasaleGerald CasaleGerald Vincent Casale , often known as Jerry Casale, is a vocalist, bass guitar/synthesizer player, and a founding member of the new wave band Devo...
's solo project Jihad Jerry & the EvildoersJihad Jerry & the EvildoersJihad Jerry & the Evildoers is the solo project of Devo bassist and "chief strategist" Gerald Casale. It also includes contributions from Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob "1" Mothersbaugh, and his brother Bob "2" Casale...
.
Personnel
- Mark MothersbaughMark MothersbaughMark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American musician, composer, singer and painter. He is the co-founder of the new wave band Devo and has been its lead singer since 1972. His other musical projects include work for television series, films, and video games....
– keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Bob MothersbaughBob MothersbaughRobert Leroy "Bob" Mothersbaugh, Jr.,, or "Bob 1", is the lead guitar player and occasional vocalist for Devo and younger brother of lead vocalist Mark Mothersbaugh...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Gerald CasaleGerald CasaleGerald Vincent Casale , often known as Jerry Casale, is a vocalist, bass guitar/synthesizer player, and a founding member of the new wave band Devo...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboards, vocals - Bob Casale – guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Alan Myers – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Singles
- "Peek-A-Boo!" / "Find Out"
- "That's Good" / "What I Must Do"
- "Peek-A-Boo! (dance velocity)" / "Peek-A-Book! (DEVO Dub)" / "Find Out"
Credits
- Annerose Bucklers - Background vocals (11)
- Gordon Fordyce - Engineer
- Erik Arnesen - Cover photography
- DEVO INC. - Graphic concept
- Rick Seireeni - Art direction
- "Spudring" manufactured by Brent Scrivner
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Pop Albums | 47 |