Devo - Duty Now for the Future
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Free Music Notes for Duty Now for the Future
Free Music Review: Devo, Pre-Energy Dome
Hit: 5 Stars
This CD offers the casual devo-tee a chance to really understand the evolution of the de-evolution band. By sandwiching the immediate predecessor and immediate progeny of "Freedom of Choice," the listener can truly understand how Freedom Of Choice is the missing link between organic Devo (Duty Now for the Future) and synthetic Devo (New Traditionalists).
"Duty Now For The Future" was Devo's apocalyptic warning against a wiggly world taken over by corporate culture; by the time "New Traditionalists" came out, the members of Devo had been fully re-programmed to trumpet the coming of a Brave New World.
Or had they?
Songs like "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA," "Devo Corporate Anthem," "Clockout" and "Blockhead" were harbingers of a "one-size-fits all" universe that came to fruition with "Freedom of Choice," though the spudboys by that time all chose to march in energy-dome topped-off lockstep.
Their lockstep neck-salute anthem, "Triumph of the Will," is a dark synthetic foreshadowing of Things To Come. Or, is it? Is it prophecy, or retreading Leni Riefenstahl's utopian vision of Nazi Germany?
But, there is a premonition of revolt in such songs from "New Traditionalists" as "Beautiful World" (for YOU; IT'S NOT FOR ME), "Through Being Cool" and "Going Under." "Working in a Coal Mine" was Devo's attempt at nostalgia as only they could understand it; disembodied computer-synth hu-boon vocals over steel guitar. It really takes a great swipe at all the MOR so-called "blues" artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton.
Devo never sold out, they just constantly repackaged themselves.
Free Music Review: Their duty then continues now and in the future
Hit: 5 Stars
In talking about his all time favorite album covers, Beck said a few years ago that when he was about 12 and saw Devo's album, he had no idea what those guys were up to, but whatever it was, he wanted to be in on it. Almost 30 years later, Beck is still tapping into Devo, and they resonate in Beck's music and stage costumes. These guys were so far ahead of their time that even today, they continue to be tremendously influential. One wonders whether they themselves realized it at the time, in picking "Duty now for the Future" as the album title. Efforts to label them have utterly failed. They took equal parts Roxy Music, Kraftwerk, anthemic chants, and Johnny Rivers and deconstructed, then concocted them into a heady stew that simultaneously defied and embraced everything that was going on around them. In the process, they became a cornerstone of the so called "new wave" movement. They didn't come out of the New York CBGB scene with Talking Heads, Blondie, and Television, but instead out of Ohio, of all places, yet fit nicely in with what those other bands were doing. Their legendary live shows incorporated multi media before the term even existed. They'd go on to have some hits on later albums, but "Duty now.." is unquestionably their masterpiece.Free Music Review: Devo's best album by a long shot
Hit: 5 Stars
Some people prefer Devo's first, Eno produced record, or the later "sellout' records like Freedom Of Choice and New Traditionalists. But nowhere did Devo strike a more perfect balance between guitars and synthesisers than on Duty Now.
The first record was really a guitar/punk album, and the later records rely heavily on synths, which in retrospect make all the records which followed Duty Now kind of dated in that cheesy 80's way (i.e. Whip It). But on Duty Now For The Future, the guitars and keyboards mix to form a perfectly synergised, melting plastic kind of sound, which they never bettered. There are amazing songs on this record - Pink Pussycat, Blockhead, Wiggly World, and the epic Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA. This is a truly unique record which still sounds fresh today.
Devo's tableau of de-evolution, punk perviness, and corporate toxemia really click on this record. At no point does this heady subject matter seem forced - the schtick is delivered confidently, artfully and with much humor. This is a truly visionary record that deserves to be rediscovered - one of the few records from that period that can be held up as genius 25 years later.
Free Music Review: Devo IS a genre and this album proves it
Hit: 5 Stars
What more can be said about Devo this far into the future? They were and still are pioneers of their style of music. Its like Devo couldn't decide if they wanted to be a new wave band or a rock band...so they combined the two! I love their first album and totally recommend it, but this album is when they really starting experimenting and it contains the gem Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA.It opens with the silly Devo Corporate Anthem(I can just see the band standing against the wind saluting), then kicks into Clockout and from then on its a wild ride. Its hard to say much more other than the fact that Devo's music is essential to any REAL music collection.Get their first album and stop after you get Oh No! Its Devo! From Shout on it got pretty lame(and it wasnt their fault it was contractual). If you like rock N roll with synthesizers and a whole bunch of social commentary then get this right now! Let me be the first to congradulate you on subscribing to De-Evolution! Go Spuds Go!Free Music Review: One of the best, most influential albums of ALL TIME. Period.
Hit: 5 Stars
DEVO is seriously de-valued. While many prefer the Eno-produced debut, I actually over the years view their second album as far from their "sophomore slump" but rather their intellectual, musical, and creative peak ever. Although DEVO would achieve greater commercial success with their NEXT album, the more-synth-oriented electro-pop of FREEDOM OF CHOICE, DUTY NOW is a nearly perfect statement of purpose. The music, the imagery, the manifesto, and the marketing were all delivered seamlessly and peerlessly. SMART PATROL/MR. DNA, BLOCKHEAD, DAY MY BABY GAVE ME A BIG SURPISE, WIGGLY WORLD, SWELLING ITCHING BRAIN, RED EYE EXPRESS, et al. Not a clinker in the bunch. From the seminal cover art to the stunning punk/new-wave tracks inside, DUTY NOW should be in every serious music collection.