DEV-O Live

DEV-O LIVE
Live album by Devo
Released	1981 (EP) 1999 (CD)
Recorded	1980
Genre	New wave punk rock post-punk
Length	17:41 (EP version) 73:52 (album version)
Label	Warner Brothers/Rhino Handmade
Producer	Devo
Devo chronology
Freedom of Choice (1980) DEV-O LIVE (1981) New Traditionalists (1981)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Allmusic	[2]

DEV-O LIVE is a live EP (and later live album) by American new wave band Devo. It was recorded during the Freedom of Choice tour of 1980, at The Fox Warfield Theatre. Initially only six songs from the show were released on an EP in 1981, intended for airplay use (largely for the King Biscuit Flower Hour). It featured the otherwise-unreleased "Freedom of Choice Theme Song" and a reworked version of "Be Stiff".

Devo were given consistent radio support by Sydney-based noncommercial rock station 2JJ, one of the first rock stations outside America to play their recordings. This paid off, as in August 1981, they found commercial success in Australia when the EP spent 3 weeks at the top of the Australian singles charts.^[3] Later in the year, they travelled to Australia and appeared on TV show Countdown.

In 1999, Rhino Handmade re-released DEV-O LIVE on a full album including the entire Warfield show, with the exception of "Pink Pussycat" (played after "Secret Agent Man"), "Satisfaction" (played after "Blockhead"), "Freedom of Choice" and "Jocko Homo" (both played after "Gates of Steel"), all of them appearing on audience recordings of the show. The Rhino edition was released in a plastic sleeve with a cover insert. It has subsequently also become available on the iTunes Store and Amazon.com, and in the Japanese box set This is the Devo Box.

Track listing

EP

1. "Freedom of Choice Theme Song" (Gerald V. Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh) – 2:46
2. "Whip It" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 2:41
3. "Girl U Want" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 2:56
4. "Gates of Steel" (Casale, Mothersbaugh, Sue Schmidt, Debbie Smith) – 3:17
5. "Be Stiff" (Casale, Robert Lewis) – 2:50
6. "Planet Earth" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 2:32

Album version

1. "Freedom of Choice Theme Song" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 2:46
2. "Whip It" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 2:41
3. "Girl U Want" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 2:56
4. "Gates of Steel" (Casale, Mothersbaugh, Schmidt, Smith) – 3:17
5. "Be Stiff" (Casale, Lewis) – 2:50
6. "Planet Earth" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 2:32
7. "Freedom of Choice Theme Song" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 2:46
8. "Whip It" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 2:41
9. "Snowball" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 2:42
10. "It's Not Right" (Mothersbaugh) – 2:20
11. "Girl U Want" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 2:56
12. "Planet Earth" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 2:32
13. "S.I.B. (Swelling Itching Brain)" (Devo, Mothersbaugh) – 4:06
14. "Secret Agent Man" (Steve Barri, Sloan) – 3:17
15. "Blockhead" (Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh) – 3:25
16. "Uncontrollable Urge" (Mothersbaugh) – 3:08
17. "Mongoloid" (Casale) – 2:50
18. "Be Stiff" (Casale, Lewis) – 2:50
19. "Gates of Steel" (Casale, Mothersbaugh, Schmidt, Smith) – 3:17
20. "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 4:08
21. "Gut Feeling/(Slap Your Mammy)" (Casale, Mothersbaugh, Mothersbaugh) – 4:12
22. "Come Back Jonee" (Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 3:19

• Note: The first six tracks of the CD are simply the contents of the original EP. These tracks are repeated later in the disc.

Personnel

• Mark Mothersbaugh – guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Gerald V. Casale – bass guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Bob Casale – guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Bob Mothersbaugh – guitar, vocals
• Alan Myers – drums

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Allmusic review
3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 88. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

External links

• Devo Live Guide - Comprehensive guide to Devo's live performances.