''DEV-O Live'' is a live EP (and, later,

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

) by American new wave band

Devo Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of 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 ...

. It was recorded during the

Freedom of Choice Freedom of choice describes an individual's opportunity and autonomy to perform an action selected from at least two available options, unconstrained by external parties. In politics In the abortion debate, for example, the term "freedom of c ...

tour on August 16, 1980, at the Fox Warfield Theatre in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Background

''DEV-O Live'' stems from a 16-track promotional album called ''Devo Live: Warner Bros. Music Show'', recorded for broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour. The broadcast was so popular that four songs ("Freedom of Choice Theme Song", "Whip It", " Be Stiff" and "Gates of Steel") were released as a promotional EP in November 1980, titled ''DEV-O Live'', followed by the more widely available EP of the same name that added two more tracks ("Girl U Want" and "Planet Earth"). In 1999, Rhino Handmade re-released ''DEV-O Live'' on CD and included both the wide release EP version and the original promotional album in its entirety. Additionally, side breaks and the announcer's voice from the show were edited out. The Rhino edition was released in a plastic sleeve with a cover insert. It was later reissued in the 2008 Japanese CD

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

'' This Is the Devo Box''. On November 29, 2019, Rhino issued an LP of the 16-track version as a Black Friday limited edition for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

, under the title ''Devo Live!''. Four additional songs—"Pink Pussycat" (played after " Secret Agent Man"), " Satisfaction" (played after "Blockhead"), "

" and " Jocko Homo" (both played after "Gates of Steel")—appear on audience recordings of the show.

Reception

Devo were given consistent radio support by

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

-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 three weeks at the top of the Australian singles charts. Later in the year, they travelled to Australia and appeared on the TV show '' Countdown''.

Track listing

All songs by

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American musician and composer. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead vocalist and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 20 single in the US ...

and Gerald V. Casale, unless otherwise indicated.

1981 EP

;Side one #"Freedom of Choice Theme Song" – 2:44 #" Whip It" – 2:42 #" Girl U Want" – 2:45 ;Side two #"Gates of Steel" (Casale, Mothersbaugh, Deborah Smith, Susan Schmidt) – 3:16 #" Be Stiff" (Casale, Bob Lewis) – 2:49 #"Planet Earth" (Casale) – 2:31

1999 CD reissue

;Original EP #"Freedom of Choice Theme Song" – 2:46 #"Whip It" – 2:41 #"Girl U Want" – 2:56 #"Gates of Steel" (Casale, Mothersbaugh, Schmidt, Smith) – 3:17 #"Be Stiff" (Casale, Lewis) – 2:50 #"Planet Earth" (Casale) – 2:32 ;Promo LP #

"Freedom of Choice Theme Song" – 2:46 #"Whip It" – 2:41 #"Snowball" – 2:42 #"It's Not Right" (Mothersbaugh) – 2:20 #"Girl U Want" – 2:56 #"Planet Earth" (Casale) – 2:32 #"S.I.B. (Swelling Itching Brain)" (Mothersbaugh) – 4:06 #" Secret Agent Man" ( Steve Barri, P. F. Sloan) – 3:17 #"Blockhead" (Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh) – 3:25 #"Uncontrollable Urge" (Mothersbaugh) – 3:08 #"

Mongoloid Mongoloid () is an obsolete racial grouping of various peoples indigenous to large parts of Asia, the Americas, and some regions in Europe and Oceania. The term is derived from a now-disproven theory of biological race. In the past, other terms ...

" (Casale) – 2:50 #"Be Stiff" (Casale, Lewis) – 2:50 #"Gates of Steel" (Casale, Mothersbaugh, Schmidt, Smith) – 3:17 #"Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA" (Casale/Casale, Mothersbaugh) – 4:08 #"Gut Feeling/(Slap Your Mammy)" (Mothersbaugh, Mothersbaugh/Casale) – 4:12 #"Come Back Jonee" – 3:19

Personnel

;Devo *

– guitar, keyboards, vocals * Gerald V. Casale – bass guitar, keyboards, vocals * Bob Casale – guitar, keyboards, vocals * Bob Mothersbaugh – guitar, vocals * Alan Myers – drums ;Technical *Devo – producer, mixing *Biff Dawes – live engineer *Robert Kaminsky – live producer *Ken Perry – mastering *Lisa Barillier – front cover photography *David Peters – back cover photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales

References

External links

Devo Live Guide
– Comprehensive guide to Devo's live performances. {{Authority control Devo live albums 1981 live albums 1981 EPs 1999 live albums Live EPs Warner Records live albums Warner Records EPs