News

Nobody can really prove if society is moving in reverse…except maybe Devo. The finest of their findings over a half century of musical exploration will be assembled in a new compilation from Rhino Records.

50 Years of De-Evolution (1973-2023) will arrive in stores and digitally on October 20. The 50-track set will include hits and album cuts from each of their nine albums released between 1978 and 2010, plus an assortment of rare B-sides, single-only tracks and soundtrack songs. (The 7″ version of “Disco Dancer,” from 1988’s Total Devo, is being released as a teaser, marking its first digital release.) All the songs you know and love are there, including “Whip It,” “Girl U Want,” “Beautiful World,” “Uncontrollable Urge,” “Jerkin’ Back ‘n’ Forth” and more. The full compilation will be released on two CDs and four clear vinyl LPs; the latter is available exclusively through Rhino’s official store and includes a 28-page book, album art lithograph, air freshener and foldable paper replica of the group’s signature “energy dome” headwear, all packed in a slipcase. A 25-track 2LP cut-down (featuring the contents of the first disc plus New Traditionalists album cut “Love Without Anger”) will be available, with physical retailers getting the set pressed on red and blue vinyl.

Whether Devo’s theory of de-evolution was tongue-in-cheek or not, the members certainly had good cause to believe it: the group was started on the campus of Kent State University in the wake of the horrifying 1970 incident in which National Guardsmen opened fire on anti-Vietnam War protesters, killing four and wounding nine. Gerald Casale, the group’s bassist, saw the incident up close and tailored Devo’s sound as such with the help of his brother Bob (on guitar and keyboards) and fellow students Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh (on keyboards and guitar, respectively) and drummer Alan Myers. With their retro-kitsch costumes featuring radiation suits and conical headgear, cutting-edge electronic sounds and visuals, and a deep mythology to match, it wasn’t long before Devo garnered the attention of artistically-inclined rockers like David Bowie and Neil Young.

In 1978, after a spate of independent releases (including the beloved “Be Stiff” for Stiff Records), they issued their major-label debut Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!; by the end of 1980, they scored an unlikely Top 20 hit with “Whip It,” which would become a beloved staple of early MTV a year later. The quintet recorded continuously through 1990, after which their output was sporadic. (Among the ventures undertaken by members at this time: Mark Mothersbaugh became a celebrated film and TV composer, Gerald Casale directed music videos, and – most bizarrely – the group blessed a kid-friendly version, Devo2.0, who issued a covers album through Disney.) Myers and Bob Casale passed away in 2013 and 2014; the group will embark on their final tour dates later this year and are working with director Chris Smith (American Movie, Fyre) on a documentary about the band. (All this, ostensibly, to gin up the group’s chances of getting into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, following nominations for induction in 2018, 2021 and 2022.)

Get ready to devolve October 20, and check out the full track list below. Amazon links are set to populate, and can also be found below.

50 Years of De-Evolution (1973-2023) (Warner/Rhino, 2023)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
4LP: Rhino.com
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

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1. Mongoloid (Warner Version)
2. Jocko Homo (Warner Version)
3. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
4. Come Back Jonee (Single Edit)
5. Secret Agent Man
6. The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprize
7. Smart Patrol
8. Girl U Want
9. Whip It
10. Freedom of Choice
11. Gates of Steel
12. Working in the Coal Mine
13. Beautiful World
14. Jerkin’ Back ‘n’ Forth
15. Through Being Cool
16. Time Out for Fun
17. Peek•a•Boo!
18. That’s Good
19. Big Mess
20. Here to Go (Go Mix Version)
21. Are You Experienced?
22. Disco Dancer (7″ Version)
23. Post Post-Modern Man (Macro Post-Modern Mix)
24. Fresh

Disc 2

1. I’m a Potato (1974 Demo)
2. Mongoloid (Booji Boy Version)
3. Jocko Homo (Booji Boy Version)
4. Be Stiff (Stiff Version)
5. Uncontrollable Urge
6. Gut Feeling/(Slap Your Mammy)
7. Triumph of the Will
8. Soo-Bawlz
9. It Takes a Worried Man
10. Snowball (Single Remix)
11. Mr. B’s Ballroom
12. Going Under
13. Love Without Anger
14. One Dumb Thing
15. Speed Racer
16. Theme from Doctor Detroit
17. Shout
18. Puppet Boy
19. I Wouldn’t Do That to You
20. Bread and Butter
21. Let’s Talk
22. Baby Doll (Devo Single Mix)
23. Some Things Never Change
24. What We Do (Single Edit)
25. No Place Like Home
26. Watch Us Work It

Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 1-4 and Disc 2, Tracks 5-6 from Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (Warner Bros., 1978)
Disc 1, Tracks 5-7 and Disc 2, Track 7 from Duty Now for the Future (Warner Bros., 1979)
Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 8-11 and Disc 2, Track 10-11 from Freedom of Choice (Warner Bros., 1980)
Disc 1, Tracks 12-15 and Disc 2, Tracks 12-13 from New Traditionalists (Warner Bros., 1981)
Disc 1, Tracks 16-19 and Disc 2, Track 15 from Oh No! It’s Devo (Warner Bros., 1982)
Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 20-21 and Disc 2, Tracks 17-18 from Shout (Warner Bros., 1984)
Original versions of Disc 1, Track 22 and Disc 2, Tracks 22-23 from Total Devo (Enigma, 1988)
Original version of Disc 1, Track 23 from Smooth Noodle Maps (Enigma, 1990)
Original versions of Disc 1, Track 24 and Disc 2, Track 24-25 from Something for Everybody (Warner Bros., 2010). Disc 2, Track 26 from digital deluxe pressings of the album.
Disc 2, Track 1 from Hardcore Devo: Volume One (Rykodisc, 1990)
Disc 2, Tracks 2-3 from Booji Boy single, 1977
Disc 2, Track 4 from Stiff single, 1978
Disc 2, Track 8 from “Secret Agent Man” single (Warner Bros., 1979)
Disc 2, Track 9 and 19 from Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology (Rhino, 2000)
Disc 2, Track 16 from Songs from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack “Doctor Detroit” (Backstreet/MCA, 1983)
Disc 2, Track 20 from 9 1/2 Weeks: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Capitol, 1986)
Disc 2, Track 21 from Fright Night: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Private I, 1985)