Are We Not Men? We Are Devo!

The correct title of this article is Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!. The substitution or omission of the colon is because of technical restrictions.

Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
Studio album by Devo
Released	August 28, 1978 (1978-08-28)
Recorded	October 1977 – February 1978
Genre	New wave
Length	34:24
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Brian Eno, David Bowie (additional co-production)
Devo chronology
Mechanical Man EP (1977)Mechanical Man EP1977 Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978) Duty Now for the Future (1979)Duty Now for the Future1979
Singles from Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
"Jocko Homo" Released: February 1978 "Come Back Jonee" Released: August 1978

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.

The album received somewhat mixed reviews from critics and peaked at number 12 on the UK album charts and number 78 on the U.S. Billboard charts. Recent reviews of the album have been more uniformly positive, and the album has charted on several retrospective "best of" lists from publications including Rolling Stone, Pitchfork Media and Spin.

On May 6, 2009 Devo performed the album live in its entirety for the first time as part of the Don't Look Back concert series curated by All Tomorrow's Parties. On September 16, 2009, Warner Bros. and Devo announced a re-release of Q: Are We Not Men? and Freedom of Choice, with a tour performing both albums.

Production

In 1977, David Bowie and Iggy Pop received a tape of Devo demonstration songs from the wife of Michael Aylward, guitarist in another Akron, Ohio band, Tin Huey. Both Iggy and Bowie, as well as Brian Eno and Robert Fripp, expressed interest in producing Devo's first release. At Devo's New York debut show in 1977, Bowie proclaimed that "this is the band of the future, I'm going to produce them in Tokyo this winter." Eventually, Eno was chosen to produce the album at Konrad Plank's studio located near Cologne, Germany. Bowie was busy with filming Just a Gigolo but helped Eno produce the record during weekends. Two tracks, "Come Back Jonee" and "Shrivel-Up", were recorded at Different Fur in San Francisco. All tracks were mixed at Konrad Plank's studio named Conny's Studio. Since Devo was without a record deal, Eno paid for the flights and studio cost for the band, confident that the band would be signed to a record contract. In return for his work on the album, Eno asked for a share of any subsequent deals.

The recording sessions were a source of frustration for Eno and Devo. Eno found the group unwilling to experiment or deviate from their early demonstrations of recorded songs. Devo later admitted that "we were overtly resistant to Eno's ideas. He made up synth parts and really cool sounds for almost every part of the album, but we used them on three or four songs."

Album cover

The cover art was illustrated by Joe Heiner. According to an essay by Jerry Casale included on the Complete Truth About De-evolution DVD, the cover of their debut album is based on an image of the famous professional golfer Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodríguez that they had found on a golf strap. According to Casale, David Burnam, the manager of business affairs at their recording company Warner Bros. Records, decided the image could not be used because "he was a golf fan and felt we were making fun of Chi Chi." The band offered to contact Rodriguez personally but had time constraints, due to the forthcoming production of their album. The manager of the company's art department, Rick Serini, recommended an artist who could airbrush and alter the face of the picture, while Mark Mothersbaugh offered a picture he'd procured from a local newspaper that morphed the faces of United States presidents John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. These ideas were morphed with the original "Chi Chi" Rodriguez image to create the cover art of the album.

The band did eventually get Rodriguez's permission to use the original photograph. Since the "morphed" album sleeves were already in production by that time, Serini claimed it would cost the band $2,500 to halt production and reinstate the image intended originally by the band, which forced the band to keep the morphed version. According to Casale, "we were able to come out with something that by the corporate interference and misunderstanding of the business side of Warner Bros. Records, actually unwittingly produced something far more DEVO than the original [image]."

The original cover illustration, with Rodriguez's face intact, turned up on the picture sleeve for the band's single Be Stiff.

"Are we not Men?"

The phrase "Are we not men?" is from The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), by H. G. Wells. It is part of the litany of the Law, spoken by the Speaker of the Law to the Beast Folk, creatures surgically force-evolved by the mad doctor.

The song "Jocko Homo" makes fun of the concept, saying mankind is devolving into bestial idiots rather than teleologically evolving towards perfection. The call-and-response section of the song mimics the litany, as the audience is swept up into obeying the band by repeating the response. DEVO's frontmen, Casale and Mothersbaugh, would use the song in concert to manipulate the audience by refusing to play anything else until they felt the audience was angry enough.

Release

Devo received offers to release Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! from Warner Bros. Records, Island Records, Virgin Records and David Bowie's production company Bewlay Brothers. Virgin obtained rights to release the album in the United Kingdom, while Warner Bros. held the rights for North America. The album was released in the United States on August 28, 1978 and in the United Kingdom on September 1, 1978. Virgin also released a picture disc version of the album, illustrated with a still from the band's 1976 music film The Truth About De-Evolution.

In North America, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! peaked at No. 78 on the Billboard Charts, while in the United Kingdom it entered the charts on September 16, 1978 and remained there for seven weeks, peaking at #12. Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! was also successful in Japan. The album went "gold" in the United States on July 27, 2007 (2007-07-27) and "silver" in the United Kingdom on January 15, 1979.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Spin Alternative Record Guide	9/10
The Village Voice	B+

Initial critical reaction to Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! was somewhat mixed. Tom Carson, writing in Rolling Stone, claimed that "There's not an ounce of feeling anywhere, and the only commitment is to the distancing aesthetic of the put-on", and opined that "Devo lacks most of Eno's warmth and much of Bowie's flair for mechanized melodrama. For all its idiosyncrasies, the music here is utterly impersonal." Critic Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave the album a positive rating of a B+, but noted, "In small doses it's as good as novelty music ever gets, and there isn't a really bad cut on this album. But it leads nowhere." Nonetheless, it was voted one of the best albums of the year in the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics poll for 1978. In January 1980, Trouser Press also named it one of the best albums of 1978.

Later reception of the album has been more uniformly positive. Steve Huey of the online music database AllMusic scored the album four and a half "stars" terming it "arguably Devo's strongest set of material, though several brilliant peaks can overshadow the remainder", and "a seminal touchstone in the development of American new wave." Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! has scored on several "best of" lists, including Spin's 50 Most Essential Punk Records, Pitchfork Media's top 100 albums of 1970s and Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It is also listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Indie rock band Claw Hammer covered the album in its entirety on their 1991 release Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are NOT Devo!

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Uncontrollable Urge"	Mark Mothersbaugh	3:09
2.	"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"	Mick Jagger Keith Richards	2:40
3.	"Praying Hands"	Gerald V. Casale M. Mothersbaugh	2:47
4.	"Space Junk"	G.V. Casale B. Mothersbaugh	2:14
5.	"Mongoloid"	Gerald V. Casale	3:44
6.	"Jocko Homo"	M. Mothersbaugh	3:40

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"Too Much Paranoias"	M. Mothersbaugh	1:57
8.	"Gut Feeling" / "(Slap Your Mammy)"	M. Mothersbaugh Bob Mothersbaugh G. V. Casale	4:54
9.	"Come Back Jonee"	G. V. Casale M. Mothersbaugh	3:47
10.	"Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin')"	M. Mothersbaugh Bob Mothersbaugh G. V. Casale Gary Jackett	2:40
11.	"Shrivel-Up"	G. V. Casale M. Mothersbaugh Bob Mothersbaugh	3:05
Total length:			34:24

CD Track listings

All songs written by Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald V. Casale except where noted: 1993 UK CD Reissue No. Title Length 1. "Uncontrollable Urge" (Mark Mothersbaugh) 3:09 2. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) 2:40 3. "Praying Hands"   2:47 4. "Space Junk" (Gerald V. Casale, Bob Mothersbaugh) 2:14 5. "Mongoloid" (Gerald V. Casale) 3:44 6. "Jocko Homo" (Mark Mothersbaugh) 3:40 7. "Too Much Paranoias" (Mark Mothersbaugh) 1:57 8. "Gut Feeling" (Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh) 4:04 9. "(Slap Your Mammy)" (Gerald V. Casale) 0:51 10. "Come Back Jonee"   3:47 11. "Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin')" (Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh, Gearald V. Casale, Gary Jackett) 2:40 12. "Shrivel-Up" (Gerald V. Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh) 3:05 13. "Freedom of Choice Theme Song (Live)"   2:46 14. "Whip It (Live)"   2:41 15. "Girl U Want (Live)"   2:56 16. "Gates of Steel (Live)" (Gerald V. Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh, Sue Schmidt & Debbie Smith (of Chi-Pig)) 3:17 17. "Be Stiff (Live)" (Gerald V. Casale, Robert Lewis) 2:50 18. "Planet Earth (Live)"   2:32 19. "Social Fools"   2:49 20. "Penetration in the Centrefold"   2:25 21. "Soo Bawlz"   2:23 This reissue paired the album with the DEV-O Live EP from 1980 and included the bonus track "Social Fools," which was the b-side of the "Come Back Jonee" single in the UK. The version that was included as the B-side (and re-released in this edition) is a different version from the one on the Be Stiff EP (still unavailable in digital format) and Hardcore Devo: Volume One. It also includes the Eno-produced session outtake "Penetration in the Centrefold" (later released as the b-side of "The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize") as well as "Soo Bawlz" (the b-side of "Secret Agent Man"). Source: 2009 Deluxe Remastered Edition On November 3, 2009, the "deluxe remastered" edition of the album was issued, containing a live version of the entire album as bonus tracks. The live tracks are culled from the special Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO! anniversary concert performed at the HMV Forum in London on May 6, 2009. DEVO-LUX Edition (Disc 1) No. Title Length 1. "Uncontrollable Urge" (Mark Mothersbaugh) 3:09 2. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) 2:40 3. "Praying Hands"   2:47 4. "Space Junk" (Gerald V. Casale, Bob Mothersbaugh) 2:14 5. "Mongoloid" (Gerald V. Casale) 3:44 6. "Jocko Homo" (Mark Mothersbaugh) 3:40 7. "Too Much Paranoias" (Mark Mothersbaugh) 1:57 8. "Gut Feeling" / "(Slap Your Mammy)" (Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh, Gerald V. Casale) 4:54 9. "Come Back Jonee"   3:47 10. "Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin')" (Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh, Gearald V. Casale, Gary Jackett) 2:40 11. "Shrivel-Up" (Gerald V. Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh) 3:05 12. "Uncontrollable Urge (Demo)" (Mark Mothersbaugh) 3:08 13. "Social Fools (Demo)"   3:42 14. "Sloppy (Demo)" (Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh, Gearald V. Casale, Gary Jackett) 2:21 On December 23, 2009, the "DEVO-LUX" edition was released, which featured the demo versions of "Uncontrollable Urge," "Social Fools," and "Sloppy." The package also featured Freedom of Choice, which was paired with the DEV-O Live EP and the demo versions of "Snowball," "Gates of Steel," and "Time Bomb." Source:

Personnel

Devo

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

Production team

• Brian Eno – producer
• Dave Hutchins – engineer
• Patrick Gleeson – engineer

Chart performance

Peak positions

Album

Year	Chart	Peak Position
1978	Australia (Kent Music Report)	57
1978	Billboard Pop Albums	78
1978	UK Albums Chart	12

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – U.S.	Gold	July 27, 2007 (2007-07-27)

Covers

The song "Uncontrollable Urge" has been covered by numerous bands, among them "SNFU" for the tribute compilation "We Are Not Devo," and the Brooklyn-based comedy/alternative band "Kenny Young and the Eggplants," from their first album "Even One is Quite a Few."

External links

• Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! at Discogs (list of releases)
• Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! at Rate Your Music
• Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! at MusicBrainz (list of releases)