Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo? (1978)

“Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo?” by Devo (1978)

Release Date: August 28, 1978
Produced by Brian Eno, David Bowie (additional co-producer)
Genre: New Wave, Electronic, Punk Rock
Label: Warner Bros, Virgin

Chart Positions: #7 (New Zealand), #12 (UK), #57 (Australia), #78 (US)
Certifications: Gold (US), Silver (UK)

Singles: “Mongoloid” (No chart data)
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” #41 (UK), #48 (Netherlands), #98 (Australia)
“Jocko Homo” #62 (UK)
“Come Back Jonee” #60 (UK)
Other Charting Tracks: N/A
Best Tracks: “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “Uncontrollable Urge,” “ Space Junk,” “Mongoloid,” “Jocko Homo,” “Come Back Jonee”

“Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo?” (Click Here)

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 in Germany. Bowie was busy filming "Just a Gigolo," but helped Eno produce the record during weekends. 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.

Brain Eno envisioned many sides of Devo after he first heard their music, he stated, 'What I saw in them always happens when you encounter something new in art - you get a feeling of being slightly dislocated, and with that are emotional overtones that are slightly menacing as well as alluring. This induced a stiffening effect because with Devo you have something that makes your body move in a new way."

The album quickly became a cult sensation in part because of it's highly stylized visuals - videos, album art and costumes which made the band members look alike. The album was a touchstone in the development of American new wave. It was one of the first pop album to use the synthesizer as a prominent feature in their music. Devo was pivotal in the explosion of synth-pop that would soon follow.

Devo’s quirky version of The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was the second single from the album and chart debut and was originally from their “Be Stiff” EP released in 1977. Music History professor, Theo Cateforis had recognized that Devo's rendition of the Rolling Stones classic was a satirical contradiction of African American and Caribbean rhythms in a sense a parody of the nervous bodily awkward "whiteness" of the white male man machine torn between discipline and the urges of the flesh.

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1978)

Their first single from the album was “Mongoloid” also from the “Be Stiff” EP.

"Jocko Homo," one of the album's several highlights was written in an unnerving and unusual 7/8 time which keeps the rhythm quirky on a level that outstrips any sort of quirky rhythms delivered by The Talking Heads or XTC.

Mark Mothersbaugh was a student at Kent State when he received a religious pamphlet from afraid titled "Jocko Homo" in which it debunked the theory of evolution. This was right after the students had been killed on campus at Kent State. The song was written based on a series of discussions Mothersbaugh and his bandmates had. They decided that what was happening to the planet and what they were seeing in the news was not evolution but more appropriately de-evolution. Hence the name Devo (which is short for de-evolution).

Devo (1978)

Link to “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo?” (Click Here)

DEVO

David Bowie - Heroes (1977)

“Heroes” by David Bowie (1977)

Release Date: October 14, 1977
Produced by David Bowie and Tony Visconti
Genre: Art-Rock, Rock, Experimental Rock, Ambient
Label: RCA
Chart Positions: #35 (US), #3 UK, Netherlands), #6 (Australia), #13 (Norway, Sweden), #15 (New Zealand), #19 (Austria, France), #34 (Switzerland), #38 (Italy), #44 (Canada, Germany), #57 (Japan)
Certifications: Platinum Gold (UK, Canada)

Singles: “Heroes” #24 (UK), #8 (Holland, Ireland), #9 (France, Netherlands), #11 (Australia), #14 (Austria), #17 (Belgium, Italy), #19 (Germany, Denmark), #20 (Spain), #34 (New Zealand), #37 (Sweden), “Beauty and the Beast” #7 (France), #30 (Belgium), #39 (UK)

+++ 70s Music: Album by Album certifies David Bowie's "Heroes" as one of the great albums of all-time. +++

“Heroes” was David Bowie’s 12th studio album and his third installment of the Berlin Trilogy, which also includes 1977’s “Low” and 1979’s “Lodger.”

“Heroes” by David Bowie (Click Here)

The album was recorded with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti, "Heroes" continued the ambient experiments of Bowie's previous album Low (released earlier that year) and featured the contributions of guitarist Robert Fripp. Of the three albums, it was the only one wholly recorded in Berlin.

Upon its release, it was met with positive critical reception and was named NME Album of the Year. The title track remains one of Bowie's best known and acclaimed songs. David Bowie composed all the lyrics and music with the exception of “Heroes,” “Moss Garden” and “Neuköln” were co-written with Brain Eno and “The Secret Life of the Arabia” co-written by Brian Eno and Puerto Rican guitarist Carlos Alomar.

Every track on the album was a first take. According to producer Brian Eno, the first take of every song ultimately need up being the best one.

Two singles were released from the album; “Heroes” which was a hit throughout the world and though it is considered a classic in the US the song never made it on to the US singles charts. Written by written by Bowie and Brian Eno, “Heroes” was inspired by the sight of Bowie's manager Tony Visconti embracing his girlfriend by the Berlin Wall, the song tells the story of two lovers, one from East and one from West Berlin. Visconti can be heard in the song banging on a metal ashtray that was found in the studio. The song was also released in German and French. The German version is called "Helden" and the French is called "Heros."

"Heroes"

The second single “Beauty and the Beast” was a minor hit in select countries in Europe.

One of the album's most popular tracks "V-2 Scneider" was written as a tribute to Florian Scnieder, a co-founder of the German electronic band Kraftwerk. Bowie has said Kraftwerk influenced him heavily in producing his Berlin albums.

David Bowie (1977)

Dvid Bowie (Heroes Tour 1978)

Link to “Heroes” (Click Here)

Check out The David Bowie Resource Center: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1789895121229585/

DAVID BOWIE