Devo

Freedom Of Choice

Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/release/2511199-Devo-Freedom-Of-Choice

Year Of Release: 1980

Review

Although I grew up in a town bereft of FM radio (and so many other things) until I was in my late teens, I knew about Devo (and Freedom Of Choice in particular) thanks primarily to late night sessions with Rage. This was my first experience of a Devo album, and I was hooked from the first track. And while Whip It was the mainstream breakthrough on this album, there are so many tracks on this album that really highlight how amazing this band was, both politically and technically. Devo made me realise that it was okay to think about things differently to other people. Particularly if those people were athletically gifted. Girl U Want is my favourite track from the album, but I’m just as happy if you put on Gates Of Steel or Planet Earth (both still in high rotation on my daily driver). If you’re a fan of the album, I thoroughly recommend checking out Evie Nagy’s book in the 33 1/3 series. I originally purchased this on cassette at the local music store in my town (Chandlers) in the early nineties, and was happy to grab Australian and Japanese vinyl pressings when I got older. This is an album worth revisiting in totality, rather than just via selected tracks.

Rating: 9/10.