Shout (Ri)

Devo's "Shout" will not appeal to anyone who only liked their first album. If you found "Freedom of Choice" or (especially) "New Traditionalists" too synth-y, you'll have nightmares after listening to this one.

However, if you're not so close minded and like your old Devo with some nice sounding beats and keyboard riffs in place of live drums and spaghetti-western-faux-punk guitar, you'll absolutely love this.

It's nicely produced, for the most part. Yes, it's straining a bit here -- and it went right over the top with the upcoming crap fest "Total Devo" -- but for dancey synth pop, the production suits the songs like a glove.

And while the lyrics are lesser than those of other Devo albums (at least the ones before this), they're still noticably funny and intelligent, and considering what kind of music this is, it's a welcome plus.

That doesn't mean the music sounds like any other synth pop band -- it still sounds like Devo. Just not as odd.

If I were you, I'd listen to some samples or something first. Not many people I know like this. But, as it is, it's quite enjoyable.

Ok, that was KISS...but it really does apply to DEVO's final album for the WB. There were a few problems for the band in the three year lapse between "Shout" and "Oh No," not the least of which was that DEVO was feuding with their record company. It seems that, in the almost 5 years since "Whip It" had made them a household name, DEVO's lack of hits had made WB look at them as an anachronism. So when "Shout" came along, complete with a hilarious video/cover of Jimi Hendrix' "Are You Experienced," there was no-one left to champion the band.

Darn shame, that! This album is as good as "Freedom Of Choice" or "New Traditionalists," and much better than "Oh No." First off, the band drops the gimmick-per-album stance that marred "Oh No" for more straight-forward playing. It gives the album a significantly edgier sound, especially the call to arms of the title track. There are a few interesting additions to the always present de-evolution themes in "The Fourth Dimension" (the girl gets tired of the 3-d world and leaves Mark behind), and in "Puppet Boy's" narrative of non-conformity.

Since the climate for DEVO had shifted considerably, these great songs had to wait for "Pioneers Who Got Scalped" to get more visibility. But now that "Shout" is once again loose in CD racks everywhere (I was lucky enough to find a Japanese import over 10 years ago), I highly recommend grabbing it.

As a music collector I find bad music can be entertaining like a bad movie. This is a good example. I love the Hendrix cover. I enjoy it 100 times more than the original, but other than that, "Puppet Boy" and "The Fourth Dimension" are the only other songs that I really enjoy. That said "Here To Go", great lyrics, has made me appreciate it since it has been included in all their hits packages, and "Shout" is not bad. Even though I know the rest is bad I still listen too it and I don't even look at car accidents. Probably the worst Devo album, but one I still like.