Ken Scott - Devo - Duty Now For The Future

This album by Devo is one of the greatest albums ever made in my opinion. (Odd it is that many of the albums I think are some of the best made were engineered and produced by Ken Scott. Or Not.)

So, as has happened in the past, i.e. Crime Of The Century, I would love to pick Ken's brain about this date. The usual questions, such as, any outstanding memories of how the date transpired. How long did it take overall. Knowing a bit about the band members, there had to be some off the wall shenanigans.

As for technical stuff, I would love to know a lot of things but most of all, the drums. The drum sound on this album was tighter than any other Devo albums. Serious wallop! A recollection of mics or non-standard procedure, Ken?

For it's type of music, witty, satirical, raunchy, nobody did it like Devo. Well, before their watering down on Freedom Of Choice. In the end, just want to say thanks Ken for helping one of the greatest albums ever be what it was.

 

I too love this album, in particular "The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprize."

 

The packaging was pretty innovative (graphically) as well. Really bizarre!

 

I saw Devo on new years eve 1980. it was the Duty Now tour. GREAT concert. I have a bit more to post but it will have to wait - Sorry this work thing gets in the way sometimes.

 

Well, the US packaging was. The UK cover was fairly careless.

I know they story behind the cover art for the debut album, but I've never heard why Virgin didn't use the correct (?) US cover for the second effort.

 

I've never heard this album, but I've been meaning to pick it up for a long time. How does the Collectables CD sound?

 

Listening to it right now, this thread made me pull it out. I love it, lots better than the previous 2-fer Import that I used to have. It's actually my fave Devo album.
I think it sounds great, not too loud and I believe good sources were used, but who knows?

 

The only two versions (on CD) that I've heard are the UK Virgin twofer (pretty bad) and the US Infinite Zero (absolutely glorious).

 

Anybody order the Duty Now For The Future T-shirt? I meant to and put it off and never did. I was thinking about it again when I had some Devo albums out last month....the offer is on the inner sleeve.

 

I'd like to hear how the recent version stacks up against the Infinite Zero version. IZ was Henry Rollin's short-lived reissue label that put out some great cds, then vanished and they went oop. I only have the Gang Of Four's "Entertainment" on that label. Great cd!

 

Devo recently played in Spain.

 

I was a heavy Devo fan from 79-84. About 1985 I was dragged to a cousin of my friends little family party. So some girl there asks me what bands I like. I say Devo. She says " Really! I was Jerry Casales girlfriend about the time Duty Now was being recorded". She goes on "They were all living in one house. A very infantile bunch they were, always playing practical jokes on each other. After a year or so I just packed up and left while they were at the studio. I never said goodbye, I just got out of there".

So there ya' go, that's my Devo story

 

I've only heard bad things about the new Collectables CD.

I only have the IZ release, which I agree is great. Excellent bonus tracks, too.

Avoid the 2-for-1 Virgin CDs at all costs. I had the Duty Now/New Trad twofer at one point but it sounded terrible and had sound dropouts. Even Jerry Casale of the band publicly slammed those on the Club Devo website.

 

Huh, I always wondered where she went.

 

I agree with most of what you've said here. I'm a hardcore, obsessive Devo fan (they are either my #1 or #2 favorite band of all time, depending on when you ask me) and while I love many of their albums, for my money this is the only album where they really knocked it out of the park. The perfect balance of guitars, songwriting, energy and glorious, loud synths.

And Ken Scott is very much to thank for a lot of this. He's one of my favorite engineers/producers ever and I think it's interesting that he seemed to "get" what the band was about far better than even Brian Eno (who I think made them sound thin and brittle on Q&A). I too would love to hear any stories he has about these sessions.

I don't agree that "Freedom Of Choice" was a watering down of their sound, necessarily. I love the first five albums. To me, it didn't get questionable until "Shout" and, especially, "Total Devo."

 

Err...which one? Is there an offer in the Collectibles CD or something?

I got a wonderful "Oh, No! It's DEVO" jersey from Club Devo two years ago. It is my favorite shirt that I own, period. I've already worn it a ton and would like to buy another but it looks like they may not be making any more!

 

Keymaster said, "I don't agree that "Freedom Of Choice" was a watering down of their sound, necessarily. I love the first five albums. To me, it didn't get questionable until "Shout" and, especially, "Total Devo."

That's ok that you don't agree. Freedom of Choice was the album I was introduced to Devo with, then New Traditionalists. Then I went and bought Duty and was completely floored by how much more radical the songwriting was. The 1st 2 albums immediately became my favorites.

I saw them live on the Oh No! tour. One amazing show.

 

Great album. I remember that I didn't like it the first time I heard it, but it really grew on me quickly.

 

Strange Pursuit is a fantastic tune. I must play the LP when I get home.

 

Crank that thing up KeninDC!

Yeah, this album by the way cannot be played quietly.

 

I love the Duty album, but to me their greatest will always be the debut with Eno producing. However, Wiggly World is a killer track, and there are many others great tracks on the album!

Total Devo is also a favorite of mine and my daughter's too. She used to dance to it a lot when she was past the toddler stage, and still likes it as a young adult. We love the more elaborate percussion and advanced sampling techniques they used on that "comeback" album, although the lyrics and melodies are a little dry.

 

Gee, thanks.

"Freedom" was also my introduction to the band, at the tender age of three.

I think I'd put "Oh No!" right behind those first two, although "New Trad" was my second favorite for a long time. Truthfully, it's very hard for me to rank those first five. I don't like how their middle period stuff gets written off.

One interesting thing to consider is that almost all the songs on both of the first two albums had been around for a while before they were recorded. Devo had been playing a lot of those songs live and had recorded 4-track home demos of a few of them as well. What I've always wondered, then, is how they decided which songs would go on which album.

 

Very dry! I really cannot stand that record...and I have tried. This comment, as well as others I've heard from people who like the album, kind of confirms my thought that "Total Devo" isn't much more than a flimsy dance record.

I like "Smoothnoodlemaps" quite a bit, though.

 

Oops... There was more to what I was going to type but I got into the second part before I thought to finish it. I meant to conclude after that, "It's only opinion afterall." Attention defecit disorder man.

And we all know how subjective opinion is, eh?