I was a little late to Devo, a friend gave me the Freedom of Choice cassette (still have it) when it came out in 1980 (he also gave me ACDC's Back in Black cassette that same year, still have that too). Later I discovered their early stuff, most of which I have picked up on vinyl over the years, and as with moist bands they earlier the better, because as time goes on a band tends to water their stuff down. Not sure why that is, but Freedom of Choice, their last good album is still my favorite, every song kills it...holy shit I played the hell out of that cassette. My son recently asked me for a Devo mixed CD, which got me to thinking about what some of my favorite tunes were. I'd have to say the number one tune is "Gates of Steel"... Twist away the gates of steel Unlock the secret voice Give in to ancient noise Take a chance a brand new dance Twist away the gates of steel Twist away Now twist and shout The earth it moves too slow But the earth is all we know We pay to play the human way Twist away the gates of steel A man is real Not made of steel But the earth is all we know We pay to play the human way Twist away the gates of steel The beginning was the end Of everything now The ape regards his tail He's stuck on it Repeats until he fails Half a goon and half a god A man's not made of steel Twist away Now twist and shout The earth it moves too slow But the earth is all we know We pay to play the human way Twist away the gates of steel A man is real that's how he feels
This here live vid from 1980 is just about the most perfect performance ever, to have been a fly on the wall. I had a chance to see them sometime in the mid-80s at the Forum in LA, my buddy had tickets in hand. Of course his opinion of the show was that it was epic. This will have to do, imagining myself there...
[video width="450" height="360" mp4="http://mustard-relics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Devo-Gates-of-Steel-Live-1980-MVDvisual.mp4"][/video] The audio in case it iPod! worthy...
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