Devo - Hardcore Devo Vol.2

Following my previous post on Devo's Hardcore Devo Vol.1, a collection of Devo demos released in compilation form, this is the second volume. It contains more songs than the first and runs longer overall. Vol. 2 came out in 1991 and is currently out of print. In my review of the first volume I noted that Devo fans of their first few albums wouldn't have trouble digesting the demos because although stripped down and weirder sounding, they were still quintessentially Devo at the roots. The second volume takes the band's early musical experimentation much further. Unlike the first volume, I don't think any of the demos on this album ever develop and reappear on later albums. Amongst the experimental exploits found within, are some truly straight up Devo rock songs, with relatively normal song structures and writing. "A Plan For U" is a good example of this.


Devo - "A Plan For U"

The guitar flies around a bit looser than you'd typically expect from a Devo song, and you can hear the rock influence while the bass and percussion keep one tempo and beat through the entirety of the song. Vocals singing short lyrical lines, nothing earth-shattering. This is an example of how well the band can yam up the rock sound when they feel like it despite their penchant for pushing and experimenting with sounds.

There's songs like "Fountain of Filth" that with a few touch ups, would fit right in on their third album the 1980 released Freedom of Choice, and considering that most of these songs were written around '74-76, its easy to see why the stuff on these albums is so good, its all right around the band's peak years. "U Got Me Bugged" appeared on old video (dvd?) I saw awhile back, its got to be one of the weirdest, yet awesome songs within.


Devo - "Be Stiff"

You'd be hard-pressed to find a better/harder beat in any Devo song. Another lyrically sexualized song with a steady rhythm and percussive beat. Vocals and synth accent the bass kick drum beat. Guitar is mixed way in the back unfortunately, but isn't really the lead instrument on the song anyways.

There's even a cover of Lee Dorsey's "Working in a Coalmine". The instrumental songs within range from atmospheric synth creations to warped up robotic voices with little melody. These types of songs tend to be fewer in number with the majority of songs feeling like true song in the traditional sense, just stripped down. The last song "Let's Go" is a goofy triumphant cheer that in its mocking of anthems closes this collection of oddities nicely. As I mentioned previously, this and the first volume of Hardcore Devo are out of print. At the time of writing this I was able to find a few copies here at Amazon and this site claims to have both albums for download (free?).