Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo

Produced by Brian Eno, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! was a seminal touchstone in the development of American new wave. It was one of the first pop albums to use synthesizers as an important textural element, and although they mostly play a supporting role in this guitar-driven set, the innovation began to lay the groundwork for the synth-pop explosion that would follow very shortly. It also doesn't hurt that this is arguably Devo's strongest set of material, though several brilliant peaks can overshadow the remainder. Of those peaks, the most definitive are the de-evolution manifesto "Jocko Homo" (one of the extremely few rock anthems written in 7/8 time) and a wicked deconstruction of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," which reworks the original's alienation into a spastic freak-out that's nearly unrecognizable. But Q: Are We Not Men? also had a conceptual unity that bolstered the consistent songwriting, making it an essential document of one of new wave's most influential bands.

Where is "Whip It"

Strong hat game.

Probably got the fifth star because I listened while going for a run and it helped me along

Great album! It was like a crazy mix of the ramones and the beach boys

So nice I listed to it twice. It's only 35 minutes long. I had this, on vinyl. In 1980. Maybe even earlier.

Great satire delivered in solid music

What a waste of time and energy. Why this is on the list, I have no idea but it needs to be removed. It's just utter shit.

Like listening to a blueprint of what was to come in 1980s.

Smithers, have the B-52's killed.

invested 34 minutes during my morning ablutions to discover i do not like Devo. that talk-singing with shitty surf rock riffs doesnt do it for me. i cant believe i listened to the whole thing

Irritating for the most part and I felt like it was an inside joke that I didn’t get.

Devo arrive at their first album fully formed - a bunch of geeky clowns dismantling rock 'n' roll on record, all in service of a sinister, shadowy credo that humanity is going backwards. You're never too sure whether they're joking or not, and that ambivalence lurking in the heart of Q: Are We Not Men? forms a huge part of their appeal. The other is their weird, stiff, hysterical motorik music. There's not a bad track here, and many real highlights. Strange sounds, played with intent and determination.

dunno if i'm a man or devo any more.

This album kicks ass. 70s pop-punk with fat riffs and some ethereal 80s sounds that were clearly ahead of their time.

Starts with the fucking Devo guy singing "yeah, yuh-yuh-yeah yeah yeah!" over and over, moves on to the least essential Rolling Stones cover in history, and somehow goes downhill from there. All of the thumbs down. Best track: Space Junk

Super fun and energetic. Could see most of these songs being in a movie soundtrack.

10/10 I love new wave

But Q: Are We Not Men? also had a conceptual unity that bolstered the consistent songwriting, making it an essential document of one of new wave's most influential bands.

*Tom Brady showing his plastic surgeon this album cover* yeah I wanna look like him doc

For me, listening to this album for the first time all the way through was a bit like discovering as a kid that your dad cheats on his taxes or keeps porno mags under the bed, in other words that he's a not a superhero, but just a regular flawed human being. The problem is, I've had Devo's greatest hits collection for a decade or so and I guess a part of me was expecting that kind of unabashed brilliance from their debut album. Completely unfair. Most of Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! is merely very good rather than brilliant. One nice surprise is that, even though the songwriting isn't for the most part at the level of masterpieces like Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy or Jocko Homo, the production completely slaps. For a pop album, QAWNMWAD easily boasts the most well thought out synth patches of 1978. Yes, getting an appropriate synth sound is easier when your stock in trade is satire, like Devo, or tongue in cheek pop deconstruction, like The Cars, but the range of decent synth sounds on QAWNMWAD is impressive nonetheless. I suspect a lot of that is producer Brian Eno's doing. He also does a beautiful job of balancing the various elements of Devo's sound. The guitars are crisp and the vocals have just the right amount of echo and reverb. I love the way the bass is processed on Mongoloid, with a clean, springy sound up front with almost imperceptible tweaks that create depth. Eno's production manages to be both immediate and deep. You can elect to groove along on the surface, but there's a lot going on in these tracks if you care to drill down. Another thing I gained an appreciation for is the basic musicianship of the band, which is apparent even in the lesser tracks. Drummer Alan Myers is the glue that holds the band together. His big robotic beats are a major part of Devo's sound, and he handles the tricky time signatures and section shifts with aplomb. Singer Mark Mothersbaugh is a maniac--I love his phrasing and energy, which never flags. It's not easy to do full on satire and rock out at the same time. But what about the songs themselves? Well, most of the compositions, like Come Back Jonee, are built on short snippets with layered, interlocking rhythms. Much of the interest comes in these tunes comes from the performances, the arrangements, the production touches, and the amusing and thoughtful lyrics, which is admittedly far from nothing. But these songs feel like an additional section or two or some twist would have pushed them into classic territory. The one discovery here is Too Much Paranoias, which is possibly just as nuts as Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy although a lot less commercial. Yes, it's built on one riff, but the melody is practically atonal, and there's that improvised bridge in the middle of the tune. Pure insanity, in a good way. I dunno. Yes, Devo's style is unique and a lot of fun. The playing, production, and arrangements are first rate. And there are a handful of outright classics on this album. But I can't give this a 5/5 because of there are just too many songs that feel like underachievers.

PREFS : TOUT MOINS PREF : RIEN

wavy

Q: Is this yet another classic album produced by Brian Eno? A: Why, yes it is.

Dug it. Dug it good.

No. 212/1001 Uncontrollable Urge 3/5 I Can't Get No Satisfaction 3/5 Praying Hands 3/5 Space Junk 2/5 Mongoloid 3/5 Jocko Homo 2/5 Toro Much Paranoias 2/5 Gut Feeling 2/5 Come Back Jonee 3/5 Sloppy 2/5 Shrivel-Up 2/5 Average: 2,45 Post-Punk is just not my thing. I know you want to do something different than the artistas before you. But how about making something that is enjoyable to listen to?

Certainly they transcend the novelty act trap (and memories) but don’t get to actual substance or any real merit beyond the occasional chuckle or non-negligible cleverness. “Satisfaction’ works pretty well and “Gut Feeling” is the closest to straight-up effectiveness in the New Wave/indie rock vein – but there’s a saminess has the satire wearing thin before too long. One likes the commitment to doing something different and pretty damn original without loving the output. In time, the funny hats would make it hard to take the music seriously; one wonders if they were taking the piss out of their fans or who took whom too seriously (or not seriously enough). One doesn’t think enough of the product to be inspired to consider the depth or poignancy of the social satire (consumer culture is a pretty fat target) or how this fares as performance art. (That it was on the radio makes pop music the main genre. Were they merely a less serious Talking Heads? Were they outdone by their spiritual heirs (e.g., They Might Be Giants, Dead Milkmen and Magnetic Fields)? 2.5 > 2

Today I learned this album came out in 1978, and yet I think of it as the quintessential 80s album in all their best ways. Delightfully weird, wonderfully produced, silly and musically sophisticated at the same time. Post - punk for the win.

Fuck yeah

Unnngh - love this Devo album! I saw them live at a festival in Japan in like 2008, and they looked like a bunch of portly middle aged men in yellow jumpsuits and funny hats, but they sounded exactly the same. I was convinced they were miming and kinda bummed out, but then towards the end of the set the singer started to get slightly out of breath and it became apparent that they’re just awesome and can recreate their sound from the glory days at will…. 😆 Fave track - "Gut Feeling / (Slap Your Mammy)" is just so so good. Love the moody intro to "Mongoloid" too...

This was an awesome album. Great recommendation.

Kanonplatta med åtskilliga hits. Ägde skivan som ung och den gick varm på skivspelaren. Mongoloid är en av världens bästa låtar dessutom.

Seminal …. Fruits all through the 80s and beyond … with Devo and Dave Byrne/talking heads … Something was brewing

Wicked awesome dudes!

The “Satisfaction” cover is a canny tutorial on how to listen to this charismatic, staccato squadron of bangers and curiosities.

The spunky guitar riffs and sharp vocals are simultaneously very infectious and slightly annoying, as intended. "Jocko Homo" and "Come Back Jonee" perfect examples, "Satisfaction" perhaps a bit too sarcastic. "Mongoloid" is a long-term favorite, lyrics easily adaptable to tease/mock your person of choice at any given time. Utterly great in limited doses.

They are Devo. 7/10

it’s absolutely insane that this album came out in the 70s. so incredibly ahead of its time it’s hard to even conceptualize. mark mothersbaugh is so cool

Hell yeah. Excellent album. I was a little disappointed looking at the tracklist to not see "Whip It," if that gives you any idea what kind of Devo fan I am. But the first track I recognized instantly from a Tony Hawk game, absolutely love "Uncontrollable Urge" and would never in a million years guessed that was Devo. Loved their rendition of Satisfaction, and overall it's just a really cool exploratory album. It's more punk rock than new wave, but you can hear the origins of new wave forming - this was made in 1978! That's so crazy to me. Just a really creative album, totally worth including. Also, funniest track title maybe of all time award goes to "Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin')." No way they could've known what that would mean 45 years later. Favorite tracks: Uncontrollable Urge, Satisfaction, Mongoloid, Jocko Homo, Come Back Jonee, Sloppy. Album art: Absolutely love it, iconic for sure. Bold, bright colors, a nice '50s utopian style portrait of a man's head on, what, a golf ball? Not sure the rhyme or reason to any of this, but it rocks. 4.5/5

Devo is so fucking weird in the right way.

This album rules. Super fun, very unique, lots to love about it. I sometimes like how subtle the electronic instrument use is, other times I feel like it could be a little more emphasized, but overall a solid record.

listened on my lunch break, deserved a more sincere listen and review sorry bout it. Liked what I was hearing 3.5/5

Really fun record that still feels timely, with exciting angular melodies and often quite funny lyrics. Only mildly dated by its production. Can hear the influence in a lot of today's post punk. Fave track: Too Much Paranoias

What a treat - so easy to enjoy the punchy and unique stylings and fun instrumentation. Seems completely original and innovative compared to some of the other rock and post-punk outfits of the time. Weird and a total joy. Fave track: Come Back Jonee

Perhaps the most bizarre album I have ever enjoyed - it really is very strange. I'm not sure it is one of the best 1001, or one of the most important 1001, but it is certainly interesting and I am glad to have heard it. Pretty much every track has the germ of a pop song in it, but then buried under many layers of bizarreness.

This is one of those albums I bought recently because everyone should own this record on vinyl. For novelty and nostalgic reasons, Devo is one of those one-of-a kind bands that had an interesting concept and took it as far as they could. I first saw them on TV (SNL or Fridays?) around this time and well, they were hilarious! Personally, I liked them best on the early albums, as their sound was fresh and exciting on the debut, but loses steam towards the end. Still an enjoyable listen and you can't help, but visualize those goofy hats.

This is very much music of its era, the late 70s where electronic music and synthesisers were becoming quite common. Music was changing,to me this wss the foundation of the 80s pop sound. There are similarities with Talking Heads. This is fun, humerous music and less confrontational than the contemporary punk sound coming from the Clash, the Pistols and Iggy Pop. it is fun to listento, but sounds very 70s

Q. What does SHACK eat for breakfast? A. Lamb chops.

I don't think I've ever listened to a Devo album all the way through before. As someone who grew up with MTV, they made such a big visual impact on my young eyeballs that the music has always been somewhat secondary. And I'm still not positive if I'm supposed to take the music itself seriously... but I kinda don't care. There's a general tone and feeling that came through while listening to the collection of songs here that I enjoyed overall. I don't like the Stones cover and I agree with Craig that the songs aren't as strong as I'd hoped for, especially thinking in comparison to that album we listened to recently from The Cars. But again this one is more about the feeling and it gave me a good one. Plus, I got to have a meeting with Mark Mothersbaugh once and he couldn't have been nicer. Their offices had weird instruments laying around and was exactly what I hoped it would be. Towards the end of the meeting, Mark had to leave to go talk to David O'Russell about scoring one of his films and asked if I'd rather go in his place. Ha. Top 10 moment in my entire film endeavor.

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I think DEVO is one of the most important bands to appear in my lifetime. It's fairly tragic that they ended up signed to Warner Brothers, who treated them so poorly, even to the point of the master tapes for their albums being damaged and lost.

caraio esse eh bem mais punk do que eu achei que seria. new wave bem peculiar, bem maluco e meio nerd (pela estética, eu acho). bem interessante, eh tem uma pegada de post-punk também, viu. no mais, belíssimos synths e guitarradas, hein. eh esquisito, eh dançante, eh a porra toda, que isso. mais um pra eu ficar obcecado, graças a deus. achei pedradaça DEMAIS!!!!!

Eno = good

Man there is a lot here that should not work. DEVO is full of that 80's New Wave cheese that I tend to hate but there is just a charm and a sort of almost punk attitude to the way they do things that lets it not only stand above the rest of it's contemporaries but elevate to a truly great album. 9/10

First album I've gotten from this list that I am actually familiar with. I listened to Gut Feeling 203 times last year. I think this album may be good

Weird and goofy. Yeah I'm a fan. Heard the first song from MTV.

9/10 Forever I thought that DEVO was a novelty. I still think that. I love them. 11-12-2025

10 stars. The pride of Akron, Ohio. Spuds forever!

Wild that this came out in 1978. Already knew and liked "Uncontrollable Urge" but also enjoyed "Jocko Homo" "Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy" and "Come Back Jonee" a lot.

As one half of famous New Wave pioneers Houmous & Chutney I can really appreciate this record. Shame it involved Eno. Len Houmous hates Eno. Never forgave him for eating his last rolo. He was saving it for Joni Mitchell! 4.5 1/10 Uncontrollable Urge

This is the easiest review so far as I already have this album and love it. Devo have their own style within the electronica genre , I played this loud and was dancing round the kitchen to most songs and such fun to listen to

If you don't love DEVO you don't love music

Dope

This is the album that galvanized me and made me a fan despite knowing them just as the “Whip It” band as a kid. It’s wild to me that this sound started in the 70s as it sounds so quintessentially 80s. True pioneers.

This is rad, kinda like parquet courts and the talking heads

Zany, eclectic, satirical, and full of nervous energy, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! makes for an awesome debut with many standouts. I can see myself returning to this, it’s just such a fun album.

I've got an uncontrollable urge... to give DEVO five stars. yeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeah

>>> the Beatles This rules

I absolutely love this. The spirit, the originality, the serious philosophical underpinnings (De-evolution) without a hint of self-seriousness in the music. The 2024 documentary (DEVO) is fantastic - delving into the nature of art and the artistic process as it intersects with commerce.

Just crazy how unique this all is. In a world of rock stars, these guys took it in a totally different direction. And their interpretation of Satisfaction is their manifesto of a new world.

Classic

Great way to start a Sunday. Walking my dog in my bucolic neighborhood. Legends, no doubt. Baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby….

I honestly loved this. It was weird, but it was authentically weird. I don't think these guys were trying to appear edgy or cool like so much of the punk/new wave bands we've heard. I think they were just weird freaks in the best possible way. Reminds me a bit of the B-52s in that way. That cover of Satisfaction as track 2 on a debut album was a bold choice as well.

Punk. Nerd. Transcendent.

An all time classic. Short and sweet, Devo just leaving us all in their dust.

Unquestionably one of my favorite albums from this project. I only knew a couple Devo songs, but I loved every single song on this. 5/5 no notes.

A great Devo album. A great album.

The best.

Hold the lettuce, hold the cheese. More Devo, please! Every song is a lemme here that spanker again!

I've known it for a long time. I love it. It's a classic. ARE WE NOT MEN we are devo

Now we're talking! I've been a huge fan of this wonky-pop classic since I was about 18. Just brilliant stuff. Favourite tracks: Uncontrollable Urge, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, Praying Hands, Mongoloid, Jocko Homo (that 7/8 time signature is TOO good), Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy, Shrivel-Up.

Imagine the balls it takes to take one of rocks quintessential cool songs and cover it in the most uncool way. And I'm doing so, make it incredibly cool in a completely different way. Devo is all punk in style. Damn expectations, damn coolness. Let's be angular. Let's make weird sounds. Let's sing the Burger King motto. Their declarative Jocko Homo stretches out like Bohemian Rhapsody, changing rhythms and tones, doing odd time signatures and riff counts, all to the backdrop of the call and response "Are we not men? We are Devo!" Uncontrollable Urge is a top tier punk track and a hell of a way to start off an album. These guys are the most confident dorks I've ever heard. And they paved a way for future dork bands like Weezer and Pavement. Every second of this was weirdo gold.

LOVE Devo. 5*

Splendid! We are ALL Devo! Ground breaking album. Classic whether you like it or not. Major game changer in the scope of modern rock.

Always loved this album.

There are two kinds of people in this world: fans of Devo and those who don't understand Devo. We are all Devo. Personal enjoyment: 5/5 Relevance to this list: 5/5

In it's time and today, Q. Are We Not Men?, Devo's debut album, is one of the most unique offerings in tbe world of weird New Wave, or any rock album. Full of quirky rhythms, strange lyrics, and espousing the theory of Devolution, it is not for everyone. Only the truly cool will get it.

29/05/2025 I'm surprised how much i actually like this album.

Great fun

Ye ye ye ye get’em Devo. Sounds like a lost Talking Heads album. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it having never really listened to Devo before. Jocko Homo got kind of grating but the rest is straight 🔥

It's weird and it's subversive and best of all you can dance to it. The world needs more music like this.

Devo is such a fun band and this debut album is full of catchy tunes.

I'm very torn. This damn app doesn't allow for half stars. Is this a 4 star album? Or is this a 5 star album? My gut says it deserves 4.5 stars but that's not an option. This is a real Sophie's choice... but worse. My only real criticism of the album is they could cut a song or two... and not because those songs are bad. They just don't live up to the classic level of the rest of the album. The problem is they're both right at the end which leaves the album on a strange note. For that reason... I'll give it a (see star number below). This album has everything I want in a rock album. It's catchy. It's weird. It's funny. It's abrasive. It's original. It sounds good. It has variety. It has a strong point of view. It has great album art. The intros to every track are iconic. And it kicks the ever-loving piss out of whip it. I wish i had discovered it at 16 instead of 26. When I make music, this is what I aspire to create. Highlights: Uncontrollable Urge, Space Junk and Come Back Jonee are just so catchy Jocko Homo is hilarious with it's "are we not men?" chorus Their rolling stones cover is so great and weird. I really believe that these men are dissatisfied. Mic jagger on the other hand is doing just fine... satisfied even. I love the dissonance of Too Much Paranoias Gut Feeling is just a rollercoaster I never want to get off Mongoloid and Praying Hands... they're just great fuckin' tracks Stop what you're doing and listen to this album.

meeega fed. Mere postpunk end new wave. Jeg hørte den to gange, det har jeg ikke gjort med et nyt (for mig) album siden Sparks. Space Junk 👌👌👌👌

still so baffling to me that eno produced this, i love the stories that the band hated everything he said to do and just waited for bowie to show up to remix the album. anyways its one of the best of all time

THIS SHIT ROCKS! THIS IS MY JAM! THANK YOU DEVO! Fav ones: Uncontrollable Urge, Mongoloid, Gut Feeling.

Are we Not Men? We Are DEVO

Fucking incredible. I think jocko homo could be the number one song I wish I wrote. It gets me fucking amped

YAH FUCK YEAH WOW YEAH UH HUH

RAD!!