Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo
DevoFuck yeah
Fuck yeah
Unbelievably strong start, drags a bit in the middle but closes strong.
Surprisingly varied in the back half. “Brass in Pocket” still slaps. Could do without “Private Life”.
Side 1 is flawless Side 2 is also great
Surprised at how few of these tracks had staying power. Also the skits are so corny. Totally missed it when I was a kid, but the Dee Barnes line seems legitimately shocking today — genuinely felt subversive as opposed to the bland shocking violence of other tracks.
Bursts out of the gate. Might have enough hits to get a five rating if the album were 35 minutes long, but the filler drags it down.
Holiday Inn was a great side two gem
The harms are immaculate, and it grooves in offensively throughout, but it needs more bops.
The first track so strong that the rest of the album struggles to measure up. Atom Dance and Quicksand are also good.
39 👍 The Prophet’s Song 👎
Classic Depeche Mode in that is sometimes awesome industrial/new wave stuff (Never Let Me Down Again) and sometimes way too goofy vampire rock (Little 15, Pimpf).
Pleasant as hell. Could put this on in the background while cooking or hosting a dinner party anytime.
The jams that rock are better than the jams that meander.
Hard to assess this in a future where is was so influential (feels like a dime a dozen movie montage backing track now but was probably very cool when it came out). It was pretty groovy though.
I prefer the uptempo stuff.
Holds up
Loved the first half and was sure it was on pace for five stars, but the meandering instrumentals of the second half weren’t my thing.
Pretty replacement level
Put this off all day, and when I got around to listening it was even worse than expected. I like a few of their lore melodic songs on Toxcitity but this album is wall-to-wall incoherence. Feels like self-parody. Wish I could give it zero stars.
Incredibly easy five stars. Almost no missteps (not a huge fan of Obviously Five Believers).
Side 2 GOATED
Doesn’t hold up as well as I’d hope. Still has some good tracks but there are too many maudlin middle ground tracks here.
I can see how this was influential, and it is groovy, but a bit too long and same-y for me.
A few nice moments (e.g., Open The Light) save this from getting only 1 star, but it is mostly a boring slog.
She really could sing.
Some decent jams, and no real bad songs. Still, it is interesting to see how much filler there is in the Queen catalog.
I don’t like this.
Surprisingly pleasant. I wouldn’t mind listening to this again, but wouldn’t actively put in on.
Stone cold classic
Some good tunes. Some mellow tunes. Some forgettable tunes.
Mildly funky/jazzy tunes. Few standouts.
I didn’t dislike any songs, but didn’t love any either.
When the album started with a nice Satie cover I thought “hey maybe my preconceived notions about this band were wrong” then Galway through that song they did a dramatic style shift to absolutely confirm my preconceived notions. Every good song is derailed by some dumb jam. Spinning Wheel does slap (even though it would be a lot better without the jam and the dumb flute (?) part).
This is my jam
Another Depeche Mode where I enjoy the hits but not the filler. I might go a star higher if Enjoy the Silence didn’t have the hidden track appended, which makes it much less playlist-friendly (and is bad in the flow of the album).
Got in a car accident while taking my extremely sick kid to the pediatrician while listening to this which may have cost it a star.
It’s insane that Dancing in the Dark might not be in the best half of songs on this album. Strong five stars.
Some classics (Psycho Killer, don’t worry about the government, new feeling) but there are a few stretches that get a bit same-y.
Lots of goofy stuff in here but the music is good throughout and it has Pinball Wizard.
The Wizard was a pleasant gem. The rest was fine as well — better when bluesy, like The Wizard, than when it was metal-y. I liked it less than their second album.
Has gotten better with age.
I give this one a big hell yeah.
Really drops off after suite Judy blue eyes.
It’s good! It’s funky!
Not sure if this is four stars or just three stars that hits better bc it is in my sweet spot.
Is P-Funk my favorite band?
The purest distillation of the 90s
Haunting and beautiful but it does get same-y.
The songs that slap, slap. But there is a lot of filler.
Up and down, many forgettable stretches (the cross)
A bit heavy handed, but interesting beats. The Dead Kennedys cover is neat. .
Good T. rex. Ballrooms of mars is great
Very good. A few high highs and no real lows.
This rips so hard.
The Beatles are underrated
Good harms, needs more bops.
Fun
Very interesting and enjoyable.
Classic
I miss this 90s flow
Jury is out on which way those guys'll go. They're a lot of fun, and James Taylor is one of the most proficient bass players in the UK at the moment, giving them a funky edge.
Chill vibes. Vocals a bit grating.
One of the best to ever do it operating at her peak. Opening tracks unassailable. Waking the witch is pretty wack.
Simply the best
Didn’t remember how great this is start to finish. No real weak spots (maybe “Motivator”, which is a less good version of Bang and Gong)
Inoffensive, but not particularly notable.
Has some nice moments (e.g., parts of I’ve Seen All Good People) but they are all ruined by overly long, complicated noodley songwriting.
I know it is cool to like ABBA now but besides some obvious skill at writing hooks, I just don’t find much to really latch onto.
It rocks but gets a bit longwinded at times.
Power pop beauties
With apologies to the people I follow on Twitter, this is just jazzy nothing music.
Meandering at time but has some undeniable bangers.
Fuck yeah
Punishingly boring
Up and down (what the hell was “cars are cars”), but the man can write some chunes.
More chillers than I remembered.
Much better than I expected
Music to build furniture to
One standout track (another girl another planet)
Greatly preferred the funky tracks to the sultry, soulful tracks.
Comes strong out of the gate. Then peters out a bit
Good stuff but I couldn’t get fully into it
A bit of a bore
Roadrunner and Girlfriend are all-time great songs. The rest of the album is similarly great but not as revelatory.
Definitely understand why it is here — emblematic of a scene/vibe that was very big (though I’d probably choose Merriweather Post Pavilion as the representative) — but as a person who was into that scene at the time I always felt this type of music was overrated. Looking back now it still feels overrated.
starts to drone in the last half but the first half really goes.
There is really nothing here.
Always disappointing when the first song in the record is the best one.
A few solid riffs, but otherwise nothing to care about.
it’s amazing how good the instrumental tracks in this album are
A few solid tunes, but it is long and the weirder stuff doesn’t work for me. The last song is so bad it leaves you on a sour note and makes it hard to accurately judge the album.
Wears out its welcome toward the end but enjoyable.
The beautiful songs are beautiful. I’ve never liked the murder mystery.
Gorgeous— everything is free is an all timer.
despite being over the top, it is good throughout.
Packed with classics
Has that great Husker Du song craft but wears out its welcome.
I found this very boring.
The uptempo songs sound like a great local bar band. The downtempo songs sound like a more boring Smiths.
Classic
All killer
With fresh ears it is interesting how much heavy lifting Parliament does for this album.
I like other Butthole Surfers albums, but this was unlistenable. I don’t know if it was important in the development of a noise/freakout scene, but even if it was I can’t see how it merits inclusion.
Groovy, funky, old school
Hard to assess something with so many ubiquitous, but similar, songs.
Rocks hard. Enjoyable throughout. Doesn’t feel essential.
Other bands have done this better.
The grooves on this album are surprisingly good but it is still an era of techno that I have little interest in
Likely the most formative album in my music listening career. Six stars.
This album tops out at enjoyable but inessential, and bottoms out at deeply embarrassing (“I Need You Tonight”, “I Got the Six”).
Solid Joni, but the very over the top jazzy stuff brings it down.
Surprisingly Christian? Some good funky jams too.
I enjoyed this quite a bit but likely wouldn’t put it in regular rotation.
Very replaceable. Like echo and the bunny men without any edge.
Probably my favorite album of all time. Six stars.
Feels incredibly dated.
Had high hopes after the first track but it really tailed off. It did make rememebr this all-time great tweet so that was nice: “uk rappers be like she suck on my willy it’s quite delightful if i catch you in west gloucestershire you’ll catch the rifle”
Meatloaf is so funny because he basically sings musical theater songs about fucking, but then the album art is like a panel from demon superhero comic.
Funky
Generic background music for a movie scene that takes place in a club. Don’t know why it is included on the list… maybe it invented that sound or something?
A bit too much freakout at times, but sister ray is a banger.
There were nice moments within songs but I didn’t like any songs start to finish.
Solidly enjoyable.
Alt country stuff is good. A bit too noisy for my liking at times.
Just a bit too polished for me, but some great tracks.
Smooth but complex. Enjoyable.
This seems like a joke record.
Shocked at how much I loved this.
Enjoyed it less as it went along, but still solid.
Still so funny to me that hip millennials have convinced themselves that Steely Dan is good.
Easy five stars. Great from open to close.
Boring
Paul McCartney can really write some catchy tunes. Unfortunately be it the lack of a solid collaborative band or the 70s influence, these just aren’t interesting.
So many great songs on here. There are a few that don’t grab me but still five stars overall.
This album doesn’t have enough songs about buildings or food.
Good and funky.
I can see how this is influential, but can’t imagine I’ll listen again.
Unlike the last album, his flow is undeniable here and it makes it more understandable that he became so huge. But the edginess sure is cringey.
Awesome uptempo afrobeat
Sounds like circus music a bit too often. But it has some bangers when it goes for more straightforward rock.
Cheesy eighties schmaltz. The first song sounded a bit cowpunky right at the end and I got excited it might improve, but that was the high point of the album.
I prefer their stuff that rocks a bit harder, but this has some nice songs.
First two tracks are amazing. It stays solid but never reaches those heights again.
Not for me.
Too thrashy. Needs more tunes.
Nice harms. Songs hold up pretty well.
Undeniably beautiful, but a bit too old fashioned and same-y for me.