How on earth does an album go missing? Simple, never talk about it. I’ve known of DEVO for a very long time, like I’m sure a lot of people have. I always liked their hits and some of their more obscure stuff, they had a good place in my heart. Last year they released a 50 year collection with 50 songs, ranging from the biggest hits to some of their more, eclectic works. I bought the 2 CD set on a whim and listened to it nonstop, It truly does feel like 50 years of de-evolution, to a point.
What if I told you that there was a DEVO album that went forgotten, not on Spotify, not available for purchase, not even in print anymore? The most recent pressing was 5 years ago now, and since then it went back into the junk drawer to rot. Well on that very 50th anniversary compilation a few recuts of those songs showed up, specifically post-post modern man. I really enjoyed that song, and decided to check out whatever album it came from, thus leading me to Smooth Noodle Maps.
It’s ok.
It was received poorly at the time of its release, and I get it to a point. Compared to Shout and Total DEVO, another album not available, it doesn’t innovate much. But theres clearly still competence in the production and the hooks are catchy with all the synths and Mothersbaugh-itude you want. It doesn’t stand out much, and at 34 minutes for 11 tracks it breezes by. This definitely isn’t some insane lost media or an album that is gonna change the way you think about dance or pop or electronic or DEVO or anything, it’s just fun music. If you need 80’s music, put this on. If you’re a DEVO fan give this another shot! Or, If you don’t want to bother finding it on YouTube you can always just listen to Post Post Modern Man (albeit a different mix than appears on the album, theres 4 mixes of this one song) on streaming as part of the 50 years of de-evolution collection.
Praise Bob!
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