Total Devo

About Total Devo

Total Devo is the seventh studio album by the American new wave band Devo. Their first album for Enigma Records, it was originally released in May 1988, four years after their previous album, Shout. The album was recorded between 1986 and 1988, with the basic tracks recorded at Devo studios, in Marina del Rey, and the additional tracks at Master Control, in Burbank, California. Total Devo was the first Devo studio album released after the departure of drummer Alan Myers, who was replaced by former Sparks and Gleaming Spires drummer David Kendrick. This was the last Devo album to include use of the Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer, which was mostly used for pre-sequencing the album and sampling in the choruses of "Some Things Never Change" and "Agitated." Total Devo was the only Devo album to be released on DAT in addition to the standard releases on vinyl, cassette and CD. At 41 minutes and 30 seconds long, it is also Devo's longest studio album. Despite initial negative reception of the album, "Disco Dancer" hit #45 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Club Play chart for the week of September 3, 1988. On July 17, 2018, Devo's official Facebook page announced that Futurismo Inc. would be issuing a 30th anniversary two-disc deluxe edition of Total Devo, on both CD and vinyl formats. The double CD set comes housed in a digipak while the double LP comes in three vinyl color variations. Both formats include gatefold sleeves with spot gloss logos and shapes, a fold-out poster and liner notes from band member Gerald Casale more »