Freedom of Choice (album)


Freedom of Choice is the third studio album by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in May 1980 on the label Warner Bros. The album contained their biggest hit to date, "Whip It".

Background and recording

Freedom of Choice was recorded between October 1979 and early 1980, at the Record Plant in Hollywood, California. The album saw the band moving in more of an overt synthpop direction, even though guitars still played a prominent role.
The album was co-produced by Robert Margouleff, notable for his synthesizer work in Tonto's Expanding Head Band and with Stevie Wonder.

Songs

According to the band's commentary on The Complete Truth About De-Evolution DVD, the lyrics of "Whip It" began as a tongue-in-cheek anthem for then-president Jimmy Carter. The lyrics were also inspired by Norman Vincent Peale's 1952 book The Power of Positive Thinking and the "can do philosophy" espoused within. Devo co-songwriter and bass guitarist Gerald Casale also told Songfacts that the lyrics were written by him "as an imitation of Thomas Pynchon's parodies in his book Gravity's Rainbow".
"Mr. B's Ballroom" is a lyric re-written version of an earlier relationship-focused song called "Luv & Such", which can be heard on the Rhino Entertainment two-disc rarities collection Recombo DNA. The lyric of "That's Pep!" is based on an early 20th-century poem by Grace G. Bostwick.
In 1995, the band recorded a new version of "Girl U Want" for the film Tank Girl. An entire alternate demo version of Freedom of Choice was released in 2000 on the compilation album Recombo DNA. This demo version lacks "It's Not Right", "Ton o' Luv", "Don't You Know" and "Freedom of Choice", but it includes demos of the "Whip It" b-side "Turn Around" and three unreleased tracks.
In 2009, another demo surfaced entitled "Red Shark". This was an early version of "It's Not Right" with alternate lyrics and was offered as a download-only track for fans who purchased tickets to the Freedom of Choice album concerts.

Promotional music videos

Devo produced three music videos for the album. "Whip It" was based on a 1962 issue of Dude magazine that lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh had found in an antique store. The magazine contained a story about a dude ranch where the owner would whip his wife's clothes off. The video also played on the popular misconception that the song was about sadomasochism. "Girl U Want" saw the band performing on a television set in front of a live audience. The colors of the video were heavily saturated. In "Freedom of Choice", the band appeared as aliens. This video also featured professional skateboarders of the day.

Tour

The Freedom of Choice tour was the most ambitious Devo tour up to this time, with dates in Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Canada. While the stage set was still relatively minimalist in keeping with previous performances, the stage was now illuminated by industrial walls and towers with flashing lights. In addition to the infamous red energy dome hats, the band also wore new Tyvek costumes, consisting of grey shirts and pants with long red strips of tape attached to them. Later in the set, Devo donned red, triangular vinyl vests, each one emblazoned with a letter of the band's name in yellow, which can also be seen in the promotional video for "Freedom of Choice".
The Freedom of Choice tour was captured on several different releases. The first was a promotional LP of an almost complete gig from August 16 at the Fox Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, part of the ongoing Warner Bros. Music Show series. This performance was recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show. Shortly thereafter, a distilled version of that LP appeared as the DEV-O Live mini-album, containing six tracks from the album. In 2000, Rhino Handmade issued a limited edition CD of Dev-o Live, containing both the mini-album and the LP on one disc.
In 2005, a performance from the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma, California from the following night was issued as Devo Live 1980. This was released in DualDisc format, with one side containing the show in DVD format and the other containing an edited version of the show's audio in CD format.
DatesVenueNotes
May 8Ohtemon Hall, Fukuoka, JapanThe group had performed here during their Q: Are We Not Men? tour the previous year
May 9Mainichi Hall, Osaka, Japan
May 10Shibuya Public Hall, Tokyo, Japan
May 11Nippon Seinenkan Hall, Tokyo, Japan
May 12Tsubaki House, Tokyo, JapanThis was a secret show
May 13Yubin Chokin Hall, Tokyo, JapanThis show was broadcast on FM Radio.
May 14Aichi-ken Kinro Hall, Nagoya, Japan
May 15Kyoto Education Culture Center, Kyoto, JapanOriginally scheduled at Kanagawa Kenmin Hall in Yokohama, Japan.
May 16Miyagi Kenmin Hall, Sendai, Japan
May 23Fridays, Los Angeles, CADevo's first appearance on the TV show "Fridays", they performed "Girl U Want" and "Gates Of Steel"
May ??American Bandstand, Hollywood, CATV Appearance, the group perform "Snowball"
June 1Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, United Kingdom
June 2Odeon Theatre, Birmingham, United KingdomDevo performed at these venues during their Q: Are We Not Men? tour
June 5Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, United KingdomDevo performed at these venues during their Q: Are We Not Men? tour
June 6Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield, United KingdomDevo performed at these venues during their Q: Are We Not Men? tour
June 7Apollo Theatre, Manchester, United Kingdom
June 8Rainbow Theatre, Finsbury Park, London, United Kingdom
June 9Gaumont Theatre, Southampton, United Kingdom
June 10The Venue, London, United Kingdom
June 12Le Collaro Show, Paris, FranceTelevision appearance, the group lip sync to "Girl U Want"
June 13Wartburg Music Hall, Wiesbaden, Germany
June 14Circus Krone, Munich, GermanyOriginally scheduled for Schwabinger Bräu
June 16Volkshaus, Zurich, Switzerland
June 17Palalido, Milan, ItalyOriginally scheduled for Velodromo Vigorelli
June 19Stadio Romeo Neri, Rimini, Italy
June 20Palasport, Bologna, ItalyKaos Rock opened.
June 21Quasar, Perugia, Italy
June 22Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome, ItalyThis concert was shot for Italian TV.
June 23Palasport Primo Carnera, Udine, ItalyKaos Rock opened
June 24Palasport Ruffini, Turin, Italy
June 25Théâtre De Verdure, Nice, France
June 26Koninklijk Theater Carré, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
June 27Palais D'Hiver, Boulogne-Billancourt, FranceRichard Pinhas opened
July 10Oriental Theatre, Milwaukee, WI
July 11Great Northern Music Hall, Grand Rapids, MI
July 12Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, ILDevo played there the previous year, on their Duty Now For The Future tour.
July 14Motor City Roller Rink, Detroit, MI
July 15Danforth Music Hall Theatre, Toronto, ON, CanadaDevo performed twice on this date. The Sharks opened.
July 16Triangle Theater, Rochester, NYDevo played there the previous year, on their Duty Now For The Future tour.
July 17Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MAThis show was broadcast on FM radio.
July 18Stage West, West Hartford, CT
July 19Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJUtopia opened.
July 21Wollman Skating Rink, Central Park, New York, NYThis show was broadcast on FM radio. WKGB Opened
July 23Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PADevo played there the previous year, on their Duty Now For The Future tour.
July 25Calderone Concert Hall, Hempstead, NY
July 26Fitchburg Theater, Fitchburg, MA
July 27Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MDUrban Verbs opened
July 28Premier Theater, Norfolk, VA
July 30Great Southern Music Hall, Orlando, FL
July 31Bayfront Theatre, St. Petersburg, FL
August 1Maurice Gusman Cultural Center, Miami, FL
August 2The Bandshell, University Of Florida, Gainesville, FL
August 3Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GAThe Brains opened
August 5Brothers Music Hall, Birmingham, AL
August 6Cullen Auditorium, University Of Houston, Houston, TX
August 7Agora Theatre, Dallas, TX
August 8Zebra Records, Austin, TXUnclear if this was a show or a meet and greet.
August 8Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TXDevo played there the previous year, on their Duty Now For The Future tour.
August 12The Showbox, Seattle, WA
August 13Kerrisdale Arena, Vancouver, BC, Canada
August 14Paramount Theatre, Portland, ORDevo played there the previous year, on their Q: Are We Not Men? tour.
August 16Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CAThis show was recorded for inclusion on their DEV-O Live EP and eventual LP.
August 17Phoenix Theatre, Petaluma, CAThis show was filmed for their Live 1980 DVD
August 19Ben H. Lewis Hall, Raincross Square, Riverside, CAEvening show was cancelled
August 20California Theatre, San Diego, CA
August 22Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CADevo played there the previous year, on their Duty Now For The Future tour.
August 23Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA
August 24Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA
August 25Ben H. Lewis Hall, Raincross Square, Riverside, CA
September 3Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, Hollywood, CATV appearances.
October 16The Merv Griffin Show, Hollywood, CATV appearances.
November 7Fridays, Los Angeles, CATV appearances.

2009 album tour

On September 16, 2009, Warner Brothers and Devo announced CD re-releases of Freedom of Choice and Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, as well as a tour performing both albums in their entirety on back to back nights. These concerts also featured stage set-ups similar to those used in 1978 and 1980 and featured the band wearing their original touring costumes.
The encore performances for the Freedom of Choice show were "Be Stiff" and "Beautiful World", the latter of which featured the Devo "mascot" Booji Boy on vocals.
The opening act for this tour was comedian/performance artist Reggie Watts and, for certain dates, JP Hasson.

Critical reception

On the Billboard charts, Freedom of Choice peaked at No. 22 on the Pop Albums chart. "Whip It" hit No. 8 and No. 14 on the Club Play Singles and Pop Singles charts, respectively. The album received very positive reviews upon release, and is widely regarded as one of their finest efforts. Writing in Trouser Press, critics Scott Isler and Ira Robbins described the album as "the band's most evocative pairing of words and music". AllMusic's Steve Huey praised the album, calling it "their most cohesive, consistent material to date".
The popularity of "Whip It" garnered the band a number of television appearances, including The Merv Griffin Show, American Bandstand and two appearances on the sketch comedy and variety show Friday's. A planned appearance on The Lily Tomlin Show was canceled when Tomlin saw the video for "Whip It" and objected to the content.

Track listing

Additional tracks

Personnel

Devo
Production

Certifications

Covers

Several songs from Freedom of Choice have been covered by other musicians, most notably "Girl U Want", which has been recorded by the Mummies, Superchunk, Soundgarden, Chancho en Piedra, Robert Palmer and Zombie Ghost Train. Japanese Devo-tees Polysics also lifted the main guitar riff of "Girl U Want" on their song "Each Life Each End".
The album's title track has been covered by 16Volt, The Aquabats, A Perfect Circle, Lagwagon, Snapcase, Psychotica, Big Drill Car and Fu Manchu. Collide and Face to Face recorded versions of "Whip It", which has also been performed in concert by numerous musicians including The String Cheese Incident and Pearl Jam. The song was also covered for the NME 2008 Awards Compilation by the band Does It Offend You, Yeah?. The band Love and Death covered the song in 2012. "Gates of Steel" has been covered by The Hex Dispensers, Skankin' Pickle, Supernova, Yo La Tengo, Groovie Ghoulies, Shihad, Junkyard Dogs, The Flaming Lips, The Men, Ministry, Snapcase and The Breeders.
The B-side to "Whip It", "Turn Around" was covered by Nirvana and included on the rarities collection Incesticide in 1992.