Showing posts with label Brian Eno. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brian Eno. Show all posts

August 28, 2025

20,000 vinyl LPs 390: Devo ~ Are We Not Men?

 ~   
Devo - 1978 
photo by Ebet Roberts 


In 1977 five misfits from Ohio with a love of performance art, took the Mick Jagger classic (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction and mutated it beyond recognition.  
 
 
Devo - 1977, NY City
  photo by Ebet Roberts  
 
 
On August 28, 1978, Devo released their first album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, a venture that fused the electronic music of the time with punk.      


vinyl LP front cover 
 cover design by John Cabalka & Erik Munsön 
photo of album cover by Styrous®
 
 
I remember seeing the video for Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! on MTV in the early 80's. At that time the channel broadcast 24 hours a day and they were desperate for videos to play and they played ANYthing! I saw the most amazing things before they eventually played only music videos.         
 
Recommendations from David Bowie and Iggy Pop enabled the group to secure a recording contract with Warner Bros. The album was produced by Brian Eno and featured re-recordings of their previous singles Mongoloid and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.         
 
                  
vinyl LP back cover 
 cover design by John Cabalka & Erik Munsön 
photo of album cover by Styrous®


The album was produced by Brian Eno at the Conny Plank studio in Cologne, Germany and the Different Fur Studios located in the Mission District area of San Francisco, California, with Patrick Gleeson.      
         
vinyl LP back cover detail 
 cover design by John Cabalka & Erik Munsön 
detail photo by Styrous®






vinyl LP back cover detail 
 cover design by John Cabalka & Erik Munsön 
detail photo by Styrous®


Tracklist:
       
Side 1:
        
A1 - Uncontrollable Urge - 3:08
A2 - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards* - 2:38
A3 - Praying Hands - 2:47
A4 - Space Junk - 2:13
A5 - Mongoloid - 3:42
A6 - Jocko Homo - 3:38
       
Side 2:
       
B1 - Too Much Paranoias - 1:56
B2 - Gut Feeling / (Slap Your Mammy) - 4:54
B3 - Come Back Jonee - 3:46
B4 - Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin') - 2:37
B5 - Shrivel-Up - 3:05
        
Companies, etc.
       
    Copyright © – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
    Recorded At – Conny's Studio
    Mixed At – Conny's Studio
    Recorded At – Different Fur Studios
    Published By – Devo Music
    Published By – Virgin Music Ltd.
    Published By – Immediate Music Inc.
    Pressed By – KM Records Inc.
        
Credits:
       
    Design [Graphic Supervision] – John Cabalka
    Design [Package Production Design] – Erik Munsön
    Engineer – Patrick Gleeson (tracks: B3, B5)
    Engineer [Mix] – Conrad Planck*
    Graphics [Concept And Execution] – Devo Inc.*
    Performer – Alan*, Bob1*, Jerry*, Mark*, Bob2*
    Photography By – Bobbi Watson*
    Producer – Brian Eno
    Written-By – Bob Mothersbaugh (tracks: B2 [Gut Feeling], B4, B5), Gary Jackett (tracks: B4), Gerald V. Casale (tracks: A3 to A5, B2 [Slap Your Mammy], B3 to B5), Mark Mothersbaugh (tracks: A1, A3, A4, A6 to B2 [Gut Feeling], B3 to B5)
        
Notes:
       
This version was pressed at KM Records Inc.. Grey WB labels, slight variation from other releases listed here (see photos).

Issued with printed inner sleeve containing lyrics, credits, info and photos.

Runouts are etched.
       
Barcode and Other Identifiers
       
    Matrix / Runout (Run-out Side A): BSK-1-3239 KM1 Q: ARE WE NOT MEN?
    Matrix / Runout (Run-out Side B): BSK-2-3239 KM1 A: WE ARE DEVO!
    Rights Society: BMI
 
Devo – Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
Label: Warner Bros. Records – BSK 3239
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, KM Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1978
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave 
         
Viewfinder links:        
        
David Bowie         
Devo        
Brian Eno         
Patrick Gleeson            
Mick Jagger              
Mark Mothersbaugh            
Conny Plank               
Iggy Pop         
        
Net links:        
        
altrockchick.com ~ A: We Are Devo! – Classic Music Review        
Club Devo ~ Are We Not Men? We Are Devo! (re-mixes)         
        
        
YouTube links:        
        
Devo ~        
         (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction          
         Mongoloid       
David Bowie introduces Devo, (Max's Kansas City, NY City, 14 November '77)    
        
        
         
        
        
        
Styrous® ~ Thursday, August 28, 2025        
       
 
 

















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June 21, 2021

Record Producers Extraordinaire

~  

 
 
Behind every great musician/group is a Record Producer who had a vision and the expertise to make the sound of that musician or group unique.           
 
 
 
 
 
 

For punk no one topped Steve Albini. He produced the albums for his bands, Big Black, Rapeman, Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He produced albums for Nirvana, Pixies, the Breeders, PJ Harvey, and former Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, as well.
 
I'm not sure WHERE Brian Eno belongs! He's produced sound ranging from film soundtracks to ambient To experimental for John Cale, Jon Hassell and Laraaji, to new wave for Talking Heads, Ultravox and Devo, and everything in between.            
     
     
      
     
Viewfinder links:
      
Cannonball Adderley           
Chet Atkins       
David Axelrod        
all things Beatles       
Owen Bradley      
John Cale        
Glen Campbell      
George Clinton         
Al De Lory        
Devo        
Tom Dowd        
Duke Ellington      
Brian Eno        
Eurythmics           
Jackie Gleason          
Norman Granz      
Trevor Horn       
Quincy Jones           
Kitaro        
Kraftwerk    
Jeff Lynne       
Teo Macero          
Mantovani              
Arif Mardin      
George Martin           
Meat Loaf       
Mitch Miller         
Les Paul         
Conny Plank        
Todd Rundgren        
Klaus Schulze            
Billy Sherrill        
Stamatis Spanoudakis          
Phil Spector        
Jim Steinman        
Talking Heads          
Tangerine Dream       
The Temptations        
Bob Thiele         
Isao Tomita          
Bonnie Tyler         
Ultravox         
Vangelis        
Billy Vaughn         
Jimmy Webb         
Jerry Wexler         
Norman Whitfield      
Brian Wilson        
Otis Williams         
     
Net links:
     
     
     
Music Needs You ~ 7 Distinct Types of Record Producers     
Recording Connection ~ What Does a Music Producer Do?   
     
     
     
A tip of my hat to all of them!
     
     
     
Styrous® ~ Monday, June 21, 2021   



















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August 4, 2020

20,000 Vinyl LPs 234: Rock 'N' Roll High School (Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

~       
vinyl LP front cover detail
photo by Styrous®


On August 4, 1979, The film Rock & Roll High School starring the Ramones premiered in New York, New York. The film was released to theaters in the US on August 24, 1979, and has since become a cult classic.


vinyl LP front cover
photo by Styrous®

   
Rock 'n' Roll High School is a 1979 American musical comedy film directed by Allan Arkush, produced by Michael Finnell, and starring P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, Clint Howard, and Dey Young. The film featured the punk rock group Ramones with additional songs by Brian Eno, Devo, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Brownsville Station, Chuck Berry, Todd Rundgren, Alice Cooper and Nick Lowe; all featured on the vinyl LP. The music is a treasure chest of great artists that would cost millions to get permissions from today!      


vinyl LP front cover sticker
photo by Styrous®


The producer of the film was, Roger Corman, the legendary B-movie master, who made his name and fortune on fast and cheap films, often considered crude and outlandish, appealing to younger audiences who frequented drive-ins and late-night screenings.      

Produced for under $300,000 and shot in 23 days at various locations around Los Angeles, including Mount Carmel High School which was scheduled for demolition that was used in the film, the Mayan Theatre, the Roxy and Whisky A Go Go, Rock 'n' Roll High School was ready for release by the spring of 1979.     

Rock 'n' Roll High School was so low budget that it couldn’t afford to pay extras. They were, however, putting on a Ramone concert. So they charged $1.50 per ticket for people to come be in the audience for six hours.          

“We get every crazy punker in the world in there,” Arkush said. “You can see Darby Crash from The Germs, members of the Alley Cats, The Bags, Circle Jerks in the audience. Six hours later when they realized they were only going to hear the same six times [tunes] over and over again, they would get mad and we’d get them out and we’d bring in a new crowd.”       


vinyl LP front cover detail
photo by Styrous®

         
The director of the film, Allan Arkush, remembers Corman telling him: “I’ve been thinking, since Grease and Saturday Night Fever are hits, why don’t you put music in it and we’ll call it Disco High?” Yikes!!!! Fortunately, as the film took shape, cooler heads prevailed.         
            

vinyl LP front cover detail
photo by Styrous®


After so-so meetings with Todd Rundgren and Cheap Trick, Warner Bros. Records offered Van Halen and the newly-signed Devo, but they didn’t quite fit Arkush’s vision. Brainstorming continued.   

Arkush, who was a fan of the New York budding punk-rock scene and had worked as a Fillmore East usher in his college days, desired a grittier group. Warner then suggested the Ramones who were signed by Sire Records. Arkush was already a fan of the group. “Rocket to Russia was one of my favorite albums,” he recalled.

Arkush went to see Seymour Stein and Linda Stein of Sire Records, “…and they blow up the school at the end of the movie,” Arkush explained by the end of the meeting. “We’re in!” declared Linda Stein.          


vinyl LP front cover detail
cover design by Marie-Pascale Elfman 
photo by Styrous®


Arkush knew the Ramones may be a difficult sell to moviegoers. They hadn’t yet reached national popularity, partially due to the stigma of their genre. “The Sex Pistols made a bad impression on Americans and punk music was considered a dirty word,” Allan recalls. “They wanted to refer to the Ramones as ‘new wave’ and not ‘punk.’ Blondie was the only punkish band who had broken onto the radio. When the Ramones were booked for tours, they got paired with Black Sabbath and it was a disaster. [Sabbath] fans would throw stuff at them. Because of this, they were an outlier band, and that suited the movie.”


vinyl LP front cover detail
photo by Styrous®


Although disregarded by mainstream film enthusiasts of the time, many late 20th century filmmakers whom we revere today got their start working for Corman, including Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, James Cameron and Jonathan Demme.


vinyl LP back cover
photo by Styrous®


I have favorite songs from the album, of course, at the top is the Ramones cover of the song California Sun, written by Henry Glover and first recorded by Joe Jones. It was also covered by Annette Funicello covered it in 1963, The Crickets  and the Rivieras (this is my favorite version) in 1964, the Dictators in 1975, Tommy James & the Shondells in 1967 and Frankie Avalon in the 1987 movie, Back to the Beach.                 


vinyl LP back cover detail
photo by Styrous®


My next favorite is Come Back Jonee by Devo. I have loved every song by them and saw them perform at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco, California, in November of 1978. During its time Old Waldorf hosted some of the biggest names in the music industry, such as AC/DC, Dire Straits, Blue Öyster Cult, Iggy Pop, Blondie, Rory Gallagher, Metallica, Pat Benatar, R.E.M., Spirit, Poco, Gary Moore, U2 and Dead Kennedys. It was opened by Jeffrey Pollack in 1976; he sold it to Bill Graham who closed it in 1983.                 


vinyl LP back cover detail
photo by Styrous®


Next would come School Days by Chuck Berry, written by him in 1957 and is often considered a rock-and-roll anthem. The last verse of the song contains the lyrics "Hail, hail rock and roll / Deliver me from the days of old." Perfect for the theme of Rock 'n' Roll High School.        


vinyl LP back cover detail
photo by Styrous®


Of course, the film would not have been complete without School's Out by Alice Cooper.  It has been regarded as the band's signature song and reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. I love this song but beg to differ as to whether it is their signature song for me. The 1971 Killer album has several songs which would fit that title. Cooper said that the song Desperado was written about his friend Jim Morrison, who died the year this album was released.  
     
Halo of Flies is an attempt by the band to prove that they could perform King Crimson-like progressive rock suites (they succeded admirably), and was supposedly about a spy organization. Jello Biafra and The Melvins covered the song on their release Sieg Howdy!,            


vinyl LP back cover detail
photo by Styrous®


Then there's Smoking In The Boys' Room by Brownsville Station. What could possibly be more appropriate for a film about high school? Who NEVER smoked in the boy's room? It reached number 3 in Canada and on the US Billboard Hot 100; that should tell you somehting!     


vinyl LP back cover detail
photo by Styrous®


Teenage Depression by Eddie and the Hot Rods says it all! I spent most of my high school years there! No further comment!       


vinyl LP back cover detail
photo by Styrous®


Exquisitely descriptive of dreams dreamed in the classroom is Energy Fools The Magician by Brian Eno. Oh, my God! Who knew a Corman film would ever consider using Eno? VERY short at just over two minutes but sends you on to the next song . . .         


vinyl LP back cover detail
photo by Styrous®


. . . Todd Rundgren delivers A Dream Goes On Forever. “A thousand true loves will live and die but a dream goes on forever!”        


vinyl LP, side 1
photo by Styrous®


vinyl LP label, side 1
photo by Styrous®





vinyl LP, side 2
photo by Styrous®


vinyl LP label, side 2
photo by Styrous®




   
Tracklist:

Side 1:

A1 – Ramones - Rock 'N' Roll High School, Engineer [Remix] – Joel Soifer*, Mixed By [Remix] – Phil Spector - 2:13
A2 – Ramones - I Want You Around, Engineer [Remix] – Joel Soifer*, Mixed By [Remix] – Phil Spector - 3:06
A3 – Paley Brothers / Ramones, Come On Let's Go - 2:11
    – Ramones - Ramones Medley     (11:00)
A4a     –     Blitzkrieg Bop    
A4b     –     Teenage Lobotomy    
A4c     –     California Sun    
A4d     –     Pinhead    
A4e     –     She's The One    
A5 – Nick Lowe - So It Goes - 2:28
A6 – Brian Eno - Energy Fools The Magician - 2:03

Side 2:

B1 – P.J. Soles - Rock 'N' Roll High School - 2:11
B2 – Devo - Come Back Jonee - 3:44
B3 – Eddie And The Hot Rods - Teenage Depression - 2:54
B4 – Brownsville Station - Smoking In The Boys' Room - 2:55
B5 – Chuck Berry - School Days - 2:40
B6 – Todd Rundgren - A Dream Goes On Forever - 2:22
B7 – Alice Cooper - School's Out - 3:24

Companies, etc.

    Mastered At – Sterling Sound
    Marketed By – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
    Phonographic Copyright (p) – Sire Records Company
    Copyright (c) – Sire Records Company
    Recorded At – The Roxy
    Recorded At – Cherokee Studios
    Mixed At – Mediasound
    Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Jacksonville

Credits:

    Producer, Engineer – Ed Stasium (tracks: A1, A2, A4, B1)

Notes:

[Tracks A1 and A2] Remixed by Phil Spector; Remix Engineer - Joel Soifer; Recorded at Cherokee Recording Studios, Hollywood
[Track A4] Recorded live at the Roxy, Los Angeles; Mixed at Media Sound, New York 

 Various ‎– Rock 'N' Roll High School (Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Label: Sire ‎– SRK 6070
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Jacksonville pressing
Country: US
Released: 1979
Genre: Rock, Stage & Screen
Style: Rock & Roll, Punk, Soundtrack
     
       
       
Viewfinder links:        
            
AC/DC        
Chuck Berry      
Jello Biafra          
Black Sabbath       
Blondie (Debbie Harry)          
Cheap Trick        
Alice Cooper        
Devo          
Eddie & the Hot Rods         
Brian Eno               
Annette Funicello           
Van Halen       
Buddy Holly & the Crickets        
King Crimson           
Todd Rundgren         
Sex Pistols          
        
Net links:        
       
LA Magazine ~ 40 Years Ago, the Ramones Roamed L.A.             
Showbiz Cheat Sheet ~ The Ramones Refused to Film This Scene   
Variety ~ Rock ‘n’ Roll High @ 40          
        
YouTube links:        
 
Alice Cooper ~  
     Desperado (video) 
     Halo of Flies (video) 
     School's Out (video)    
Chuck Berry - School Days (Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show - May 17, 1958)   
Brownsville Station ~ Smoking In The Boys' Room     
The Crickets ~ California Sun           
Devo - Come Back Jonee (Official Video)  
Eddie And The Hot Rods ~ Teenage Depression            
Brian Eno ~ Energy Fools The Magician     
Tommy James & The Shondells ~ California Sun      
Joe Jones ~ California Sun         
Nick Lowe ~ So It Goes (Official Music Video)             
Ramones ~              
     Blitzkrieg Bop (Official Music Video)         
     California Sun         
     Rock N' Roll High School  (Official Music Video)      
     She's The One (Official Music Video)  
     Winterland 12/28/78 - (Official videos)           
     Pinhead       
     Teenage Lobotomy       
Ramones & The Paley Brothers ~ Come On Let's Go        
Rock'n'Roll High School (complete) (1979) (1 hr. 33 mins., 18 secs.)
The Rivieras ~ California Sun          
Rock'n'Roll High School (trailer)  
Todd Rundgren - A Dream Goes On Forever         
    




        
Styrous® ~ Tuesday, August 4, 2020       
       


















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