Shout
	Produced by DEVO
	Released on October 1984
	US CHART POSITION #83
	Find it at GEMM
25097-4 cover

O h, no! It’s even lamer than their last album. Maybe it’s all part of the Devo gameplan: strike a revolutionary pose in the beginning, shrink from it in the end. If that’s the case, Shout shows admirable shrinkage, flailing for show with a limp noodle against the towers of traditional rock in a tame retelling of Jimi Hendrix’ “Are You Experienced?” and seeming all too satisfied with itself. For those who might have missed them the first time, Devo were the original killer clowns from outer space, threatening to overthrow the status quo with dangerous dogma like “Jocko Homo” and (more recently) “Through Being Cool.” That seems a long way removed from the domesticated musings of “C’mon” and “Please Please.” Even the better tracks -- “The 4th Dimension,” “Jurisdiction of Love,” “Here To Go” -- just don’t get my dander up the way a good Devo song should. I noticed the decline with “Peek-A-Boo!,” a song that should have been terrifying (the video was) but instead seemed like an empty threat. “Shout,” “The Satisfied Mind” and “Puppet Boy” are even emptier; they still make fun of the human condition, but sarcasm is no substitute for social change. At least this sort of predictable decline makes purchasing Devo albums an easy process: start at the beginning and, if you make it this far, you’re a Devo fan (or a fool). Tellingly, the band disappeared for a few years, resurfacing on a minor label and no longer on the big commercial radar screen. It’s worth noting, however, that the red rating above is relative to the band’s original groundbreaking work. If you’re the sort of listener who soaked up The B-52’s nonsense just for the fun of it, then there’s fun to be had on Shout as well. But you didn’t hear it from me.

TRACK LISTING

1. SHOUT
2. THE SATISFIED MIND
3. DON'T RESCUE ME
4. THE 4TH DIMENSION
5. C'MON
6. HERE TO GO
7. JURISDICTION OF LOVE
8. PUPPET LOVE
9. PLEASE PLEASE
10. ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?

CREDITS

ROBERT CASALE -- engineer
GERALD CASALE --
BOB MOTHERSBAUGH --
MARK MOTHERSBAUGH --
ALAN MYERS --
Mike Shipley -- mixing
Jim Mothersbaugh -- technical assistance
Will Alexander -- programming consultation
Al Horvath and Bill Wolfer -- additional Emulator programs
DEVO -- graphic concept
Vigon Seireeni -- art direction
Karen Filter -- photography
Effective Graphics -- computer graphics
Zachary Chase (boy), Alex Mothersbaugh (girl) -- cover kids
Clacton and Frinton -- DEVO's Chinese-American Friendship Suits

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