Devo - Freedom Of Choice

Devo's "Freedom of Choice" is a highly acclaimed album, often cited as a defining moment in their career and a key example of new wave and synth-pop. While it contains their most famous hit, "Whip It," critics highlight the album's overall quality, with many considering it a perfect blend of their quirky, experimental sound with more accessible pop sensibilities. It's a highly influential album that showcases Devo at their most creative and catchy, striking a balance between their artistic vision and broader appeal. It's an album that rewards repeated listens, revealing new layers of meaning and musicality. With "Freedom of Choice" the sense of urgency is palpable, a result of twelve uptempo tunes that all clock in at 45-single length delivered with discipline and energy. The mix is clean and clear without sacrificing one iota of driving bass, and the band is as tight as tight can be, nailing all the rhythmic variations without appearing to break a sweat. The riffs are extraordinarily memorable and consistently uplifting, and though every band on the planet was by now throwing synthesizers into the mix, no one came close to Devo in turning them into integral and effective rock instruments. Sometimes the guitars are guitars, sometimes they’re not, but whether you’re hearing synth or string, the music on "Freedom of Choice" fucking rocks.

Review by Steve Huey

With Freedom of Choice, Devo completed their transition into a full-fledged synth-pop group, producing arguably their most musically cohesive effort in the process. Synthesizers are now fully integrated into the band's sound, frequently dominating the arrangements and at least sharing equal time with the guitars. Everything is played with a cool, polished precision that mirrors the stylized uniformity of the band's visuals; the dissonance is more subdued than in the past, and the uptight rhythms are no longer jarring, instead locking the band into a rigidly even keel. Oddly, even though the music is the least human-sounding Devo had yet produced, their social observations were growing less insular and more sympathetic. Several tunes -- like the oft-covered "Girl U Want" -- have a geeky (but pragmatic) romantic angst that was new to Devo albums, although the band's view of relationships is occasionally colored by their cultural themes of competition and domination. Those preoccupations also inform their breakthrough hit single, "Whip It," but elsewhere, they're finding enough connection with the rest of the world to moderate their cynicism, at least a little bit. Songs like "Gates of Steel," "Planet Earth," and the title track reveal a frustrated idealism under their irony, one that can't quite understand why Americans don't use more of their freedom to search for happiness. Altogether, there's a little less of the debut's energy, and a little less variety as well. But the songwriting is a match for consistent quality, and moreover, the music on Freedom of Choice is the sound that defines Devo in the minds of many. In the end, that makes it the band's only other truly necessary album.

Ripped to MP3

1 - Girl U Want

2 - It's Not Right

3 - Whip It

4 - Snowball

5 - Ton o' Luv

6 - Freedom of Choice

7 - Gates of Steel

8 - Cold War

9 - Don't You Know

10 - That's Pep!

11 - Mr. B's Ballroom

12 - Planet Earth