“Pop music needs a big enema.” Devo created Duty Now for the Future with that mission statement, relayed to the press by co-founding bassist/vocalist Gerald Casale, in mind. Though unfairly pegged by some as an example of the common sophomore slump, the record spurred the group’s interest in electronic instrumentation, extended its penchant for biting social satire, and contained another transformative cover song in the form of “Secret Agent Man.”

Above all, the 1979 work proved the Ohio pranksters were anything but a joke even if they would have to wait one more year until for their mainstream breakthrough.

Sourced from the original master tapes, mastered by engineer Krieg Wunderlich, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set presents Duty Now for the Future in audiophile-grade sound. Benefitting from the extra groove space on this first-ever 45RPM version, it plays with enhanced definition, deep-black backgrounds, and ultra-quiet surfaces.

Though certain band members later expressed regret with some of his decisions, the merits of Ken Scott’s production emerge like never before. A lurking edginess serves as a signpost in Devo’s progression before it fully embraced keyboards as a primary tool.

Guitars possess punch and grit and, along with the crisp arrangements, are sharpened with an ear toward accuracy and vibrancy. It all helps give Duty Now for the Future a direct immediacy that answers the complaints of listeners who felt the affair too processed or sterilized.

Side 1:
1. Devo Corporate Anthem
2. Clockout
3. Timing X
4. Wiggly World

Side 2:
5. Blockhead
6. Strange Pursuit
7. S.I.B. (Swelling Itching Brain)

Side 3:
8. Triumph of the Will
9. The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprize
10. Pink Pussycat
11. Secret Agent Man

Side 4:
12. Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA
13. Red Eye

I was/am a huge Devo fan, especially of the first 4 albums, and I think this is my favorite, in all honesty. The first album is the most disruptive, but DNFTF is the most subversive, in my humble opinion. I just never cease to be amazed at how many people I talk to about the album have totally missed the point of its lyrically direction; and especially with this album, just take things at face value.

I actually had one person, and recently, lambasting Triumph of the Will as embracing fascism and promoting the objectification of women! Holy clueless, Batman! To me, it’s totally a send up of the type of guys who objectify and only see women as one thing. And it’s really one of the key underlying themes of the album, as a whole.

It’s the same kind of treatment one of my other favorite bands Dead Kennedys get. You see people slamming their nihilism, especially on Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, when it’s an incredibly clever critique of the hysterical fears of suburbanites. People stealing other people’s mail and a disaster at an amusement park. What kind of sickos are these?!

So yeah, it is these people/critics who completely misunderstand these Devo albums that is unforgivable to me. Lazy. People talk about DNFTF primarily in terms of it signaling Devo’s shift toward synths and pop, but to me it’s more notable for the shift of planting their tongues firmly in their cheeks! Oh, and for the record (no pun intended), a quick shout out to the brilliant progressive layering of Timing X. Fantastic!

Hear the 1979 Record in Audiophile-Grade Sound and at 45RPM for the first time. Mobile Fidelity’s Numbered-Edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set benefits from Enhanced Definition and Presence.

1/4” / 15 IPS Dolby A analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe.

Official Purchase Link

www.clubdevo.com

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