The song that opens the album, or more accurately someone's cover of it, at one point was used as the theme song to Ridiculousness on MTV. It isn't anymore, so I wonder if they forgot to pay Devo the royalties they obviously deserve. Also, "Uncontrollable Urge" borrows the main riff from "Misty Mountain Hop," which some would expect me to complain about. It's true that the riffs are the same, though Devo plays it about twice as fast, but what really matters is Devo's song diverges beyond the main riff and creates something new. If Devo had also borrowed the melody or structure of "Misty Mountain Hop", or worse just ripped a cheap sample, that would not be OK.
The next song is a cover of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," another song with useless parentheses in its title. Strangely this cover contrasts with "Uncontrollable Urge" by being completely unfamiliar. Almost nothing of the Rolling Stones' original song is here except for the lyrics. The main riff is gone and the rhythm is completely off kilter. It turns out to be more original than the original track that lead off the album.
I just re-listened to Go Girl Crazy! by the Dictators so that's probably why Devo's debut album is feeling a bit punky to me. It's certainly not punk music. I guess I'd have to classify this as alternative rock. What makes me think of the Dictators is how jokey and goofy the presentation is. The difference in sound is the Dictators are more jock-rock, while Devo is very clearly nerd-rock.
I am a little put off by "Jocko Homo" because the chorus is essentially the name of the album. I'm not a big fan of artists name-checking themselves in their music. Also the song itself is just way too nerdy. In fact the whole album is just way too nerdy. I guess I didn't really mind it too much though, and would probably listen to it again without much trouble. The only real problem is I listened to 35 minutes of Devo music and they didn't play "Whip It!" What the hell? Sigh, 3 stars.
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