Freedom of Choice (album)
| Freedom of Choice | ||||
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| Studio album by Devo | ||||
| Released | May 16, 1980 | |||
| Recorded | October 1979 – early 1980 | |||
| Studio | Record Plant, Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:14 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
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| Singles from Freedom of Choice | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic link |   |
| Robert Christgau | B+ |
| Rolling Stone link | (Not Rated) |
| Smash Hits | 6/10 |
Freedom of Choice is the third studio album by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in May 1980 on the label Warner Bros. The album saw the band moving in more of an overt synth-pop direction, even though guitars still played a prominent role and contained their biggest hit to date, "Whip It."
Freedom of Choice was recorded between October 1979 and early 1980, at the Record Plant in Hollywood, California. The album saw the band moving in more of an overt synthpop direction, even though guitars still played a prominent role.
The album was co-produced by Robert Margouleff, notable for his synthesizer work in Tonto's Expanding Head Band and with Stevie Wonder.
According to the band's commentary on the The Complete Truth About De-Evolution DVD, the lyrics of "Whip It" began as a tongue-in-cheek anthem for then-president Jimmy Carter. The lyrics were also inspired by Norman Vincent Peale's 1952 book The Power of Positive Thinking and the "can do philosophy" espoused within. Devo co-songwriter and bass guitarist Gerald Casale also told Songfacts that the lyrics were written by him "as an imitation of Thomas Pynchon's parodies in his book Gravity's Rainbow."
"Mr. B's Ballroom" is a lyric re-written version of an earlier relationship-focused song called "Luv & Such," which can be heard on the Rhino Entertainment two-disc rarities collection Recombo DNA. The lyric of "That's Pep!" is based on an early 20th-century poem by Grace G. Bostwick.
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Wikipedia