Disco de Devo: “Smooth Noodle Maps”

I bought this album the week it came out. After Total Devo, this was a step forward. Definately a must have, and one of Devo's last studio albums.

This is the only Devo album I have yet heard, but it is incredible. There are no bad songs, and aside from the Big Picture (which is merely ok), they're all great. Morning Dew is amazing. Smooth Noodle Maps is very pop and accessible, but still edgy and weird enough to be interesting. Get this one now, you won't be sorry.

Great CD, Wish I had the LP. Mastered a bit too loud however, had to turn it way down compared to most other CDs. Wonder Why? New CD from them in the Fall, can't wait!

DEVO's CD 'Smooth Noodle Maps' is a great departure from their early recordings of the 1980's. The Big hit on the CD is a song Called 'Post,Post Modern Man'.Even thought the CD cost a few extra bucks, it was truly worth every Pennie.For you see,it is out of print and none of the music stores yet carry this out of print product.The songs are very creative.DEVO even covered Elvis's 'Don't Be Cruel'.If you want to hear how the band has progressed and matured,it's truly worth picking up.

If you are a fan of early Devo, it would be understandable why you wouldn't like this album too much. But if you are a fan of New Wave bands such as Blancmange, the B-52s or Visage, you will probably like SmoothNoodleMaps more than Devo's early work.

Devo definitely matured on this album, but at what price? They lost much of their "punkness" that made them the electronic Ramones. Is that a bad thing? Well, it depends on your tastes. If you have a broad liking to New Wave music, then despite the fact that SmoothNoodleMaps is definitely a change of pace for the band, you will probably still like it. It is much more polished than their early work. To me that's a good thing, but I still miss the "rawness" of their first albums.

So that's probably the most vague review you'll read. This album is Devo and it is not Devo, but overall it is a well produced and smooth work. Whether that suites your Devo tastes is up to you!