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Elly Roberts reviews
Wienerworld
- Cat.no: WNRD2355
- Released: January 2006
- Format: DVD/CD (dual disc)
- Rating: 2/10
- Running time: 75 minutes
Lacklustre DVD of a quirky looking band with even quirkier music: it now looks and sounds very dated.
Eccentric American quintet and new wavesynth-rockers Devo made a huge visual and musical impact in the late ’70s andearly ’80s. Early purveyors of synthesiser music, which later influenced thelikes of Britain’s Gary Numan, Human League, and Soft Cell who took thestyle to classier levels.
Devo had an agenda they wanted to spread aroundthe globe. Self proclaimed ‘art monsters’ and ‘Spudboys’, the quintetbrought strange sounds and strange words to an unsuspecting young audience.Their message was anti-evolution, thus the name Devo(lution) came intobeing.
This shambolically amateurish record caught the band that briefly skirtedwith pop fame in the UK in late ’70s and 1980, with only two songs worthmentioning – Whip It!, and Come Back Jonee, neither of which made the top 20in the UK. Highly acclaimed debut album Q: Are We Not Men? A: No We Are Devopeaked at 12, with their three subsequent offering barely making the top 50.
The DVD, full of fuzzy long-shots and glaring lights, followed by almostdirectionless mixing and wandering camera work only add to the poor package.Musically, they were far inferior to their strongly held beliefs thatdevolution was the only way forward for mankind, based on Oscar KissMaerth’s crackpot anthropology The Beginning Was The End. Got it? Mmh.
Hardly a visual feast by today’s standards, or even back then as it happens,they romp through 20 songs at breakneck speed with few highlights from theirone dimensional and contrived repertoire. True to form and ethos, they’rewearing silly outfits and even sillier flower-pot hats.
It doesn’t take long before the ‘I’m bored with this.’ creeps in.
Die hard fans may drool over this encounter with the past, which is wheremost of this ‘muzak’ well and truly belongs. Looking back, they resemblemore of a novelty act rather than serious music troubadours.
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Whip It
2. Snowball
3. It’s Not Right
4. Girl U Want
5. Planet Earth
6. S.I.B (Swelling Itching Brain)
7. Secret Agent Man
8. Pink Pussycat
9. Blockhead
10. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
11. Uncontrollable Urge
12. Mongoloid
13. Be Stiff
14. Gates Of Steel
15. Freedom Of Choice
16. Jocko Homo
17. Smart Patrol / Mr. DNA
18. Gut Feeling / Slap Your Mammy
19. Come Back Jonee
20. Tunnel Of Love
21. Devo Corporate Anthem
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.