New Traditionalists

New Traditionalists is a 1981 album by the New Wave rock band Devo. It features the minor hits "Through Being Cool", and "Beautiful World". The sound was markedly different from the previous album Freedom of Choice, with Synthesizer moved to the forefront, and Guitar more subdued. The lyrics are extremely dark and vitriolic, as well.

It was not a success like Freedom of Choice and peaked at #23 on the Billboard charts. The single "Working In the Coal Mine" peaked at #43 on the Pop Singles chart.

New Traditionalists
Album by Devo
Released	1981
Recorded	1981
Genre	New Wave
Length	40 min 28 s
Record label	Warner Brothers & Virgin Records
Producer	Devo
Professional reviews
Allmusic.com	3 stars out of 5	[1]
Devo Chronology
DEV-O Live (1981)	New Traditionalists (1981)	Oh, No! It's Devo (1982)

Track Listing

1. Through Being Cool - Casale, Mothersbaugh, Mothersbaugh - 3:14
2. Jerkin' Back 'N' Forth - Casale, Mothersbaugh - 3:05
3. Pity You - Mothersbaugh - 2:47
4. Soft Things - Casale, Mothersbaugh - 3:27
5. Going Under - Casale, Mothersbaugh - 3:26
6. Race of Doom - Casale, Mothersbaugh - 3:44
7. Love Without Anger - Casale, Mothersbaugh - 2:37
8. The Super Thing - Casale, Mothersbaugh - 4:21
9. Beautiful World - Casale, Mothersbaugh - 3:35
10. Enough Said - Casale, Mothersbaugh - 3:26

(The Track Listing is from the CD Release. This album was originally released on LP and cassette.)

Album Versions

New Traditionalists was originally packed with a bonus 45 single of "Working In the Coal Mine" (originally by Alain Toussaint. In 1997, Infinite Zero released a remastered CD of New Traditionalists containing with bonus tracks "Working in the Coal Mine", "Mecha-Mania Boy", and "Nu-Tra Speaks (New Traditionalist Man)". This is out of print. The Japanese CD release also contains "Working in the Coal Mine". In 2005, Collectable Records re-released New Traditionalists on CD, with its original tracklist, and omitting "Coal Mine".

Album Description

With the success of "Whip It", and the associated album Freedom of Choice, Devo attracted a new, more pop-oriented audience that was less interested in Devo's artistic theories and intelligent lyrics. In response, New Traditionalists was aimed to be a much darker, deeper and serious album. The leadoff track, "Through Being Cool" is a direct attack at Johnny-Come-Lately fans who didn't understand Devo's message.

Devo also developed a new look for the album, eschewing the Energy Dome headgear, and replacing it with the plastic "New Traditionalist Pomp", modeled after John F. Kennedy's famous hairstyle. On stage, Devo wore what were called "Utopian Boy Scout Uniforms", consisting of a gray button down shirt, gray slacks, and black patent leather shoes. They also wore a blue V-neck tee shirt with the New Traditionalists logo on the black sleeves. This can be seen in the US and Australia album cover. On the European cover, Devo wears a "Sleevless Maxi-Turtleneck Sweater". The T-Shirts, Turtlenecks, and plastic versions of the Pomps were avaliable through Devo's fan club catalog.

Most of the songs one the album are very dark, and the lyrics lacking the irony and wit that Devo was known for. The exception to this is "Beautiful World". At first listen, the song seens very upbeat and happy, until the line "It's not for me," which reveals the more sinister side of the song. On "Enough Said", Devo becomes political, making fun of world leaders and the political process: "Take all the leaders from around the world / Put them together in a great big ring / Televise it as the lowest show on Earth / And let them fight like hell to see whose king."

The "Working In the Coal Mine" single was recorded during the 1980 sessions for Freedom of Choice, and used in the soundtrack of the 1981 film Heavy Metal (film). Because Devo felt the rest of the soundtrack album was "corporate rock", they insisted that "Coal Mine" be released as a single. The album also included a poster, drawn by a member of the Church of the Subgenius.

Music Videos

Devo made three music videos for the album. "Through Being Cool" had Devo take a limited role, and focused on a team of kids clad in Pomps and a Devo "Action Vest" attacking the uncool people with Spudguns.

In "Love Without Anger" Devo acts as a Greek Chorus to a bizarre love story between two humanoid chickens. It also features a stop motion video by Ivan Stang of Barbie and Ken fighting each other and removing each others body parts.

"Beautiful World" is considered to be Devo's greatest music video, setting the tune to a series of connected images from film archives. Scenes of beautiful women, futuristic cars, and other happy elements are slowly changed over into images of race riots, violence, and nuclear explosions.

Tour

The New Tradtionalists tour was a large undertaking. Devo performed on treadmills in front of a Greek Temple style structure. Behind the memebers, between the pillars, small screen displayed rear-projected images. Devo carried an impressive sound system on the tour, as well. Sadly, the only professionally shot footage of the tour was destroyed due to an electrical short. However, Devo appeared on the TV show Fridays in 1981 and performed five songs with a full stage set, and this has been archived. Several audio bootlegs of the tour are also available, varying in quality.

Personnel

• Larry Alexander - Engineer
• Moshe Brakha - Photography
• Phill Brown - Mastering
• Bob Casale - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
• Gerald V. Casale - Keyboards, Vocals
• Devo - Producer
• Manuel J. Donayre - Re-Release Art Director
• Karat Faye - Assistant Engineer
• Dan Hersch - Remastering
• Bill Inglot - Remastering
• Bob Mothersbaugh - Guitar, Vocals
• Mark Mothersbaugh - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
• Alan Myers - Drums
• Brent Scrivner - Hair Stylist
• Richard Seireeni - Art Direction