Condition: Brand New Ships from: Melbourne

• Description
• Release details
• Tracklist

• Freedom of Choice, released in May 1980 via Warner Bros., represents Devos full immersion into synthesizer-driven new wave with a sharpened pop sensibility. The band moved away from their earlier post-punk eccentricity and tightened their compositional approach, integrating Moog synths, punchy rhythms, and a robotic aesthetic. Tracks like Whip It, Gates of Steel, and the title track exemplify their ability to combine catchy hooks with ironic undercurrents. With Robert Margouleff co-producing, the album emphasized clarity, control, and a seamless blend of electronics and guitars.

  As Devos most commercially successful release, Freedom of Choice elevated them from cult oddities to charting artists, while retaining their conceptual edge. Its coherence and consistency distinguish it from earlier works, and it has come to be regarded as one of their defining statementsan album that balances satire, musical discipline, and bold identity. Its enduring tracks and thematic focus continue to influence new wave, synthpop, and alt-pop artists.

  Reviews

  “The music on Freedom of Choice is the sound that defines Devo in the minds of many. In the end, that makes it the band’s only other truly necessary album.” AllMusic

  Despite Devos ubiquitous name-recognition, the infectiously catchy cut Whip It secured the albums place as more than a novelty act. Under the Radar

  With synthesizers now fully integrated into the bands sound, Freedom of Choice became arguably their most musically cohesive effort. Mediasurfer (citing AllMusic)

  The large doses of rough energy, adventurous madness and visceral aggressiveness make it an undisputed classic in the rockier realms of krautrock. ProgArchives (on its broader experimental edge)

  Review

  AllMusic rating: AllMusic users: (802 votes) Read the AllMusic.com review

• Artist: Devo Label: Warner Records Format: LP Units: 1 Country: US Genre: Pop & Rock Style: New Wave, Synth-Pop

• A1 Girl U Want
  A2 It’S Not Right
  A3 Whip It
  A4 Snowball
  A5 Ton O’ Luv
  A6 Freedom Of Choice
  B1 Gates Of Steel
  B2 Cold War
  B3 Don’T You Know
  B4 That’S Pep!
  B5 Mr. B’S Ballroom
  B6 Planet Earth