Devo Marries Gritty Guitars with Expansive Keyboard Canvasses on Duty Now for the Future: Transitional Album Furthers the Band's Satirical Stance, Includes Cover of "Secret Agent Man"

Hear the 1979 Record in Audiophile-Grade Sound and at 45RPM for the First Time: Mobile Fidelity's Numbered-Edition 180g 45RPM 2LP Set Benefits from Enhanced Definition and Presence "Pop music needs a big enema." Devo created Duty Now for the Future with that mission statement, relayed to the press by cofounding bassist/vocalist Gerald Casale, in mind. Though unfairly pegged by some as an example of the common sophomore slump, the record spurred the group's interest in electronic instrumentation, extended it's penchant for biting social satire, and contained another transformative cover song in the form of "Secret Agent Man." Above all, it proved the Ohio pranksters were anything but a joke. Sourced from the original master tapes, mastered by engineer Krieg Wunderlich, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set presents Duty Now for the Future in audiophile grade sound. Benefitting from the extra groove space on this first ever 45RPM version, it plays with enhanced definition, deep-black backgrounds, and ultra-quiet surfaces. The merits of Ken Scott's production emerge like never before. Guitars possess punch and grit, and are sharpened with an ear toward accuracy and vibrancy. It all helps give the 1979 effort a direct immediacy that answers the complaints of listeners who felt the affair too processed or sterilized.