The surge in interest in Devo in the late nineties did not escape the attention of Warner Brothers. Knowing that most of Devo's discography was out of print, Warner and Rhino Records went to work on creating an anthology for Devo neophytes. At the same time, Rhino Handmade, a sublabel of Rhino Records, began work on an anthology of its own. Recombo DNA was a two disc collection of Devo rarties and demos in the same manner as the Hardcore Devo albums released by Rykodisc. However, while the Hardcore discs focused on Devo's pre-record contract days, Recombo DNA culled its material from Devo's stints with Warner Brothers and Enigima Records.

Released in 2000, and limited to 5000 copies, The compilation spans the years from 1977 to 1988, sadly omitting any demos from the album Smooth Noodle Maps. However, almost all of the material here has been unavailable in any shape or form - even in bootleg. The live tracks The Words Get Stuck In My Throat, and Gotta Serve Somebody are on bootleg recordings a 1978/79 San Francisco show at the Old Waldorf and the New Years' Eve 1979 show in Long Beach, California respectively). The "demo" version of Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin') is actually the single version. Modern Life, and Faster and Faster appear on the soundtrack to the PC game Interstate '82. Finally, the track Bushwhacked had been released in an edited form as a flexi-disc insert for Reflex Magazine.

By far, the biggest draw for Devo-tees is the inclusion of the early "home version" demos for the album that would become Freedom of Choice. This version includes one track, Time Bomb, which was unused for the album, and a song called Luv & Such, which evolved into Mr. B's Ballroom. Another big draw is the inclusion of most of Devo's 1986/87 demo tape which earned them a contract with Enigma Records. This tape contains many of the songs that were used on the 1988 album Total Devo. It also contains one track with vocals by Toni Basil, Gerald V. Casale's then girlfriend. However, due to lack of space, the demo of Disco Dancer was removed for the CD, but it can be heard in Quicktime format on Rhino Handmade's website. (http://www.rhinohandmade.com).

Recombo DNA is not for the casual Devo fan. It is for the hardcore Spud, who wants to have a complete picture of Devo's musical output. It is, surprisingly, still available from Rhino Handmade, at $39.98.

Tracklist:
Disc 1:

  1. Recombo DNA (Demo)
  2. The Words Get Stuck In My Throat (Live)
  3. Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin') (Demo)
  4. Be Stiff (Alternate Mix)
  5. Pink Pussycat (Demo)
  6. Goo Goo Itch (Alternate Version)
  7. Strange Pursuit (Demo)
  8. The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize (Demo)
  9. Bushwhacked (Prosthetic Version)
  10. Girl U Want (Demo Alternate Version)
  11. Turn Around (Demo Alternate Version)
  12. Snowball (Demo Alternate Version)
  13. Luv & Such
  14. Gates of Steel (Demo Alternate Version)
  15. Planet Earth (Demo Alternate Version)
  16. Whip It (Demo Alternate Version)
  17. Cold War (Demo Alternate Version)
  18. Time Bomb
  19. Make Me Dance (Labelled "Make Me Move")
  20. Gotta Serve Somebody (Live) Performed by DOVE, The Band Of Love
  21. I Saw Jesus
  22. Psychology Of Desire (Demo)
  23. Pity You (Labelled "You Say You Got A Problem") (Demo)

Disc 2:
  1. Beautiful World (Demo)
  2. Race of Doom (Demo)
  3. I Desire (Demo)
  4. Big Mess (Demo)
  5. The 4th Dimension (Alternate Version Rough Mix)
  6. Some Things Don't Change (Rough Mix)
  7. Big Adventure (Rough Mix)
  8. No Noise (Rough Mix)
  9. Love Is Stronger Than Dirt
  10. Faster And Faster
  11. Modern Life
  12. The Only One (Demo) Vocal by Toni Basil
  13. Baby Doll (Demo)
  14. Some Things Never Change (Demo)
  15. Plain Truth (Demo)
  16. Happy Guy (Demo)
  17. Somewhere With Devo (Studio Version Demo)

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.