Now It Can Be Told: DEVO at the Palace is a live album by American new wave band Devo, released in 1989 by Enigma Records. The album was recorded during their 1988 "comeback tour" in promotion of the Total Devo album. It contains performances of several cuts from Total Devo but largely focuses on earlier material and also contains one exclusive song, "It Doesn't Matter to Me".
Song arrangements
Music historian Andy Zax noted that the album presented reshaped versions of old songs from the band's repertoire as well as some new material, including a "twangy country ballad" version of "Jocko Homo" and the new composition "It Doesn't Matter to Me", "sounding like a long lost '60s folk-rock nugget". The delivery of "Jocko Homo" prompted band member Jerry Casale to exclaim, "I'll bet you didn't know that was such a sad song."
"Going Under" was performed in a style similar to the E-Z Listening Disc (1987) version. The rest of the set was largely based on the original studio versions. (The only notable difference was in "Gut Feeling," where the fast "Slap Your Mammy" jam had been removed from the ending and was replaced by the song "Gates of Steel".) The album's closing track is an eleven-minute medley of "Shout", "Somewhere" from West Side Story and "Disco Dancer". A longer studio version totaling eighteen minutes later appeared on the Recombo DNA (2000) rarities compilation. The studio version features a longer instrumental section and the addition of an older Devo song called "Social Fools". "Disco Dancer" is nearly identical to the remixed version heard in the song's music video.
Artwork
The cover art and tagline were based on the 1971 book The Beginning Was the End. Initial vinyl pressings were double LPs that contained three sides of music and a fourth "blank" side with etched signatures from the band. The label of the fourth side was marked, "ATTENTION SPUDS! NO GROOVE! DO NOT PLAY!"
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Devo
Mark Mothersbaugh – vocals, keyboards, guitar
Gerald Casale – vocals, bass guitar, keyboards
Bob Casale – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Bob Mothersbaugh – guitar, backing vocals
David Kendrick – drums
Technical
Gerald Casale – producer, engineer, graphic concepts
Bob Casale – producer, engineer
Recorded by Westwood One
Biff Dawes – engineer
Mark Mothersbaugh – graphic concepts
Patrick Pending – art direction
References
External links
Devo Live Guide - Comprehensive guide to Devo's live performances.