Mechanical Man (EP)

Mechanical Man is a semi-official EP by new wave musicians Devo, released in 1978. It includes four 4-track basement demos by the band, recorded before they were signed to a record contract with Warner Bros. Records.

Mechanical Man EP
EP by
Devo
Released1978
Recorded1975 – 1976
Genre
Length13:48
LabelElevator Records
ProducerDevo
Devo chronology
B Stiff EP
(1978)		 Mechanical Man EP
(1978)		 Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
(1978)

Opinions differ as to the legitimacy of the EP, with some sources considering it a bootleg. Devo webmaster and archivist Michael Pilmer states that it was a "fake bootleg" produced by Virgin Records and included with some copies of the band's debut album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! in the United Kingdom.[1]

The EP was a 7" single housed in a plain sleeve that came in a variety of colors including pink, blue, red, yellow and green. Most EP sleeves were numbered on the back, although the exact number of EPs pressed is unknown.

Recording

The tracks 'Mechanical Man' and 'Auto-Modown' were recorded in 1975, when they were a quartet with Jim Mothersbaugh as their drummer. 'Blackout', was recorded in 1976, when Bob Casale had joined, and Alan Myers had replaced Jim.[2] 'Blockhead', likely also dates to 1976, as the earliest known live performance of the song is from December of that year.[3]

Availability

Although the Mechanical Man EP has never had a proper CD release, all but one track ("Blockhead") were re-released on the Rykodisc compilations Hardcore Devo: Volume One and Volume Two. "Mechanical Man" is an edited version starting at 1:01 of the released version, "Clockout" is labelled as "Blackout" and "Auto-Modown" includes "Space Girl Blues".

Track listing

Side one
  1. "Mechanical Man" (Mark Mothersbaugh) – 3:27
  2. "Blockhead" (Bob Mothersbaugh, Mark Mothersbaugh) – 3:08

Side two
  1. "Blackout" (Gerald V. Casale) – 3:11
  2. "Auto-Modown" (Gerald V. Casale) – 3:51

Personnel

Devo

Additional Personnel

  • Jim Mothersbaugh – electronic drums on 'Mechanical Man' & 'Auto-Modown'
  • Bob Casale – Bass guitar on 'Blackout', Rhythm Guitar on 'Blockhead'
  • Alan Myers – drums on 'Blackout' & 'Blockhead'

Production
  • Producers: Devo (as "Mechanical Man")

References
  1. Photo and blurb on Devo-Obsesso website
  2. Devo - Hardcore Volume 1 (Superior Viaduct, SV024, 2013)
  3. "DEVO Live Guide - 1973 to 1976". huboon.com. Retrieved 2022-02-06.


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