Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology

Released

2000

Recorded

1976–2000

Genre

Length

2:34:39

Label

Rhino

Producer

Devo chronology

Adventures of the Smart Patrol
(1996)

Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology
(2000)

Recombo DNA
(2000)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Rolling Stone	^[2]

Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology is a compilation album by the American new wave band Devo, released in 2000 by Rhino Records. 17 of the 50 tracks were previously unreleased on CD, including single B-sides, outtakes, remixes, soundtrack songs and spoken word material. The band recorded the long-time concert favorite "The Words Get Stuck in My Throat" (from the film The War of the Gargantuas) in the studio for the first time, specifically for inclusion on this compilation.

Background

Pioneers Who Got Scalped came about after Rhino Entertainment was acquired by Warner Bros, giving Rhino access to Devo's old contract with Warners.^[3] Devo co-founder Gerald Casale had initially wanted to structure the anthology as a four-disc set, with each disc following a theme: first, the early, pre-Warners years; second, the best of the Warners recordings; third, songs from the band's tenure with Enigma Records, focusing on remixes and unreleased material; and fourth, the band's soundtrack work, called "Devo Goes to Movies".^[3] However, according to Casale, he was told by the label, "that doesn't work for us at retail".^[3]

Title and packaging

The title is a reference to the band's opinion that at the start of their career they were critically roasted for originating approaches that soon became common practice.^[4]

The packaging, 52-page booklet and 3D cover were conceived by Casale.^[3] The original Rhino package used lenticular printing to create "animated" front and back covers. The front cover animation showed tomahawks flying towards the band members who are tied to stakes, causing their energy dome hats to fly off their heads. The back cover shows the animated music executives, who were actual Rhino employees, throwing the tomahawks.

The liner notes are by music historian Andy Zax, most famous for being the "Music Geek" on the Comedy Central program Beat the Geeks.

Track listing

Adapted from the album's liner notes.^[5] Asterisks denote songs previously unavailable on CD.

All tracks are written by Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale, except where otherwise noted

Disc one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Source	Length
1.	"We're All Devo!" (Booji Boy & General Boy) (*)		From the short film In the Beginning Was the End: The Truth About De-Evolution, 1977	1:04
2.	"Jocko Homo" (Booji Boy Version) (*)	M. Mothersbaugh	B-side of "Mongoloid" (Booji Boy Version), 1977	3:18
3.	"Mongoloid" (Booji Boy Version)	G. Casale	Single A-Side, 1977	3:34
4.	"Be Stiff" (Stiff Version)	G. Casale, Bob Lewis	Single A-side, 1978	2:34
5.	"Uncontrollable Urge"	M. Mothersbaugh	Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, 1978	3:10
6.	"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"	Mick Jagger, Keith Richards	Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!	2:40
7.	"Too Much Paranoias"	M. Mothersbaugh	Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!	1:58
8.	"Come Back Jonee"		Single A-side; from Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!	3:48
9.	"Triumph of the Will"		Duty Now for the Future, 1979	2:16
10.	"Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA"		Duty Now for the Future	6:05
11.	"Secret Agent Man"	P. F. Sloan, Steve Barri	Single A-side; from Duty Now for the Future	3:34
12.	"The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprize"	M. Mothersbaugh	Single A-side; from Duty Now for the Future	2:41
13.	"Soo Bawlz"	M. Mothersbaugh	B-side of "Secret Agent Man", 1979	2:21
14.	"It Takes a Worried Man" (*)	Traditional, arr. Tom Glazer, Donald Guard	From the film Human Highway, 1982; recorded 1979	3:28
15.	"Girl U Want"		Single A-side; from Freedom of Choice, 1980	2:56
16.	"Freedom of Choice"		Single A-side; from Freedom of Choice	3:28
17.	"Gates of Steel"	G. Casale, M. Mothersbaugh, Sue Schmidt, Debbie Smith^[6]	Freedom of Choice	3:28
18.	"Whip It"		Single A-side; from Freedom of Choice	2:40
19.	"Snowball" (Single Remix) (*)		B-side of "Freedom of Choice"; original version from Freedom of Choice	2:28
20.	"Mr. B's Ballroom"	M. Mothersbaugh	Freedom of Choice	2:47
21.	"Working in the Coal Mine"	Allen Toussaint	Single A-side; bonus 7" included with some copies of New Traditionalists, 1981	2:50
22.	"Love Without Anger"		New Traditionalists	2:36
23.	"Through Being Cool"	G. Casale, M. Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh	Single A-side; from New Traditionalists	3:13
24.	"Jerkin' Back 'n' Forth"		New Traditionalists	3:04
25.	"Beautiful World"		Single A-side; from New Traditionalists	3:34
26.	"Nu-Tra Speaks (New Traditionalist Man)" (Protar)	G. Casale	B-side of "Beautiful World" picture disc, 1981	1:40

Disc two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Source	Length
1.	"General Boy Visits Apocalypse Now" (General Boy) (*)		Previously unreleased; recorded 1979	1:45
2.	"Peek-a-Boo!"		Single A-side; from Oh, No! It's Devo, 1982	3:02
3.	"That's Good"		Single A-side; from Oh, No! It's Devo	3:26
4.	"Big Mess"		Oh, No! It's Devo	2:45
5.	"One Dumb Thing" (*)		Interstate '82 CD-ROM game, 1999; recorded 1982/1998	2:45
6.	"Theme from Doctor Detroit" (Dance Mix) (*)		Single A-side; original version from the film Doctor Detroit, 1983	6:03
7.	"Shout"		Shout	3:17
8.	"Here to Go" (Go Mix Version)		Single A-side; original version from Shout, 1984	5:31
9.	"Are You Experienced?"	Jimi Hendrix	Single A-side; from Shout	3:09
10.	"I Wouldn't Do That to You" (*)		From the film Happy Hour, 1987; recorded 1985	3:14
11.	"Bread and Butter" (*)	Larry Parks, Jay Turnbow	From the film 9½ Weeks, 1986	2:31
12.	"Let's Talk" (*)	M. Mothersbaugh	From the film Fright Night, 1985; recorded 1984	2:42
13.	"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" (*)	Paul Vance, Lee Pockriss	From the film Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, 1987	2:11
14.	"Baby Doll" (Devo Single Mix)		Single A-side; original version from Total Devo, 1988	3:29
15.	"Disco Dancer" (7-Inch Version)		Single A-side; original version from Total Devo	4:13
16.	"Some Things Never Change"		Total Devo	4:11
17.	"It Doesn't Matter to Me" (Live 1988)	M. Mothersbaugh	Now It Can Be Told: DEVO at the Palace, 1989	2:15
18.	"Stuck in a Loop"		Smooth Noodle Maps, 1990	3:50
19.	"Post Post-Modern Man"		Single A-side; from Smooth Noodle Maps	2:52
20.	"Head Like a Hole"	Trent Reznor	From the film Supercop, 1996	4:52
21.	"Thanks to You"		From the film Meet Wally Sparks, 1997	3:19
22.	"Communication Break-up" (*)	M. Mothersbaugh, Leslie Greif	From the film Meet Wally Sparks	2:43
23.	"Duty Now for the Future!" (General Boy) (*)		From the short film The Men Who Make the Music, 1981; recorded 1979	0:30
24.	"The Words Get Stuck in My Throat" (Booji Boy) (*)	M. Mothersbaugh, Akira Ifukube	New recording, 2000	2:49

Personnel

All credits adapted from the album's liner notes.^[5]

Devo

Mark Mothersbaugh – vocals, keyboards, guitar, voice (as Booji Boy) on "We're All Devo!" and "The Words Get Stuck in My Throat"
Gerald Casale – vocals, bass guitar, keyboards
Bob Mothersbaugh – lead guitar, vocals
Bob Casale – rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals
Jim Mothersbaugh – drums (1974–1976)
Alan Myers – drums (1976–1986)
David Kendrick – drums (1986–1990), bongos on "Communication Break-up"
Josh Freese – drums (1995–)

Additional musicians

Robert L. Mothersbaugh – voice (as General Boy) on "We're All Devo!", "General Boy Visits Apocalypse Now" and "Duty Now for the Future!"
Annerose Bücklers – voice (as nurse) on "Theme from Doctor Detroit"
Roli Rox – additional programming on "Here to Go"
Steve Lindsay – bass sample on "Disco Dancer"
Paul C. – additional programming on "Disco Dancer"
Bob Lee – drums on "Head Like a Hole"
Nick Vincent – drums on "Thanks to You"
Ralf Rickert – trumpet on "Communication Break-up"
Larry Klimas – saxophone on "Communication Break-up"
Paul Morin – stand-up bass on "Communication Break-up"

Technical

Devo – producer (disc one: 2, 3, 14–26 / disc 2: 1, 5–16, 18–22, 24), engineer (disc one: 2, 3 / disc 2: 6), compilation producer
Brian Eno – producer (disc one: 4–8)
Ken Scott – producer, engineer (disc one: 9–13)
Robert Margouleff – producer, engineer (disc one: 15–20)
Roy Thomas Baker – producer (disc two: 2–4)
Bob Casale – producer (disc two: 17), engineer (disc two: 5, 7–22, 24), mixing (disc two: 20)
Gerald Casale – producer, engineer (disc two: 17)
Conny Plank – engineer (disc one: 4–8)
Patrick Gleeson – engineer (disc one: 8)
Brian Leshon – assistant engineer (disc one: 9–13)
Phil Jost – assistant engineer (disc one: 9–13)
Buck Herring – engineer (disc one: 14)
Wally Duguid – engineer (disc one: 14)
Howard Siegal – engineer (disc one: 15–20)
Karat Faye – assistant engineer (disc one: 15–20, 22, 23, 25)
Ian Taylor – remix (disc one: 19)
Michael Boshears – engineer (disc one: 21)
Larry Alexander – engineer (disc one: 22, 23, 25)
Phil Brown – engineer (disc one: 24)
Gordon Fordyce – engineer (disc two: 2–4)
Stuart Graham – assistant engineer (disc two: 2–4)
Ed Delena – assistant engineer (disc two: 7–9, 12)
Mike Shipley – mixing (disc two: 7)
Ivan Ivan – remix (disc two: 8, 15)
Steve Peck – remix engineer (disc two: 8)
Clive Taylor – assistant engineer (disc two: 11)
Ted Pattison – assistant engineer (disc two: 14–16)
Roey Shamir – remix engineer (disc two: 15)
Roger Pauletta – editing (disc two: 15)
Biff Dawes – live engineer (disc two: 17)
Andrew Ballard – assistant engineer (disc two: 18, 19)
Jeff Lord-Alge – mixing (disc two: 18, 19)
Bill Inglot – remastering, compilation sound producer
Dan Hersch – remastering
Gary Peterson – compilation producer
David McLees – compilation producer
David Baker – compilation producer
Josh Mancell – compilation assistance, tape research
Hugh Brown – art direction, design
Rachel Gutek – design

References

^ Huey, Steve. "Devo – Pioneers Who Got Scalped". AllMusic. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
^ Wolk, Douglas (June 8, 2000). "Devo: Pioneers Who Got Scalped (The Anthology); Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 15, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Mullen, Frank (May 1, 2000). "Devo :: Ink 19". Ink 19. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
^ Domanick, Andrea (2018-08-29). "The Truth About Devo, America's Most Misunderstood Band". vice.com. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
^ ^a ^b Devo (2000). Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology (CD liner notes). Rhino. R2 75967.
^ "The De-Evolution of Akron's Music", Beacon Journal, 2000-09-10, retrieved 2009-12-01

v t e Devo
Gerald Casale Mark Mothersbaugh Bob Mothersbaugh Josh Freese Josh Hager Bob Casale Alan Myers Jim Mothersbaugh Bob Lewis Fred Weber Rod Reisman David Kendrick Jeff Friedl
Studio albums	Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978) Duty Now for the Future (1979) Freedom of Choice (1980) New Traditionalists (1981) Oh, No! It's Devo (1982) Shout (1984) Total Devo (1988) Smooth Noodle Maps (1990) Something for Everybody (2010)
Live albums	Now It Can Be Told: Devo at the Palace (1989) Devo Live: The Mongoloid Years (1992) DEV-O Live (1999) Devo Live 1980 (2005) Hardcore Devo Live! (2015)
Compilation albums	E-Z Listening Disc (1987) Devo's Greatest Hits (1990) Devo's Greatest Misses (1990) Hardcore Devo: Volume One (1990) Hardcore Devo: Volume Two (1991) Hot Potatoes: The Best of Devo (1993) Adventures of the Smart Patrol (1996) Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology (2000) Recombo DNA (2000) This Is the Devo Box (2008) Something Else for Everybody (2013) 50 Years of De-Evolution 1973–2023 (2023)
EPs	B Stiff (1977) Mechanical Man (1978) DEV-O Live (1981) Theme from Doctor Detroit (1983) Watch Us Work It (2008) Song Study (2010)
Singles	"Mongoloid" "Jocko Homo" "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" "Be Stiff" "Secret Agent Man" "Girl U Want" "Whip It" "Freedom of Choice" "Through Being Cool" "Beautiful World" "Working in the Coal Mine" "Peek-a-Boo!" "That's Good" "Are You Experienced?" "Here to Go" "Disco Dancer" "Watch Us Work It"
Home video releases	The Men Who Make the Music Human Highway We're All Devo The Complete Truth About De-Evolution Devo Live Devo Live 1980 Hardcore Devo Live!
Related articles	Discography Characters (Booji Boy General Boy) Church of the SubGenius Devo 2.0 Devo Presents Adventures of the Smart Patrol Energy dome Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers Mutato Muzika The Beginning Was the End "Dare to Be Stupid" "The Mutants Are Revolting"