Devo's final album under the auspicises of
Warner Brothers, "Shout" was a dismal commercial failure? It was not promoted by
WB except for it's
cover of
Jimi Hendrix' "Are You Experienced?". The album did not even spawn a tour, though this may have been complicated by the departure of Drummer
Alan Myers.
Shout's music can best be described as
Synth-Pop, as the guitar is pushed primarily into the background for many of the tracks. This sonic shift was also responsible for poor sales, as many less devoted
Devotees were upset at the change.
Originally, however, Shout was to be a
concept album and film involving the
Smart Patrol fighting a corporate disease. Details are sketchy but the rought plot is visible in the
music video for
"Are You Experienced?" and in
Devo's
CD-ROM game,
"The Adventures Of The Smart Patrol".