The brilliance of this collection is that it combines the standard Brit-punk anthems by the Sex Pistols, the Damned, the Buzzcocks, and Stiff Little Fingers with other great songs that typify the variety and range of punk-era independent music from both sides of the Atlantic. The songs are so well chosen that the punk aesthetic is further revealed by the inclusion of songs that characterize pub rock, new wave, and other related genres. The usual punk suspects ("New Rose," "Anarchy in the UK") are all here, along with many other treasures: Dr. Feelgood's "Milk and Alcohol", Devo's "Mongoloid," Jonathan Richman's "Roadrunner," Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer," and Television's "Marquee Moon." The less commonly anthologized punk selections are inspired, too: the Ruts' "Babylon Is Burning," Generation X's "Ready Steady Go," and X-Ray Spex's "Identity," along with the seminal "Sheena is a Punk Rocker." The conception of the genre is expanded further to include Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, XTC, Joe Jackson, the Pretenders, the Tubes, and Blondie, and their presence overcomes the tendency for boring repetition on a very long collection.

Hot Potatoes is the best available single-disc overview of Devo's career, hitting nearly all of the most significant moments from their first five albums, as well as including the non-LP singles "Be Stiff" and "Working in a Coalmine." "Whip It" and "Freedom of Choice" are here, of course, as are cult favorites "Jocko Homo," "Mongoloid," "Satisfaction (I Can't Get Me No)," plus many more. However, even if it's the best available, it isn't that widely available in the U.S.; plus, Devo's first three albums in particular all have at least a few fine songs that aren't included here. But if you only want one disc and don't mind hunting a bit, Hot Potatoes: The Best of Devo is superior to the American Greatest Hits, which for some reason does not feature "Mongoloid," one of the most obvious choices for a Devo hits collection.

Coming in way above their previous effort, 1990’s Smooth Noodle Maps, Something for Everybody is the album Devo's fans had craved for 28 long years, or maybe 29, if you fall on the sour side of the iffy Oh, No! It's Devo. The synthetic, compressed, and punchy production – courtesy of producer and Bird & the Bee member Greg Kurstin – is a modern take on the sound of 1981’s New Traditionalists, and if you judge by hooks, this is right in line with their 1980 breakthrough, Freedom of Choice, although there’s certainly no “Whip It”-sized megahit here. Instead, there’s the opening “Fresh!” a herky-jerky, infectious number with lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh stuttering as if he just created New Wave’s “My Generation.” The wicked highlight “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man)” (“They’ll hunt you down/And tase you bro/For playing with the rules”) is the album’s other key track, thanks to Mothersbaugh’s perfect framing of de-evolution’s give (hybrid cars) and take, take, take (Beltway snipers, overzealous cops, etc.).

Futurismo proudly present the release all hardcore Devo fans have been waiting for: Art Devo 1973-1977, a lovingly packaged box set housing rare, unheard and obscure mind blowers sourced directly from the vaults of The De-Evolution Band. This anthology takes you from the bands initial conception in Akron, Ohio to the moment before the world woke up, in a collection of sonic and visual art that captures Devo at the dawn of industrial death.

DEVO marks half a century of de-evolution as the trailblazing band resumes their global tour this fall. Rhino pays tribute to the influential group today, unveiling a new career-spanning boxed set that encompasses all of Devo’s hits and a selection of rarities.