B Stiff (EP)

B Stiff is the first EP by American new wave band Devo, released in 1978 by Stiff Records.

B Stiff EP
EP by Devo
Released	1978
Recorded	February 1977–October 1977
Genre	Art punk new wave punk rock
Length	17:31
Label	Stiff
Producer	Devo, Brian Eno
Devo chronology
B Stiff EP (1978) Mechanical Man EP (1978)
Singles from Be Stiff EP
"Mongoloid" Released: March 12, 1977 "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" Released: September 1977 "Be Stiff" Released: 1978

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

Background

B Stiff is a compilation of three 7-inch singles released by Stiff in the UK, the first two of which had initially been released independently by the band.^[2][3] The EP collects the only three Devo singles released by Stiff.^[4] The cover was created by graphic designer Barney Bubbles and photographer Brian Griffin.^[5]

Availability

Although the B Stiff EP has never had a proper CD release, five of its six tracks have been re-released on various compilation albums in the digital format:

• "Jocko Homo" – Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology
• "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" – Greatest Misses, Hardcore Devo: Volume One
• "Be Stiff" – Greatest Misses, Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology
• "Mongoloid" – Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology (A slightly different mix appeared on Hardcore Devo: Volume One.)
• "Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Getting)" – Recombo DNA (The extra few seconds of drum noise and shouting before the song starts have been removed from this version.)

A re-recording of "Social Fools" produced by Brian Eno appeared as the B-side of the "Come Back Jonee" single in 1978. It was later reissued as a bonus track on the Virgin CD release of Q: Are We Not Men A: We Are Devo!/Dev-O Live EP in 1993 and was subsequently reissued again on Social Fools (The Virgin Singles 1978-1982) in 2015 and Turn Around: B-Sides & More (1978-1984) in 2019.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Jocko Homo" (Mark Mothersbaugh) – 3:21
2. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 2:53
3. "Be Stiff" (Gerald V. Casale, Bob Lewis) – 2:35

Side two

1. "Mongoloid" (G.V. Casale) – 3:30
2. "Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Getting)" (M. Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh, G.V. Casale, Gary Jackett) – 2:20
3. "Social Fools" (G.V. Casale, M. Mothersbaugh) – 2:52

Personnel

Devo^{[citation needed]}

• Bob Casale – rhythm guitar, additional keyboards, occasional backing vocals
• Gerald Casale – bass guitar, additional keyboards, lead vocals
• Bob Mothersbaugh – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Jim Mothersbaugh – electronic drums
• Mark Mothersbaugh – keyboards, occasional guitar, lead vocals
• Alan Myers – drums

Technical

• Devo – producers
• Brian Eno – producer ("Be Stiff")

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Isler, Scott (1983). Ira A. Robbins (ed.). The Trouser Press Guide to New Wave Records. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 79. ISBN 978-0684179445.
3. Isler, Scott; Robbins, Ira; Neugebauer, Delvin. "Devo - Trouser Press". Trouser Press. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
4. Thompson, Dave. "Be Stiff [EP] - Devo". AllMusic. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
5. "BRIAN GRIFFIN - Devo / Devo - B Stiff". Brian Griffin. Retrieved November 11, 2022.