Legendary post-punk band Devo has announced the release of a new live album, Miracle Witness Hour, which was recorded in Cleveland all the way back in 1977 prior to the release of the band's debut album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! The album is set for release Dec. 1 and will include liner notes written by founding member Gerald Casale. You can also listen to a live version of "Uncontrollable Urge."

According to a statement posted to the website of the band's label Futurismo, the album was recorded at a "biker bar turned total dive" known as the Eagle Street Saloon with only a few people in attendance.

"A rare glimpse into the embryonic stages of the groundbreaking band way before the masses knew how to 'whip it good,'" the statement said, "the Miracle Witness Hour boasts primal versions of the band's most-recalled avant-pop songs such as 'Jocko Homo' and 'Mongoloid' ... juxtaposed against some of their rarer experimental gems."

The concert was reportedly so small and intimate that in the recordings "you can make out individual handclaps of the sparse crowd."

The album will be released on both CD and LP formats, the LP in particular coming in "three different Vinyl colors." Included with the album will be rare and previously unreleased photos of the band as well.

You can read the band's full statement, as well as listen to a live recording of their classic song "Uncontrollable Urge," over at the Futurismo website.

Devo's most recent studio album Something for Everybody was released in 2010. It was their first studio album in 20 years, their last one being Smooth Noodle Maps in 1990.

Join the Discussion