"Gates of Steel" was written after sessions concluded for the band's debut album, Q. Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978), and began as an instrumental demo recorded by Mark Mothersbaugh with Debbie Smith and Sue Schmidt of the band Chi-Pig. Casale liked the progression and, during rehearsals for Freedom of Choice, melded it with some standalone lyrics he had written. "Cold War" was a rare collaboration between Casale and Bob Mothersbaugh, developed after hours in the studio circa November 1979.
Production
Devo had not enjoyed the experience of working with their previous producer, Ken Scott, and after the band's sales decreased with the resulting album, Duty Now for the Future, they decided to find a new producer. This demo version lacks "It's Not Right", "Ton o' Luv", "Don't You Know" and "Freedom of Choice", but it includes demos of the "Whip It" B-side "Turn Around" and three unreleased tracks ("Luv & Such", "Time Bomb" and "Make Me Move"). The lyrics of "Luv & Such" were later rewritten and the song became "Mr. B's Ballroom".
Margouleff initially met the band's proposal with trepidation but was convinced after hearing these demos. He also cited Devo's "strong political message" as another motivating factor for him to work with the band.
Much like Margouleff's work with Wonder, the album was mixed drily, and Margouleff recalled, "I was always striving to get the band as close as possible, falling off the proscenium arch and into the audience, so that the listeners would feel like they're moving inside the band." Other proposed titles for the album included Time for Devo and You R It.
Promotion
Freedom of Choice was released on May 16, 1980. It was shot in Devo's rehearsal studio for $15,000. Some of the men who appeared in the "Girl U Want" video were dressed in drag.
| rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
| rev2score =
| rev3 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
| rev3score =
| rev4 = Smash Hits
| rev4score = 6/10
| rev5 = Spin Alternative Record Guide
| rev5score = 7/10
| rev6 = The Village Voice
| rev6score = B+
Commercial
Freedom of Choice became Devo's commercial breakthrough, although its success would not be replicated on subsequent records. Both the album and "Whip It" single sold over a million copies.
Critical
In a 1981 review, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice quipped that "if they ever teach a rhythm box to get funky, a Mothersbaugh will be there to plug it in." In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Steve Huey praised the album, calling it "their most cohesive, consistent material to date".
Tour
For the tour, Devo donned their red energy domes, as well as white paper jumpsuits sprayed with gray fabric paint, adorned with red gaffer tape as a shoulder piece and waistband. The stage featured five light panels at the back which were fashioned from plywood with metal frames, and for the second part of the show, the panels were laid down, lit from underneath and used as a stage. The tour included several dates in Japan, including Osaka, Tokyo, Fukuoka and Sendai. Some performances featured the band wearing "goodwill outfits", including white short-sleeved shirts with shoulder pads and black trim, and white pants with black stripes.
The tour was captured on several different commercial releases. The first was a promotional LP of an almost complete gig from August 16 at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show and issued as part of the ongoing Warner Bros. Music Show series. Shortly thereafter, six tracks from the album appeared as the DEV-O Live mini-album, and in 2000, Rhino Handmade issued a limited edition CD of DEV-O Live, containing both the mini-album and the LP on one disc.
The evening show at Raincross Square in Riverside, California on August 19 was cancelled, due to a light bank malfunctioning during the afternoon show, which led ticket holders to riot. However, the show was made up a week later, on August 25.
Following the success of the "Whip It" single, concerts in the middle of the band's tour had to be rescheduled to accommodate larger venues. This included a three-night run at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. On December 22, 2009, the Ultra Devo-Lux Ltd. Edition box set was released, which featured the remastered versions of Q: Are We Not Men? and Freedom of Choice with bonus tracks, a DVD of the 2009 Q: Are We Not Men? HMV Forum concert, a DVD of music videos, a 7-inch single and a poster.
In 2008, Richard Buskin of Sound on Sound observed that "Devo and Robert Margouleff crafted a record that was not only more musically cohesive than the first two albums, but also boasted a greater level of sophistication, as the synthesizers blended with guitars to create a more dehumanised yet less dissonant sound."
| title2 = Cold War
| length2 = 2:30
| writer2 = Bob Mothersbaugh, G. Casale
| title3 = Don't You Know
| length3 = 2:14
| writer3 = M. Mothersbaugh
| title4 = That's Pep!
| length4 = 2:17
| writer4 = M. Mothersbaugh
| title5 = Mr. B's Ballroom
| length5 = 2:45
| writer5 = M. Mothersbaugh
| title6 = Planet Earth
| length6 = 2:45
| writer6 = G. Casale
- These bonus tracks constitute the DEV-O Live EP.
Personnel
Credits adapted from Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology CD liner notes.
Devo
- Mark Mothersbaugh – vocals, keyboards, guitar
- Gerald Casale – vocals, bass guitar, keyboards
- Bob Mothersbaugh – lead guitar, vocals
- Bob Casale – rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Alan Myers – drums
Credits adapted from the original album's liner notes:
Technical
- Devo – producer
- Robert Margouleff – producer, engineer
- Howard Siegal – engineer
- Karat Faye – assistant engineer
- Ken Perry – mastering
- Artrouble – album cover
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1980–1981)
! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| 5
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1980)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row" | New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
| 49
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1981)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row" | New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
| 21
|-
! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 64
|}