Ah, Devo. They were my favourite band in my all-important 6th form years. My love for them really extended to their first two albums and their video compilations, bought at absurd cost in the days that VHS was still battling Betamax. Later albums were fun, but not world-changing.
I bought the 'Peek-A-Boo' 12" second-hand some time in the mid 80's for £2 and it used to get a lot of play for the b-side - 'Find Out'. The A-side 'Dance Velocity' & B-side 'Devo Dub' versions of 'Peek-A-Boo' added little to an already lightweight song. In fact in the' Devo Dub' version, it apparently just got rid of the vocal! This was back in the day when lazy record companys would apparently just pay a lacky to lean on a few buttons, extending a song by a few minutes and voila - a dance version for clubs.
Jerry Casale has described the album it comes from (Oh No, It's Devo!) as being what Devo imagined an album made by fascist clowns to sound like, and 'Peek-A-Boo' certainly fits the bill. Catchy & sinister in equal measures. I've never really enjoyed the song, and am always pretty eager for it to be over and for the next song to start, so the extended version just prolongs the agony. 'Find Out' makes up for it being an urgent tribal thumper with a darker feel, and much more lasting catchiness. It really should have been on the album, rather hidden on a b-side.
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