(Rhino)

Firmly rooted in their eponymous theories of musical "de-evolution," Devo burst onto the musical scene in the late '70s with the memorable "Jocko Homo" and "Mongoloid," and continued producing songs like the oft-covered "Girl U Want" and, yes, "Whip It." The band carved its own niche through minimal instrumentation, precise rhythms and sing-songy atonality; it became known for its cover versions, which "de-evolved" classics like the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" into their bare structural elements. Remembered by most for their early contributions to music video in red flowerpot hats and by a handful for their role in early '80s art rock, the youthful, clever, oh-so-postmodern Ackronites known as Devo, now pushing 40, have decided to release an anthology. Pioneers Who Got Scalped traces the de-evolution of Devo from 1977 to the present, following their glory days as the aforementioned innovative, inspiring, flower-potted musicians to their unfortunate experiments with melody and New Wave in the late '80s to their most recent material, namely an indifferent 1996 cover of Trent Reznor's "Head Like a Hole," which is disappointingly similar to the original, and a creation from this year, "The Words Get Stuck in My Throat."

Pioneers is not an anthology to kick back to and enjoy from beginning to end in one fell swoop; for hard-core fans looking for favorite tracks and hard-to-find singles in a neat little 2-CD case whose design recalls memories of your elementary school ruler with the moving dinosaurs, however, this anthology will not entirely disappoint. B-

-Thalia S. Field