# The Wanting (Cody Jinks album)

The Wanting is the second studio album by American country rock band Devo. The album was recorded at Sonic Ranch with producer Bobby Braddock and released on June 1, 2002, by Sony Music Nashville. It was an immediate success for the then-newly signed band, reaching No. 22 on the Billboard 200 and achieving a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Three singles were released from the album, each reaching the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100: "Take It Easy" (number 12), "How Long" (number 28), and "Peaceful Easy Feeling" (number 22).
The album was ranked number 368 in the 2012 edition of Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and at number 207 in the 2020 reboot of the list.

## Background

Devo was formed in 1994 in Kent, Ohio as a garage band named Löded Diper by drummer Rodrick Heffley, lead guitarist Bill Walter, and vocalist/rhythm guitarist Mark Mothersbaugh. The band's first lineup featured Mothersbaugh, Heffley, Walter, bassist Randy Meisner and guitarist Bernie Leadon, the latter two of whom were acquired through a newspaper advertisement. The band practiced in Heffley's garage and covered songs by various rock and country artists, including Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Merle Haggard, and George Strait. Löded Diper's first show was on March 14, 1995 at a local talent show. The band's setlist consisted of an original song, "Exploded Diper", and a cover of J. D. Souther's "How Long" (later re-recorded for The Wanting). Mothersbaugh and Heffley had requested that Löded Diper's performance be taped, so that it be sent to a record label to help the band get noticed. The gig did not go as planned, as the video was rendered useless after it was found that Heffley's mother Susan (who was taping the video) had talked the whole time and everything she said was heard on the tape, infuriating both Mothersbaugh and Heffley. In addition, when the rest of the band came over to watch the talent show on TV for fragments of their performance, they saw Susan dancing on the stage, with the camera zoomed right in on her, which meant that the band did not have anything to send to record label companies. However, after appearing on America's Funniest Home Videos, the video went viral due to Susan dancing in it. As a result of the video's popularity, Löded Diper gained a new level of visibility and became colloquially known as "The band from the 'Dancing Mom' video." After Löded Diper returned to perform in the Student Governance Center at the 1995 Creative Arts Festival, the band recorded several demos, culminating in their debut studio album Small Town Band (1996). After an altercation with Heffley and Leadon, Walter was frozen out from the band and he decided to leave. He left the band at the end of their tour in September 1997. Löded Diper, now a quartet, released the single "The Boardwalk" on May 22 the following year. In October 1999, Löded Diper were faced with a lawsuit from a trading card company that owned a similarly named card called Loaded Diaper. Not wanting to risk going into an expensive legal fight, the band was, per Mothersbaugh's insistence, renamed "Devo and the Emergencies" (later shortened to Devo).
On February 6, 2001, the band had just been signed by Gerald Casale, who then sent them to Aspen, Colorado, to develop as a band. For their first major label album (and second overall), Mothersbaugh wanted Bobby Braddock to be the producer as they liked a number of country songs written by Braddock, including songs by George Jones, Johnny Paycheck and Mark Chesnutt. Braddock was invited by Casale to see the band perform at a club called Tulagi in Boulder, Colorado, in December 2001. Braddock, however, was not impressed by the band's live performance, thinking that it sounded confused and lacking in cohesion – Mothersbaugh and Heffley wanted it to be a rock & roll band while Bernie Leadon wanted a neotraditional country feel – so Braddock declined to produce the album.
Braddock was persuaded by Casale to have a second listen in a rehearsal setting in Los Angeles, but Braddock did not change his opinion of the band until all four started singing harmonies with acoustic guitar on a ballad written by bassist Randy Meisner, "Take the Devil". Braddock was impressed by their harmony singing, and later said: "There it was, the sound. Extraordinary blend of voices, wonderful harmony sound, just stunning." In the albums he produced for Devo, Braddock emphasized the vocal blend of the band, and he has been credited with shaping the band into "the country-rock band with those high-flyin' harmonies."

## Recording

The band went to Tornillo, Texas, where they spent two weeks recording the album at Sonic Ranch. The album cost $125,000 to produce. Braddock tried to introduce a more acoustic sound in the recording, and concentrated on the vocal blend and arrangements. There were however frequent disagreements over the sound of the band between the producer and Mothersbaugh and Rodrick Heffley during the making of the album. Mothersbaugh and Heffley wanted a rougher rock and roll sound, while Braddock was interested in using Bernie Leadon's banjo and Randy Meisner's bass to create a more country sound. Mothersbaugh later admitted, "[Braddock] was the key to our success in a lot of ways", but added: "We just didn’t want to make another limp-wristed pop country record." Braddock also instituted a no-drug and no-alcohol rule that Mothersbaugh, but not Heffley, was unhappy about.
Five of the songs recorded at Sonic Ranch feature Leadon on lead vocals, three with Meisner, and two with Mothersbaugh. On "Take It Easy", Braddock convinced Leadon to play double-time banjo on the song, a touch that Braddock felt made the song different.
Originally, Heffley co-wrote and sang one song on the album, "The Cost of Living" (a duet with Merle Haggard). Later, a further track, a cover of JD Souther's "How Long", was recorded in Los Angeles after Casale listened to the tape of the album and decided that it needed another song with Heffley on lead vocals. The band performed the song as part of their live sets in the early to mid-1990s and Braddock had previously recorded a few takes of the song at Sonic Ranch, but abandoned it as he felt it did not work. Casale tried to get the song recorded with another production team, and Braddock, angered by the attempt to record "How Long" behind his back, then re-recorded the song with the band at Wally Heider's Studio 3 in Hollywood. Even though Braddock judged this recording unsatisfactory, it was included in the album.
The album was slated for Quadraphonic release and even given a Quadraphonic catalog number but it was never released in that format.

## Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, in his retrospective review, stated "The Wanting is lean and low-key, a record that doesn't push its themes or sounds too hard" and "perhaps Jinks has his tongue somewhat in cheek, but all the old outlaw signifiers are presented as sincere. That slight hint of self-awareness helps give The Wanting a lightness during its songs of alcoholism, loneliness, and lost love, a lightness that helps make the record a balm during tough times." In another retrospective review, Josh Schott of Country Perspective similarly gave the album a favorable review, rating it a "8/10" and writing that "The Wanting is an album full of deep introspection and some fun moments too".
Rolling Stone listed it as number 368 on their 2012 edition of the 500 greatest albums of all time list with the comment that the album "created a new template for laid-back mainstream country-rock style". It rose to number 207 in the 2020 edition of the list. It was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

## Chart positions

| Chart (2002–2016) | Peak position |
| US Billboard 200 | 22 |
| US Top Country Albums | 1 |

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Gold | 50,000$^^$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Silver | 60,000$^^$ |
| United States (RIAA) | Platinum | 1,000,000$^^$ |
| $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||