Oingo Boingo Album: “Good for Your Soul”

There never has been a band like Boingo, and maybe there never will be again. The closest thing at the time was Adam Ant or Juluka; the only thing close recently was legendary LA alt band Sad Monster. Driving, propulsive and frenetic, Boingo did not just encourage you to dance; they demanded that you do it. Add to this sharp, witty, quirky lyrics and you get a manic dance band that only the New Wave era could have produced. Scorned by critics, ignored nationally, Boingo's unique brilliance has yet to be truly appreciated, but if you lived in LA in the eighties you knew all about them. In that city, in their time, they were king. No one has ever matched them. Many have suggested that this album was not as good as ONLY A LAD or DEAD MAN'S PARTY, but in truth the band is just as good as ever. It is a superb album overflowing with excellent tracks. Note how the use of brass and the use of the almost echoing chorus punch up the excellent `Wake Up (It's 1984)'. Check out the quirky angst of `Who Do You Want To Be' or the manic intensity of `Cry Of The Vatos'. Ponder the mystery of "Pictures Of You' and `Dead Or Alive' (Boingo's Halloween obsession needs no better introduction than the latter track). Thrill to the driving tension that is `Sweat' (which deals with the trauma of teenage sex), enjoy the esoteric vision that is `No Spill Blood' (based on Wells). Stroll with the sarcastic indifference of `Nothing Bad ever Happens To Me' (`Did you here about Fred whose unemployed, they threw him away like a useless toy, he went down the drain after 20 long years, no warning, no pension, nobody's tears, and I can't believe that anyone would, wanna do such a terrible thing, but why should I care, nothing bad ever happens to me'). Cruise with `Fill The Void' or `Good For Your Soul'. From the former check out the lyrics: `They all come to me with their demands what do they want from me, what do they want from a boy who can't believe? They want to fill the void, they want to fill the empty spaces but I won't let them consume me with the rest of the lifeless faces' you'd be hard pressed to find a better expression of adolescent angst (except perhaps, on `Sweat'). Not a guilty pleasure, but a timeless treasure

1983's Good For Your Soul was evidence that OB was at the top of their game. It's a great follow-up to 1982's Nothing to Fear and not a distant cry from it either. To this day, Good for Your Soul sounds like it was recorded yesterday (some 21 years later). In other words, it was far ahead of it's time. Critics have argued that this album doesn't focus as a whole, but I disagree.

It's true the songs here do not work together lyrically, but what does weave together is the driving, clanky goofy persona and noise textures. It was just the potion Oingo needed to fire up their next album. This is the sort of stuff which Weird Al would hate to admit, but was his true influential roots along with Devo.

Most noteably Good for Your Soul feels more like a transitional album (though not a concept album) between 1982's Nothing to Fear and 1985's Dead Man's Party. Good For Your Soul includes the fractured, goofy lyrics of Nothing to Fear but a more accurate and synchronized musical growth found on Dead Man's Party.

There hasn't ever been anybody that sounds like Oingo Boingo, and this is by and far Oingo Boingo at their creative peak. I'd like to know who has their head planted firmly up their nether regions when it comes to the fact that this CD is out of print. That is a huge disservice to all of us.

Oingo Boingo released an EP around 1980 that was followed up by "Only A Lad" in 1981. I haven't heard the EP, but Only A Lad is a fantastic sophomore effort. Oingo Boingo really hit their peak, though, with 1982's Nothing To Fear. Good For Your Soul continued in the same tradition with the fast, almost manic toe-tapping rhythms and sinister lyrics.

If you liked their more familiar radio hits like Dead Man's Party, you've now touched the tip of the iceberg. Run, don't walk, and pick up Nothing To Fear. If you can get a hold of Good For Your Soul for a decent price, do it. The vinyl is readily available for a great price, too, if that meets your needs.

If you're not at all familiar with Oingo Boingo, I'd be hard pressed to come up with some comparisons. There simply isn't anybody like these guys. All I can say is that if you're a fan of '80s music at all, you need Oingo Boingo. Check out Fill The Void, No Spill Blood and Little Guns from this release. You won't be disappointed.

"Good for Your Soul" goes darker than Danny Elfman had ever done before it - with the purely vile sound and delicate human ideas in "Pictures of You" to the sardonism in "Who Do You Want to Be" and "Nothing Bad Ever Happens."

The best of this album is definitely "Nothing Bad Ever Happens." Something about it is really true, really dark, and really cleverly told.

Also of note is the absoutely enjoyable "Dead or Alive." Hearken to "Skin" on "Dark at the End of the Tunnel" for some sort of similarity in idea or feel, if your really like the ideas. Although "Skin" is not as fun as it is dark and searching.

"Good For Your Soul" is out of print, as you may have noticed. Let me tell you, there is good reason, and if you can get your hands on it, do so!

During an era where rock music was growing more and more silly on on the pop side Oingo Boingo was one of a handful of groups standing out strong amid all the "radio ga ga". Conbining everything from surf,ska,jazz,cartoon music and gothic poetry into this funk-rock mix few others outside them,Talking Heads,Frank Zappa and Was (Not Was) were able to tackle. Danny Elfman's musical world is actually a lot more frenetic than any of those people in a lot of ways because there was this flamboyant madness to what they did. Wheras new wave touches were very strong on their two first albums (they are here too) the influence of funk,always part of the foundation of their sound begins to emmerge here. Bands like Fishbone would soon be making a killing off of music such as "Who Do You Want To Be","Good For Your Soul",'Fill The Void","Sweat","Little Guns" and "Dead Or Alive". All of these songs blend funk,ska and....a bunch of other darkly and intelligently wacky concepts I cannot begin to describe. Now,singular wit aside one thing Elfman and Oingo Boingo had a great knack at were fooling you into thinking they were making a bunch of fun dance music when,in fact some of the ergency in their vocal tone and lyrics made it clear they were more likely whistling past the graveyard musically in the finest funk (and punk) tradition. You can here the beats and synthesizer accented "naked funk" of the period heavier in jams such as the kinetic "Wake Up (It's 1984)" and "Pictures Of You".Even though they are the most grounded in their timeframe they are also two of the strongest songs on this.........very very strong album for the often singles oriented 80's rock sound. "Nothing Bad Ever Happens" goes for pretty straight ahead dub well,as straight as this always warped band would likely get where "No Spill Blood" and the heavily communal afrofunk inspired "Cry Of The Vatos" were very in the pocket funk. It was great that music such as Talking Heads'

allowed bands like this to be able to utilize afrocentric polyrhythms in different band contexts to extend on ideas of musical cooperation. Considering this bands manic approch the more fluid concept of polyrhythm added an extra element of focus to their sound. This is an excellent and surprisingly consistant album through and through and features lots of the bands very best music.