Dead Man's Party (CD - 1985)

Oingo Boingo: Danny Elfman (vocals, guitar); John Avila (vocals, bass); Steve Bartek (guitar); Leon Schneiderman (alto & baritone saxophones); Sam Phipps (tenor saxophone); Dale Turner (trumpet, trombone); Mike Bacich (keyboards); John Hernandez (drums, percussion).

Additional personnel: Sundray Tucker, Linda Lawrence Tucker (vocals); Super Novi String Ensemble (strings); Bruce Fowler, George Bohanon (trombone).

Recorded at Sunset Sound Factory, North Hollywood, California.

Personnel: Danny Elfman, Steve Bartek (vocals, guitar); Richard Gibbs (vocals, trombone, keyboards, synthesizer); Kerry Hatch (vocals, keyboards); John Avtla, John Avila (vocals, bass guitar); Leon Schneiderman (saxophone, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Sam Phipps (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Dale Turner (trumpet, trombone, percussion); Mike Bacich, Mike Batch (keyboards); Johnny Hernandez (drums, percussion).

Audio Mixers: David Leonard; Michael Frondelli.

Recording information: Sunset sound Factory.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Danny Elfman; Dale Turner.

Returning after a two-year recording hiatus (during which bandleader Danny Elfman recorded a solo album), Oingo Boingo forsook the excesses of smart-aleck humor and quirky production that had led critics almost universally to dismiss the band's first four albums. The sound is still maybe just a bit too uptight and over-determined, but the horn charts are more focused and sophisticated, and Elfman has matured considerably as a lyricist. Alongside such typically oddball fare as the title track and a surprise hit song called "Weird Science" are the faintly paranoid "Just Another Day" and the frankly romantic "Stay," as well as a glorious Motown tribute called "Help Me." But "Weird Science" is what really brings things to a close with a bang -- though it reverts somewhat to the band's earlier indulgence in wacka-wacka sound effects and willfully crazy production technique, it's also one of Boingo's most satisfying pop songs ever. Overall, this is perhaps the first Oingo Boingo album to hang together really well as a whole. Recommended. ~ Rick Anderson

By the mid-'80s, new wave was long dead and gone, yet somehow this didn't stop Oingo Boingo from continuing their quirky horn-rock stylings with the minimum accommodation made to commercial realities. 1985's DEAD MAN'S PARTY sounds no different from their earlier records, except that it's distinctly softer in tone; Danny Elfman's lyrics have little of the satirical bite of earlier albums like ONLY A LAD.

The single "Weird Science," the title theme of a John Hughes movie, was Oingo Boingo's most commercially successful effort, but it's one of the weaker cuts here. Surprisingly emotional songs like "Stay," "Heard Somebody Cry," and "Help Me" provide unexpected new facets of Elfman's nutty-professor persona, making DEAD MAN'S PARTY one of Oingo Boingo's most satisfying records. minimize