DEAD MAN'S PARTY

This album, the first on MCA released under the band's name (se "So-Lo" for the explanation for that), continues Oingo Boingo's journey away from the dark circus freak show style that made their A&M albums so wickedly enjoyable. Sure, Danny Elfman humorously touches upon the topic of death in Dead Man's Party and No One Lives Forever, but the rest of the tracks, lyrically, are forgettable. And musically, the prog elements are all but completely eliminated. What's left is slightly elevated pop. And although the horn section makes a greater appearance than they did on "So-Lo", with the exception of Weird Science, their parts are bland and nondescript. The low point is Fool's Paradise, which sounds like a remnant from David Bowie's dismal disco ("Let's Dance") period. The high points are the three songs mentioned above. While not progressive, they each provide a nice groove. And the pop music? It's listenable, but nothing special. I give this just barely three stars.

As one of the most unusual and innovative new wave bands that existed in the 1980s, OINGO BOINGO led by the exceptionally talented Danny Elfman forged a unique path from his brother's previous surrealist musical theatre troupe called The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo and steered the aftermath into a bizarre high-energy act that fused disparate musical genres such as zolo, punk, ska, art rock, synth-pop, jazz and even world music in the vein of The Talking Heads. The band never really made it to the big time but were extremely popular in their native Southern California and over the decades has been reevaluated as being one of the all time best new wave bands that came out during those years. Unusual for a new wave band, OINGO BOINGO garnered its following through mostly crazy energetic live performances rather than releasing singles accompanied by MTV videos.

As an Elfman led band, OINGO BOINGO debuted in 1980 with its self-titled EP and then followed with a series of highly creative albums including "Only A Lad," "Nothing To Fear," "Good For Your Soul" and a very eclectically strange soundtrack to a cult movie favorite titled "Forbidden Zone." Change was afoot and Elfman's talents did not go unrecognized but the record companies wanted him, not his creative outlet in OINGO BOINGO so a compromise was struck and one solo album titled "So-Lo" was released in 1984 before Elfman insisted on keeping OINGO BOINGO a band. After the early years of more art rock inspired albums, the first OINGO BOINGO album to emerge from the new lineup and label backing was DEAD MAN'S PARTY which found the band at the peak in terms of their popularity and new wave potential but soon Elfman would be seduced by offers of writing music for films where he would take his career soon after.

DEAD MAN'S PARTY found Elfman and OINGO BOINGO in its last leg of its full potential where Elfman was completely focused on the band before his attention became too scattered to maintain the magical qualities that made this band so utterly unique. This album came out in 1985 and was boosted by the band's only real single "Weird Science" which was featured in the silly science fiction fantasy film directed by John Hughes. This album was more streamlined than the previous ones and featured a more mainstream new wave approach except Elfman didn't compromise all the elements that made OINGO BOINGO so unique such as the jittery ska guitar riffs, excessively catchy pop hooks, punk rock guitar heft, funk bass slapping and the tirade of the horn section. Sonically speaking the album resembled what came before but lyrically and compositionally eschewed the bizarre humor and eccentricities that made the early albums a major hit amongst a particular cult following.

For those who relished the art rock years, DEAD MAN'S PARTY was a major departure and step down from what came before but from the point of a someone who simply loves new wave music done par excellence. DEAD MAN'S PARTY offered nine top notch tracks that all displayed the magic of what made OINGO BOINGO so utterly unique in just about every way. The album starts off with "Just Another Day" followed by the title track and retains a perfect flow with one track seamlessly merging to the next with similar yet varied enough themes that made the album one of the most consistent new wave albums of the entire 80s and for anyone familiar with the world of 80s new wave, they will be astutely aware that the genre generated many one-hit wonders, excellent singles but very rarely yielded completely satisfying albums that worked from beginning to end. DEAD MAN'S PARTY was a true exception with everything perfectly falling into place.

After decades of reevaluating the music of the 80s, OINGO BOINGO has emerged as one of the most respected and DEAD MAN'S PARTY is now the most popular of the band's entire legacy and for good reason. The pop hooks are flawless and creatively laid out in the same energetic display of visionary vigor and fusion music as what came before and although much more geared towards a pop audience than an art rock fanbase, this album is actually brilliant on every level but then again i'm personally a fan of synth-pop, new wave and 2 Tone ska based bands from that era. This was the end of the great OINGO BOINGO albums as the following two releases were watered down second thoughts as Elfman's solo career took off. Yes, Elfman made a huge comeback by creating a new rendition of the band into the world of alternative rock on the band's final offering "Boingo" in 1994 but as far as the new wave glory of the band's horn based punkish ska antics, DEAD MAN'S PARTY was its last hurrah and honestly one of my favorite new wave albums of all time (along with the band's previous four albums of course!) This is one i never really tire of.

As a PA side note, there is NOTHING prog or art rock about this release but i don't penalize albums that don't actually belong on a prog site for being here. This is a masterpiece of new wave music so if this music has little or zero appeal then don't even bother! You'll hate it :)