Good For Your Soul
1983
Track Listing:
Who Do You Want To Be? - Good For Your Soul - No Spill Blood - Cry Of The
Vatos - Fill The Void - Sweat - Nothing Bad Ever Happens - Wake Up (It's
1984) - Dead Or Alive - Pictures Of You - Little Guns
Reviews:
BAM Magazine 9-23-83
On their past two efforts, Oingo Boingo shoved guitars, horns, and other
sounds through your ears with the velocity and force of a speeding Amtrak.
Like any good train ride, the results were divided: it was exhilarating for
some and made others throw up. Good For Your Soul isn't exactly a
dramatic departure from their trademark sound but is far less abrasive than
previous efforts. "Fill The Void," with sassy horn arrangements by
lead guitarist Steve Bartek, bops along with a ska beat Byron Lee would be
proud of. Leader Danny Elfman even throws in an offbeat love song, "Pictures
Of You," proving he has more on his mind than just little girls. Elfman
also makes some perceptive, if slightly slanted views on suburbia and the
paranoia that goes along with it. "Nothing Bad Ever Happens" spells
out the it-could-never-happen-to-me attitude with sarcastic scorn while "Who
Do You Want To Be" ironically lashes out at the trendiness of our times.
His long standing rejection of the '60s and the romanticism that goes along
with it is defined in clear cut terms in "Wake Up (It's 1984)." One
of the gems is "Cry Of The Vatos," an African-derived instrumental
full of martial drums and electronic buzzes that evolved out of Elman's hijinxs
in the studio. Is Good For Your Soul a positive direction change?
Yes and No. Although Elfman and Company show more depth musically and lyrically
here, radio still plays only fast songs. That characterization may be difficult
to defy.
-James R. Fender |