Good for Your Soul
Studio album by
Oingo Boingo
ReleasedJuly 26, 1983
RecordedJanuary 1983 – June 29, 1983
Studio
  • Baby O Recorders (Hollywood)
  • Crystal Industries (Hollywood)
Genre
Length41:42
LabelA&M
ProducerRobert Margouleff
Oingo Boingo chronology
Nothing to Fear
(1982) 		Good for Your Soul
(1983) 		So-Lo
(1984)
Singles from Good for Your Soul
  1. "Wake Up (It's 1984)"
    Released: July 1983

Good for Your Soul is the third studio album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1983. It was produced by Robert Margouleff and was the band's last album to be released on A&M Records.

Composition

The track "No Spill Blood" is inspired by the H. G. Wells novel The Island of Dr. Moreau,[1] specifically Erle C. Kenton's 1932 film adaptation of this novel, titled Island of Lost Souls. In this story, the mad scientist Dr. Moreau performed operations on wild beasts in order to make them more human and able to undertake menial tasks. When the beasts acted in an inappropriate manner, Dr. Moreau would crack his whip and challenge the beasts. In the film, this takes the form of a litany:

Dr. Moreau: What is the law?
Sayer of the Law: Not to eat meat, that is the law. Are we not men?
Beasts (in unison): Are we not men?
Dr. Moreau: What is the law?
Sayer of the Law: Not to go on all fours, that is the law. Are we not men?
Beasts (in unison): Are we not men?
Dr. Moreau: What is the law?
Sayer of the Law: Not to spill blood, that is the law. Are we not men?
Beasts (in unison): Are we not men?

The instrumental track "Cry of the Vatos," named after drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez, contains a back-masked message jokingly promoting Christianity to its listeners.

"Wake Up (It's 1984)" is based on the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. A music video of the band performing the song was aired on January 1, 1984 on the show Good Morning, Mr. Orwell.[2]

Production

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Several songs were recorded but cut from the final album and remain unreleased, namely "All the Pieces" and "Waiting for You". Two further songs recorded, "Lightning" and "Cool City", were released on the following album, So-Lo, in 1984. Many additional songs were demo recorded for the album but did not reach the studio sessions, including "Lost Like This", which surfaced many years later on the 1994 album Boingo in a new orchestral arrangement.

Promotion

The music video accompanying "Nothing Bad Ever Happens" depicts the band performing on a paradise island; Elfman appears watching TV, unaware that his house is being robbed behind him, referencing the lyrics of the first verse. He finishes taking a bath, before the tub catches fire, and catches sight of guitarist Steve Bartek being carried down the street by a lynch mob, but decides to ignore. The video ends with Elfman serving the singing severed heads of the band's horn section to three upper class diners, who at first appear shocked, but proceed to eat regardless. The paradise island from the start of the video then appears to get hit by a nuclear bomb while the band continue playing.[3] Elfman said of the song and video in 1986, "It's about somebody who chooses to ignore his neighbors' problems and doesn't get involved - but it's really about getting involved... We can't live like ostriches."[4]

"Who Do You Want to Be" appears in the films Bachelor Party (1984) and Teen Wolf Too (1987).

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

Ira A. Robbins of Trouser Press praised Good for Your Soul, particularly producer Robert Margouleff for giving the band a "streamlined and powerfully driven attack", calling "Wake Up (It's 1984)" and "Who Do You Want to Be" "among the most invigorating and engaging things the band has ever done."[6] In a retrospective review, Steven McDonald of AllMusic called the album "underrated" but bemoaned its "inconsistency".[1]

Reissue

In 2021, Rubellan Remasters issued a remastered version of Good for Your Soul on both colored vinyl and CD, the latter as an expanded edition with three bonus tracks.[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Danny Elfman

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Who Do You Want to Be"3:31
2."Good for Your Soul"3:16
3."No Spill Blood"3:42
4."Cry of the Vatos"2:21
5."Fill the Void"3:42
6."Sweat"4:31
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Nothing Bad Ever Happens"3:45
2."Wake Up (It's 1984)"4:44
3."Dead or Alive"4:04
4."Pictures of You"4:03
5."Little Guns"3:42
Total length:41:42

2021 CD bonus tracks

No.TitleLength
12."Bachelor Party"3:49
13."Something Isn't Right"3:42
14."Wake Up (It's 1984) (Single Version)"3:00

Personnel

Oingo Boingo

Additional musicians

Technical

References

  1. ^ a b McDonald, Steven. "Good for Your Soul - Oingo Boingo". AllMusic. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  2. ^ Music video of "Wake Up (It's 1984)" from Good Morning, Mr. Orwell, aired on Jan 1, 1984 (posted to YouTube on Nov 13, 2016)
  3. ^ Nothing bad ever happens to me – Oingo Boingo – YouTube
  4. ^ Danny Elfman-Video One With Richard Blade (1986?) - YouTube
  5. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 518.
  6. ^ Robbins, Ira A. "Oingo Boingo". Trouser Press. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  7. ^ Duquette, Mike (July 1, 2021). "It's a Dead Man's Party: Rubellan Plans CD, Vinyl Reissues for Oingo Boingo". The Second Disc. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
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