Oingo Boingo (EP)
Encyclopedia
Oingo Boingo is the first official release from the southern California
new wave
band Oingo Boingo
. The song selection includes three original compositions by Danny Elfman
, as well as a ska
inflected cover of bluesman Willie Dixon
's "Violent Love".
The EP was issued on both 10" and 12" vinyl formats with a slight difference in the track listing: the 10" version contained the 1979 version of "Ain't This the Life" from their Demo EP, while the 12" version contained a new recording. Both "Only a Lad" and "I'm So Bad" had also been previously issued on the Demo EP and the versions are identical on both the 10" and 12" formats. Whilst the EP has never been released on CD in its entirety, the 10" format was made available digitally via such services as iTunes Store and Amazon. However, the songs can only be bought as separate tracks rather than as an album.
The song "Only a Lad" was subsequently re-recorded and issued as the title track on their first long playing album, Only a Lad
.
The cover includes an illustration of a cat by artist Louis Wain
from the later stages of his schizophrenia
.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo was an American new wave band. They are best known for their influence on other musicians, their soundtrack contributions and their high energy Halloween concerts. The band was founded in 1972 as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a performance art group...
. The song selection includes three original compositions by Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
, as well as a ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
inflected cover of bluesman Willie Dixon
Willie Dixon
William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
's "Violent Love".
The EP was issued on both 10" and 12" vinyl formats with a slight difference in the track listing: the 10" version contained the 1979 version of "Ain't This the Life" from their Demo EP, while the 12" version contained a new recording. Both "Only a Lad" and "I'm So Bad" had also been previously issued on the Demo EP and the versions are identical on both the 10" and 12" formats. Whilst the EP has never been released on CD in its entirety, the 10" format was made available digitally via such services as iTunes Store and Amazon. However, the songs can only be bought as separate tracks rather than as an album.
The song "Only a Lad" was subsequently re-recorded and issued as the title track on their first long playing album, Only a Lad
Only a Lad
-Personnel:Oingo Boingo* Danny Elfman - lead vocals* Steve Bartek - guitars* Richard Gibbs - keyboards* Kerry Hatch - bass* Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez - drums* Leon Schneiderman - baritone and alto saxophones* Sam "Sluggo" Phipps - tenor and soprano saxophones...
.
The cover includes an illustration of a cat by artist Louis Wain
Louis Wain
Louis Wain was an English artist best known for his drawings, which consistently featured anthropomorphised large-eyed cats and kittens. In his later years he suffered from schizophrenia, which, according to some psychologists, can be seen in his works.- Life and work :Louis William Wain was...
from the later stages of his schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
.
10" Version
12" Version
Personnel
Oingo Boingo- Danny ElfmanDanny ElfmanDaniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
- lead vocals - Steve BartekSteve BartekSteve Bartek, born in Garfield Heights, Ohio on January 30, 1952, is an American guitarist, film composer, conductor and orchestrator.-Early career:...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - David Eagle - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
on 10" version of "Ain't This the Life" - Richard GibbsRichard GibbsRichard “Ribbs” Gibbs is an American film composer and music producer whose credits include the films Sweet Hearts Dance, Dr...
- keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Kerry Hatch - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez - drums
- Leon Schneiderman - baritone and alto saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
s - Sam "Sluggo" Phipps - tenor and soprano saxophones
- Dale Turner - trumpet, trombone