''Good for Your Soul'' is the third studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American new wave band

Oingo Boingo Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and written material for in the ye ...

, released in 1983. It was produced by

Robert Margouleff Robert Margouleff is an American record producer, recording engineer, electronic music pioneer, audio expert, and film producer. Career The Birth of TONTO Margouleff was an early customer, friend and collaborator of fellow New Yorker and music in ...

and was the band's last album to be released on

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

Composition

The track "No Spill Blood" is inspired by the

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

The Island of Dr. Moreau'', specifically

Erle C. Kenton Erle C. Kenton (August 1, 1896 – January 28, 1980) was an American film director. Kenton was director of B films, with his most famous film being ''Island of Lost Souls (1932 film), Island of Lost Souls'' starring Charles Laughton. Biogr ...

'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 Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

to its listeners. "Wake Up (It's 1984)" is based on the

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

novel ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...

''. A music video of the band performing the song was aired on January 1, 1984 on the show ''

Good Morning, Mr. Orwell "Good Morning, Mr. Orwell" was the first international satellite "installation" by Nam June Paik, a South Korean-born American artist often credited with inventing video art. It occurred on New Year's Day, 1984. The event, which Paik saw as a r ...

''.

Production

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 ''So-Lo'' is the debut studio album by American musician Danny Elfman, released in 1984 by MCA Records. Recorded primarily by Elfman, but also featuring the members of his band, Oingo Boingo, it was recorded when Elfman was offered a solo contrac ...

'', 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. 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." "Who Do You Want to Be" appears in the films ''

Bachelor Party A bachelor party (in the United States and sometimes in Canada), also known as a stag weekend, stag do or stag party (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia), is a party held/arranged by th ...

'' (1984) and ''

Teen Wolf Too ''Teen Wolf Too'' is a 1987 American fantasy comedy film directed by Christopher Leitch, written by R. Timothy Kring, and starring Jason Bateman (film debut), James Hampton, John Astin and Kim Darby. It is the sequel to ''Teen Wolf'' (1985). ...

'' (1987).

Reception

Ira A. Robbins of ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' praised ''Good for Your Soul'', particularly producer

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." In a retrospective review, Steven McDonald of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the album two stars out of five, calling it "underrated" but bemoaning its "inconsistency".

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.

Track listing

2021 CD bonus tracks

Personnel

Oingo Boingo *

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Steve Bartek – lead guitar * Ribbs – keyboards * Kerry Hatch – bass guitar, bass synthesizer * Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez – drums * Sam "Sluggo" Phipps – lead tenor saxophone, clarinet, horn solos * Leon Schneiderman – baritone saxophone, alto saxophone, original instruments *

Dale Turner Dale Turner may refer to: * Dale Turner (cricketer), Australian cricketer * Dale Turner (trumpeter), American trumpet player with the American new wave band Oingo Boingo * Dale Turner (songwriter) Dale Turner is an American singer-songwriter, ...

– trumpet, trombone, horn solos Additional musicians * Miles Anderson – additional horns ("Cry of the Vatos", "Dead or Alive", "Wake Up (It's 1984)") * Mario Guarneri – additional horns ("Cry of the Vatos", "Dead or Alive", "Wake Up (It's 1984)") * Jimmy Wood – harmonica ("Sweat") * Marko Babineau – backup vocals ("Dead or Alive", "No Spill Blood") * Mike Gormley – backup vocals ("Dead or Alive", "No Spill Blood") Technical *

– producer * Howard Siegel – engineer * Steve MacMillian – assistant engineer extraordinaire *

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...

– mastering * Steve Bartek – horn arrangements * Darron Cray – studio assistance * Laura Engel – production manager * Lynn Robb – art direction *

Lane Smith Walter Lane Smith III (April 29, 1936 – June 13, 2005) was an American actor. His well-known roles included newspaper editor Perry White in the ABC series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', Walter Warner in '' Son in Law'', co ...

– front cover illustration *

Georganne Deen Georganne Deen (born 1951 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American artist, poet and musician. She now lives and works in Joshua Tree, California. Solo exhibitions * 2013 Brand 10, Fort Worth, Texas, forever eve * 2012 Webb Gallery, Waxahachie, Texa ...

– back cover illustration * Francis Delia – innersleeve photography

References

{{Authority control 1983 albums Oingo Boingo albums A&M Records albums Albums produced by Robert Margouleff