Good for Your Soul

Music

Frontman Danny Elfman had become tired of fans' and critics' expectations that he consistently write high energy, fast-paced songs, as well as his frequent use of falsetto in his singing, and therefore decided to bring a new level of diversity to the songwriting of the album. The songs "Fill the Void" and "Nothing Bad Ever Happens" are particularly significant for showcasing the band's African and ska influences and well as Elfman's change in vocal style. The subject matter of the lyrics is also darker in Good For Your Soul than on previous releases, such as themes of the supernatural in "Dead or Alive" and the warped love ballad "Pictures of You".

Several pieces were recorded as demos but omitted from the final track listing and remain officially unreleased, including "All the Pieces," "Waiting for You," "I Can't Pretend" and "Freak Show." One outtake, "Lightning," was resurrected for Danny Elfman's So-Lo. The song "Lost Like This" was also written and recorded during these sessions, but did not surface until many years later on the 1994 album Boingo with a new orchestral arrangement. The brief instrumental track "Cry of the Vatos," named after drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez, contains a back-masked message jokingly promoting Christianity to its listeners.

Track listing

All tracks written by Danny Elfman.

Personnel

Oingo Boingo

Danny Elfman - lead vocals, rhythm guitar

Steve Bartek - lead guitar

Kerry Hatch - bass guitar, bass synthesizer

Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez - drums

Richard Gibbs - keyboards

Sam "Sluggo" Phipps - lead tenor, clarinet

Leon Schneiderman - alto saxophone, baritone saxophone

Dale Turner - trumpet, trombone

The liner notes from Good For Your Soul also state:

Original Instruments: Leon Schneiderman Horn Arrangements: Steve Bartek All Horn Solos by Sluggo and Dale Additional horns on "Vatos," "Dead or Alive" and "Wake Up" by Miles Anderson and Mario Guarneri Harmonica on "Sweat" by Jimmie Wood

Trivia

The track "No Spill Blood" is based on H. G. Wells' novel The Island of Dr. Moreau, and appears to directly quote Erle C. Kenton's 1932 film adaption of this novel, 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:

The repeated "Are we not men?" in this passage was also the source of Devo's song "Jocko Homo".

"Wake Up (It's 1984)" is based on the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four in which the entire world is controlled by three separate socialist super-states who are constantly at war with each other. The main plot follows one man joining a rebellion against a pseudo-futuristic socialist England. The government is referred to as "Big Brother" and through an extensive spy network as well as subliminal indoctrination manage to keep tabs on every single person in the country. "Big Brother is watching you"

In the anime YuYu Hakusho, the character Kazuma Kuwabara has an Oingo Boingo poster in his room, depicting the cover art from Good for Your Soul.

"Who Do You Want to Be" is featured on the soundtrack to the video game Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. It is also featured in the Nintendo DS version of Tony Hawk's American Sk8land. However, both games contain the Boingo Alive re-recording from 1988, and not the original recording from this album. The song also makes appearances in the 1980s movies Bachelor Party and Teen Wolf Too.