Dead Man's Party (album)

1985 studio album by Oingo Boingo

Dead Man's Party

Studio album by

Oingo Boingo

Released

October 28, 1985

Recorded

April–August 1985

Studio

Sunset Sound Factory (Hollywood)

Genre

New wave
ska
pop

Length

41:45

Label

MCA

Producer

Danny Elfman, Steve Bartek

Oingo Boingo chronology

So-Lo
(1984)

Dead Man's Party
(1985)

Boi-ngo
(1987)

Singles from Dead Man's Party

"Weird Science"
Released: 1985
"Just Another Day"
Released: January 28, 1986
"Dead Man's Party"
Released: April 29, 1986
"Stay"
Released: 1986

Dead Man's Party is the fifth album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1985 by MCA Records. The album contains the only two singles by the band to chart on the Billboard Hot 100: "Weird Science" at number 45, and "Just Another Day" at number 85.^[1] The album was the band's first to be certified gold for sales of 500,000 units.^[2] The album cover art is an homage to the Mexican holiday Día de Los Muertos.

Composition

Elfman stated that he wrote the album's lead single, "Weird Science", spontaneously in his car, after receiving a call from director John Hughes about composing a song for his upcoming film of the same name. The song went on to become the band's most commercially successful single, which Elfman later regretted, as he believed it "just didn't feel like it was really a part of [the band's] repertoire".^[3]

Reissue

In 2021, Rubellan Remasters issued a remastered version of Dead Man's Party on CD with seven bonus tracks.^[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Danny Elfman.

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Just Another Day"	5:10
2.	"Dead Man's Party"	6:17
3.	"Heard Somebody Cry"	4:40
4.	"No One Lives Forever"	4:13

Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Stay"	3:35
2.	"Fool's Paradise"	4:33
3.	"Help Me"	3:44
4.	"Same Man I Was Before"	3:23
5.	"Weird Science"	6:10
Total length:		41:45

2021 CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
10.	"Take Your Medicine"	4:31
11.	"Just Another Day (Single Version)"	4:01
12.	"Dead Man's Party (Short Version)"	3:48
13.	"Weird Science (Single Version)"	3:50
14.	"Stay (Stay Late Mix)"	6:00
15.	"Dead Man's Party (Party 'Til You're Dead Mix)"	8:36
16.	"Weird Science (Extended Dance Version)"	6:30

Charts

Chart (1985–1986)	Position
US Billboard 200	95
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[5]	65

Personnel

Oingo Boingo

Danny Elfman – vocals, rhythm guitar
John Avila – bass guitars, vocals
Steve Bartek – guitars
Mike Bacich – keyboards
John Hernandez – drums, percussion
Sam Phipps – tenor saxophone
Leon Schneiderman – baritone saxophone, alto saxophone
Dale Turner – trumpet, trombone

Technical

Danny Elfman – co-producer
Steve Bartek – co-producer
Michael Frondelli – mixing
Bill Jackson – engineer
David Leonard – engineer, mixing ("Weird Science")
Stuart Farusho – second engineer (recording)
Paul Levy – second engineer (recording)
Mike Kloster – second engineer (recording)
Judy Clapp – second engineer (mixing)
Charlie Pakkari – second engineer (mixing)
Laura Engel – studio production assistant
Wally Traugott – mastering
Larry Vigon – art direction, design
Jayme Odgers – art direction, photography
Celeste Williams – clay figure creation

References

^ "Oingo Boingo | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2017-11-16.
^ Willman, Chris (May 15, 1994). "Back to Boingo". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
^ "Danny Elfman on Oingo Boingo, film scores, and the Beatles almost ruining Batman". The A.V. Club. 27 October 2014.
^ 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.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 222. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.