A&M CD 5217 (AAD) 1981-83 (89)
Disc time: 48:03
PERFORMANCE:8 SOUND:8
Edward Murray (12/89)
Earlier this year, A&M released a fine single-disc compilation called The Best of Oingo Boingo. Crypticaly (and misleadingly, I might add) subtitled Skeletons in the Closet, the disc combines the "hits" from Oingo Boingo's three albums on that label before the band moved to MCA in 1985. Released around the time MCA came out with the live disc Boingo Alive, Best of is a phenomenal tribute to one of the most diverse and energetic pop bands to emerge from Southern California in the late '70s. Although there is nothing here Boingo fans haven't heard before, songs such as "Private Life", "Nasty Habits", "Only a Lad", "Wake Up (It's 1984)", and "Nothing Bad Ever Happens" perfectly capture the group's multi-ethnic sound and biting lyrical wit. At the very least, Best of serves as the perfect introduction to Oingo Boingo and a good buy for the fan who doesn't want to spend for the CD versions of the three LP's.