Though Nothing to Fear is by no means Oingo Boingo's best album, it is certainly not as bad as many near-sighted critics have asserted.
Elfman's songwriting, even when he's not firing on all cylinders, still blows the hinges off most of his peers on their best days.
It is true that many songs on this go-around lack the smooth transitions that characterize Only a Lad, but the intricately woven, complex song structures do well to sustain Elfman's erratic mood swings.
The album begins strongly, with Boingo's trademark bells and synth on "Grey Matter" and then switches gears with an abrupt slap-bass progression on "Insects." "Private Life" brings it all together, oozing forth elaborate instrumentation and rich songwriting.
If you can humor Elfman when he gets too excited by his own proselytizing with songs like "Nothing to Fear (But Fear Itself," and you give the album a few listens, you'll recognize it's a vastly underrated sophomore effort.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grey MatterDanny Elfman | Oingo Boingo | Play | 05:52 | 13 MB | 37 MB |
| 2 | InsectsDanny Elfman | Oingo Boingo | Play | 03:04 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 3 | Private LifeDanny Elfman | Oingo Boingo | Play | 03:18 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 4 | Wild Sex (In the Working Class)Danny Elfman | Oingo Boingo | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 5 | Running on a TreadmillDanny Elfman | Oingo Boingo | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 6 | Whole Day OffDanny Elfman | Oingo Boingo | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | Nothing to Fear (But Fear Itself)Danny Elfman | Oingo Boingo | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 8 | Why'd We ComeDanny Elfman | Oingo Boingo | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 9 | IslandsDanny Elfman | Oingo Boingo | Play | 04:41 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 10 | Reptiles and SamuraiDanny Elfman | Oingo Boingo | Play | 05:18 | 12 MB | 32 MB |
| 41 mins | 95 MB | |||||
| 41 mins | 269 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Bartek | Guitar, Horn Arrangements, Vocals, Vocals (Rhythm) |
| 2 | Jules Bates | Art Direction, Back Cover, Cover Design, Design |
| 3 | Joe Chiccarelli | Engineer, Producer, Recording |
| 4 | Georganne Deen | Cover Design |
| 5 | Danny Elfman | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals |
| 6 | Laura Engel | Production Assistant |
| 7 | Richard Gibbs | Bass (Vocal), Keyboards, Synthesizer, Trombone, Vocals |
| 8 | Mitch Gibson | Engineer, Second Engineer |
| 9 | Kerry Hatch | Bass, Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (Rhythm) |
| 10 | Johnny Hernandez | Drums, Drums (Bass) |
| 11 | Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez | Drums |
| 12 | Krohn McHenry | Engineer, Second Engineer |
| 13 | Oingo Boingo | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 14 | Sam Phipps | Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor), Saxophone, Soprano (Vocal), Tenor (Vocal), Vocals |
| 15 | Leon Schneiderman | Alto, Baritone, Instrument Design, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Saxophone, Vocals |
| 16 | Dale Turner | Trombone, Trumpet |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |