1985
Le plus célèbre des albums d'Oingo Boingo et son plus gros succès commercial (hors compilation). Une célébrité justifiée car Dead Man's Party est un excellent disque qui poursuit la réussite de Good For Your Soul en affinant nettement le son. Les chansons sont plus longues, les textes d'Elfman sont fabuleux, mais surtout ce sont enfin Bartek et Elfman qui s'occupent conjointement de la production et cela s'entend. L'album a d'ailleurs très bien vieilli et les néophytes en matière de Boingo pourront se précipiter sur lui pour faire leurs premiers pas dans l'univers du groupe. A l'inverse du génial Boingo, Dead Man's Party reste profondément ancré dans le style habituel du groupe. Les cuivres sont très présents, la batterie cogne fort, la guitare est souvent mixée un peu trop en retrait, mais la qualité mélodique totalement extraordinaire des neuf morceaux de Dead Man's Party transcende les points faibles habituels du groupe.
Just Another Day est une ouverture de toute beauté et l'on sait qu'Elfman sait fort bien entamer ses œuvres. Just Another Day ne déroge pas aux habitudes. Les paroles sont sombres juste comme il faut, la musique est plus lyrique que d'habitude et annonce la suite de l'album. Une très impressionnante réussite.
Dead Man's Party est l'une des plus célèbres chansons du groupe. Et c'est amplement justifié. Le macabre est poussé à son sommet dans cette longue œuvre en forme de carte de visite. On adore dès la première écoute ce Dead Man's Party qui explose sans temps mort et sans lassitude. La chanson apparaît dans le film Back To School (la BO étant d'ailleurs de Danny Elfman).
Heard Somebody Cry semble sortie de Good For Your Soul mais la production transcende cette superbe chanson. Refrain accrocheur, cuivres et guitare en pleine complémentarité, réjouissant.
No One Lives Forever est un chef-d'oeuvre. Encore une profession de foi de la part d'Elfman et de son groupe. On dirait un morceau de The Nightmare Before Christmas. Puissance sonore, voix tétanisante du grand Danny, mélodie imparable, refrain anthologique, une perle entre macabre et délire ; tout Oingo Boingo en une seule chanson. Détail amusant on peut entendre cette perle dans Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, la comédie gore de Tobe Hooper.
Stay est encore une pure merveille. Un morceau sensible et transcendé par des harmonies magiques. Le refrain est vraiment magnifique. Elfman fait encore des prodiges avec sa voix. Une féerie.
Fool's Paradise est un rock solide qui rappelle encore certains moments de Good For Your Soul, là encore le travail de production fait la différence. Moins métallique, moins froid, plus nuancé, le son fait ressortir à merveille les harmonies vocales qui culminent sur un impressionnant refrain bourré d'ironie.
Help Me est une excellente chanson qui annonce le futur du groupe, en particulier Dark At The End Of The Tunnel dont on retrouve les accents de rock FM épique. L'accélération du refrain enthousiasme juste comme il faut.
Same Man I Was Before est un morceau sautillant qui pourrait à merveille symboliser ce que la Pop du milieu des 80's pouvait produire de meilleur. Le refrain est grandiose et tout cela est très amusant.
Weird Science, la chanson la plus célèbre du groupe, son plus grand tube. Une épopée science-fictionnelle que Tim Burton a dû adorer. Comme souvent les paroles d'Elfman semblent anticiper les futurs films de Burton, étonnant. Le morceau en lui-même, malgré sa durée, est un vrai tube en puissance (ce qu'il fut dans les faits, d'ailleurs). De la techno-pop qui lamine la concurrence sans regarder dans le rétroviseur. Impeccable.
En conclusion, Dead Man's Party est un excellent album, chaudement recommandé à tous ceux qui ne connaissent pas Oingo Boingo. Il n'y a rien à jeter, 9 chansons pour la plupart proches de la perfection. Un album pas trop long qui se présente comme une bonne introduction au monde de Danny Elfman. Que ce soit au niveau des textes que de la musique, Dead Man's Party est l'acme d'Oingo Boingo. Et si Boingo, l'ultime album du groupe, transformera le son pour créer un univers plus "adulte" et plus impressionnant, c'est dans cette œuvre de 1985 qu'il faut chercher l'essence des Mystic Knights Of Oingo Boingo. Un disque cartoonesque et macabre, le Beetlejuice de la musique pop.
1- Just Another Day
2- Dead Man's Party
3- Heard Somebody Cry
4- No One Lives Forever
5- Stay
6- Fool's Paradise
7- Help Me
8- Same Man I Was Before
9- Weird Science
Just Another Day
(There's life underground)
I feel it all around / I feel it in my bones
My life is on the line / When I'm away from home
When I step out the door / The jungle is alive
I do not trust my ears / I don't believe my eyes
I will not fall in love / I cannot risk the bet
Cause hearts are fragile toys / so easy to forget
It's just another day / There's murder in the air
It drags me when I walk / I smell it everywhere
It's just another day / Where people cling to light
To drive away the fear / That comes with every night
CHORUS
It's just another . . . . . . . It's just another day
It's just another . . . . . . . It's just another day . . .
It's just another day--When people wake from dreams
With voices in their ears--That will not go away
I had a dream last night / The world was set on fire
And everywhere I ran / There wasn't any water
The temperature increased / The sky was crimson red
The clouds turned into smoke / And everyone was dead
(but) There's a smile on my face . . . For everyone
There's a golden coin . . . That reflects the sun
There's a lonely place . . . That's always cold
There's a place in the stars . . . For when you get old
There's razors in my bed / That come out late at night
They always disappear / Before the morning light
I'm dreaming again / Of life underground
It doesn't ever move / It doesn't make a sound
And just when I think--That things are in their place
The heavens are secure--The whole thing explodes in my face
CHORUS
Dead Man's Party
I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go
Walkin' with a dead man over my shoulder
Waiting for an invitation to arrive
Goin' to a party where no one's still alive
CHORUS
I was struck by lighting
Walkin' down the street
I was hit by something last night in my sleep
It's a dead man's party
Who could ask for more
Everybody's comin', leave your body at the door
Leave your body and soul at the door . . .
(Don't run away it's only me)
All dressed up with nowhere to go
Walkin' with a dead man
Waitin' for an invitation to arrive
With a dead man . . . Dead Man . . .
Got my best suit and my tie
Shiny silver dollar on either eye
I hear the chauffeur comin' to the door
Says there's room for maybe just one more . . .
CHORUS
Don't run away it's only me
Don't be afraid of what you can't see
Don't run away it's only me . . .
Heard Somebody Cry
(I thought I heard somebody cry--
I though I heard somebody cry)
I went to see what I could find
Like flowers in the dead of night
Like shadows in the moonlight--
I though I heard somebody cry
A choir with a single voice--A picnic on a cliff
Antenna like an insect--To pick up all your thoughts
CHORUS
It isn't true
I am not the ghost
Without a soul . . . Come
Listen to my heart
You feel the beat . . . Stop
Listen to the sound
Of moving feet . . . Walk
Through the halls at night
When I'm asleep
I don't believe . . .I don't believe
The shoe is on the other foot--The glove is on the fist
The first is like a cannonball--But it feels like a kiss
I got a bed that's real soft--In a room that's always sad
I thought I heard a window sigh--
I though I heard somebody cry
CHORUS
A choir with a single voice--a picnic on a cliff
Antenna like an insect--To pick up all your thoughts
I sip the running water--Like rivers from your eyes
I thought I heard somebody cry--Somebody might be lost
I thought I heard somebody cry--Somebody might be lost
I thought I heard somebody cry--I thought I'd go and see
I thought I heard somebody cry--Somebody might be me
No One Lives Forever
You worry too much / You make yourself sad
You can't change fate / But don't feel so bad
Enjoy it while you can / It's just like the weather
So quit complaining brother . . . . . . .
No one lives forever!!
Let's have a party there's a full moon in the sky
It's the hour of the wolf and I don't want to die
I'm so happy dancing while the grim reaper
cuts, cuts, cuts
But he can't get me (I'm as)
Clever as can be, and I'm very quick, but don't forget
No one lives forever!!!
You think you got it rough / What about your darling doggy?
Ten short years / And he's getting old and groggy
I don't think it's very fair
Cold, chop, low, but it's all relative my friend 'cause
No one lives forever!!!
Let's have a party there's a full moon in the sky
It's the hour of the wolf and I
Don't want to die (but) . . .
No one beats him at his game
For very long but just the same
Who cares, there's no place safe to hide
Nowhere to run--no time to cry
So celebrate while you still can
'Cause any second it may end.
And when it's all been said and done . . .
Better that you had some fun
Instead of hiding in a shell-Why make your life a living hell?
So have a toast, and down the cup
And drink to bones that turn to dust ('cause) . . .
No one, no one, no one, no one . . . . . . . (etc.)
No one lives forever!! (Hey!)
Stay
This is not the first time--You tried to get away
This is not a party--Where people know your name
This is not a classroom--With teacher at the board
This is not a catshow--With prizes at the door
CHORUS
Go--Don't you go
Won't you stay with me one more day
If we get through one more night
If we get through one more night
This is not a horse race--Where winners beat the time
This is not a funeral--With mourners in a line
This is not a sitcom--Where everything's alright
This is not a prison--With terror through the night.
CHORUS
Fool's Paradise
On the quest / For the holy Grail
Try and live / On razor's edge
Find a mountain / Or cross a valley
Why bother? / It's all for sale
True love was in her eyes
Burning truth was on her face
Even thought it was late at night
Saw her once There's no mistake
Now that we've found this precious place . . . .
How do we keep from going crazy now?
My life was leading to this day
Watching the whole thing slip away
It's just a fool's paradise
It's just a fool's paradise
It's just a fool's paradise anyhow
Dirty stains / On brand new linen
Fresh tracks / On virgin snow
Caught a saint / While he was sinning
People scream / What do they know
Turn it off and find religion
Tune it out and find a cause
Get it up and tell the world
Don't stop, Don't ever pause
Here in this place from all our dreams
It doesn't seem to make us better now
If it will get us through the night
With all our conscience still intact
It's just a fool's paradise . . . (etc.)
Two heads / Are better than one . . .
Two hearts / Bleed so much more
Serious / But no one laughing
Why run / When you can crawl
(True love around the corner--out of reach, so hard to hold)
My life's an open letter
Tear it up--and throw it away
Help Me
When you spend your whole life
Building stone castles
When the walls start to crumble
Exposed to the world
When the wind burns my face
And the smoke burns my eyes
I can't ever cry
I can't ever cry
CHORUS
You gotta help . . .
To make me somebody
You gotta help . . .
To open my eyes
The temperature's rising
How a cool drink would help
I've been thirsty for years
I've been thirsty for years
I'm hungry for something . . .
Just the touch of your flesh
To sooth and refresh . . .
To sooth and refresh.
CHORUS
Same Man I Was Before
I'm not the same man I was before
I haven't changed my perception
I haven't lost my protection
I haven't lost, haven't lost, haven't lost
What I have, lost intentions
Two by two coming through the door
(Singing like a bird)
Boys and girls voices joined in song
(Voices in the air)
Fire crackers making so much noise
(Flying in the air)
They all start yelling at me
. . . . . Everything you do is wrong
I'm not the same boy I was before
But I've not changed my desires
I've not extinguished the fires
I haven't lost wide eyed wonder
I haven't lost, haven't lost, haven't lost
The stupid fear of thunder
Two by two walking hand in hand
(Walkin' in the air)
The bone come marching from the promised land
(Comes from everywhere)
Their voices carry like the sound of glass
(Breaking on the ground)
It burns my ears when they sing
. . . . . Everything you do is wrong
I'm not the same ghost I was before
But I still converse with the spirits
When people talk I don't hear it
I walk through doors when no one sees me
I disappear, I disappear, disappear
Whenever it may please me
Weird Science
(Weird science)
Plastic tubes and pots and pans
Bits and pieces and
Magic from the hand
We're makin'
(Weird science)
Things I've never seen before
Behind bolted doors
Talent and imagination
(Weird science)
Not what teacher said to do
Makin' dreams come true
Living tissue, warm flesh
(Weird science)
Plastic tubes and pots and pans
Bits and pieces (and)
Bits and pieces (and)
CHORUS
(Bits of) my creation--Is it real?
It's my creation--I do not know
No hesitation--No heart of gold
Just flesh and blood--I do not know
From my heart and from my hand
Why don't people understand
My intentions . . . . Oooh, weird . . . .
Weird science!!
(Weird science)
Magic and technology
Voodoo dolls and chants
Electricity
We're makin'
(Weird science)
Fantasy and microchips
Shooting from the hip
Something different
We're makin'
(Weird science)
Pictures from a magazine
Diagrams and charts
Mending broken hearts (and makin')
(Weird science)
Something like a recipe
Bits and pieces . . . .
Bits and pieces . . . .
Album Produced by Danny Elfman And Steve Bartek
