''The Best of Oingo Boingo: Skeletons in the Closet'' is a compilation of songs by American new wave band
Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave music, new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a Surrealism, surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and wri ...
, released in 1989 by
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...
. It features songs recorded during the band's tenure with
I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave and a ...
/A&M Records, culled from the albums ''
Only a Lad
''Only a Lad'' is the debut studio album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave music, new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a Surrealism, surrealist musical ...
''Skeletons in the Closet'' was issued just a few months after the band had released '' Boingo Alive'', a double album of "live in the studio" re-recordings of many songs from their back catalog. In a 1988 article for the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', Oingo Boingo frontman
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...
stated that ''Skeletons in the Closet'' was issued by their former label A&M to directly compete with ''Boingo Alive'', adding, "they’re looking for a way to scrape up a few bucks on a dead account." However, A&M executive Tom Corson denied this claim, stating, "the band feels our release may harm sales of their album. We don’t see it that way at all. In fact, we're fans of the group—and we have no intention of trying to harm their career." Corson added that several songs were removed upon request of the band, and that Elfman declined an offer to write the album's liner notes.
Track listing
Notes
*The "edited version" of "Private Life" on this album is the same one that appears on all CD and cassette versions of ''Nothing to Fear'', as well as re-issues of the LP. Only the original pressings of the ''Nothing to Fear'' LP contained an extended mix of the song.
*The album cover, designed by Los Angeles artist