[reprinted without permission.]

by Kevin Rexroat

This disc is 150 minutes of Oingo Boingo recorded live at their last-ever show, Halloween 1995. The sound is great and the band is very tight, especially on the faster songs. "Little Girls," "Burn Me Up," and "Who do You Want to Be" fly by with energy that would destroy the new breed of punks so popular these days.

Elfman's voice sounds good. It might even be too good; it's far smoother than it was on those great early discs when he was howling and growling like the nut at the end of the block. That's to be expected though, since he's been screaming for longer than a lot of his fans have been alive. No big deal. I'd rather hear a moderately restrained voice than one that misses notes. He's spot on for the whole disc.

In addition to all of their hits, there are a couple of new songs and a surprisingly great cover of "I am the Walrus." An accompanying concert video will be out soon, too. I'm glad Oingo Boingo were able to end their career with a bang rather than a whimper.

(c) 1996 KEVIN REXROAT