Dark at the End of the Tunnel

1990 studio album by Oingo Boingo

Studio album by

Oingo Boingo

Released

February 20, 1990

Recorded

May 1989

Studio

Sunset Sound (Hollywood)
Sunset Sound Factory (Hollywood)

Genre

Alternative rock
ska

Length

47:46

Label

MCA

Producer

Danny Elfman, Steve Bartek, John Avila

Oingo Boingo chronology

The Best of Oingo Boingo: Skeletons in the Closet
(1989)

Dark at the End of the Tunnel
(1990)

Stay
(1990)

Singles from Dark at the End of the Tunnel

"Flesh and Blood"
Released: 1989
"Out of Control"
Released: April 1990
"Skin"
Released: 1990
"When the Lights Go Out"
Released: 1990

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Los Angeles Times	^[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[3]

Dark at the End of the Tunnel is the seventh studio album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1990.

Music

Dark at the End of the Tunnel marked Oingo Boingo's move toward a more pure pop sound, eschewing the hyper, frantic style exemplified on previous records for a more mainstream, less formally innovative approach, with an emphasis on emotional, positive lyrics.^[1]^[2]

By the time of the album's recording, frontman Danny Elfman had become a famed film composer, particularly in collaboration with Tim Burton. Two tracks on the album had previously emerged on movie soundtracks: an early recording of "Try to Believe" first appeared as an instrumental during end credits of the 1988 film Midnight Run (scored by Elfman), and a vocal version, attributed to "Mosley & The B-Men", was released on the film's soundtrack album; similarly, a different mix of "Flesh 'N Blood" had first appeared in the 1989 film Ghostbusters II and on its soundtrack.^[2]

"When the Lights Go Out" peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in March 1990.^[4]

Artwork

The cover art of the album depicts a portion of a painting entitled "Volcano", by artist Peter Zokosky.^[5]

A promotional version of the album was released on a vinyl picture disc, with one side featuring the album cover and the other side featuring a color photograph of the band.

Reissue

In 2022, Rubellan Remasters announced that they would be issuing a remastered version of Dark at the End of the Tunnel on both colored vinyl and CD, the latter as an expanded edition with four bonus tracks.^[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Danny Elfman

No.	Title	Length
1.	"When the Lights Go Out"	4:11
2.	"Skin"	4:43
3.	"Out of Control"	4:12
4.	"Glory Be"	5:03
5.	"Long Breakdown"	4:39
6.	"Flesh 'N Blood"	4:19
7.	"Run Away (The Escape Song)"	4:20
8.	"Dream Somehow"	4:39
9.	"Is This"	3:27
10.	"Right to Know" (CD/cassette exclusive bonus track)	3:58
11.	"Try to Believe"	4:33
Total length:		47:46

2022 CD bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
12.	"Out of Control (Funky Vocal Mix)"	7:15
13.	"Flesh 'N Blood (Extended Version)"	5:39
14.	"Try to Believe ("Midnight Run" Soundtrack Version)"	4:18
15.	"Out of Control (Power Mix)"	4:20

Personnel

Oingo Boingo

Danny Elfman – vocals
John Avila – bass guitar, vocals
Steve Bartek – guitars
Carl Graves – keyboards, vocals
Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez – drums, percussion
Sam Phipps – tenor and soprano saxophones
Leon Schneiderman – baritone sax
Dale Turner – trumpet

Additional musicians

Bruce Fowler – trombone
Ralph Grierson – piano
Kenny Kotwitz – accordion
Brian Mann – accordion
Yvonne S. Moriarity – French horn
Maxine Waters – additional vocals ("Try to Believe")
Julia Waters – additional vocals ("Try to Believe")

Technical

Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
Talley Sherwood – second engineer
Bill Jackson – engineer
Jeff Lord-Alge – engineer
Jim Scott – additional engineering
Csaba Petocz – additional engineering
Brian Soucy – assistant engineer
David Cragin – studio assistant
Greg Fulginiti – mastering
Vartan – art direction
DZN, The Design Group – design
Dennis Keeley – photography

References

^ ^a ^b "Dark at the End of the Tunnel". AllMusic. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Willman, Chris (February 25, 1990). "Oingo Boingo Dark at the End of the Tunnel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 518.
^ "Oingo Boingo". Billboard.
^ "The Artwork of Peter Zokosky: Paintings".
^ Duquette, Mike (November 4, 2022). "Rubellan Puts Flesh N' Blood Into Next Wave of Oingo Boingo Reissues on CD, Vinyl (UPDATED PRE-ORDER LINKS)". The Second Disc. Retrieved November 5, 2022.