Forbidden Zone: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

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Free Music Notes for Forbidden Zone: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Free Music Review: Elfman's First Soundtrack
Hit: 5 Stars

Before the band Oingo Boingo, Danny Elfman and his brother Richard founded The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, which was more of a theatrical troupe than a straight ahead band. It has even been said that the very band was formed as part of Richard Elfman's film project. To watch these guys (and girls) do their thing was like watching an NC-17 rated Betty Boop cartoon on acid, a totally rude and hilariously brilliant musical performance experience. The film "The Forbidden Zone" is/was the only cinematic testament to the existence of this wonderfully weird ensemble, which Maestro Danny evolved into the better known new wave big band Oingo Boingo when the brothers parted ways.

One can get sort of an idea as to the energy of this lost treasure of a film from the soundtrack selections. A highlight is Danny's take on Cab Calloway in Minnie the Moocher, which was a staple of the Mystic Knights' original performances. Another is actress Susan Tyrell's performance of "Witch's Egg", which she also penned the lyrics for. There are also the wonderful instrumental intervals, which range from punchy funky cartoonish to surprisingly beautiful (the blatantly Satie-ish love theme), and of course the title theme, the style of which was to determine the rock direction of Boingo.

It is tempting to delve further into this album and cover more of the film it is from, but there is not much point if the film isn't even available. At least we still have the music. An interesting thing to do is to compare the material on this disc to the soundtrack of "The Nightmare Before Christmas"; not surprisingly, a lot of similarities find their way out of these two otherwise different-as-night-and-day Elfman outings. But then, that's always been a strength of his, this chamelion-like tendency in music. One can't help but hope that he's got another musical or two in store for us on his own, dark personal project board.

In the meantime, cross your fingers (and maybe even start a petition or two) for the imminent release of "The Forbidden Zone" on DVD.

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