OINGO BOINGO EP
Release date: September 17, 1980
Number of tracks: 4
TRACKLIST
1. Only A Lad
2. Violent Love
3. Ain't This The Life
4. I'm So Bad
ABOUT
It's a self-titled demo album, usually referred to as "the '80 EP" in the community. First "official" album after they decided to cut the "Mystic Knights" part off the band's name and be reborn as "Oingo Boingo". It's actually a second version of the demo album. The first version (self-released and distributed in 1979, less professional) had a song "Forbidden Zone" on it instead of "Violent Love". The painting of a cat on the cover is an art piece made by Louis Wain.
(the cover on the left is one of the covers of the '79 demo version, painted by Charles Unkeless and Sean P. Riley. There were only 130 copies of this album and every copy had its own, unique cover).
MY OPINION
Overall it's an alright album, it's not really talked about too much but thanks to it I got interested in Louis Wain, his life and his art. Usually forgotten, since the "real" first album is Only A Lad, which was a huge success and is probably the most popular Oingo Boingo album. And every track from this small EP was re-recorded and put on later albums, so it's not that significant in the discography. But no matter what, it will always have a place in my heart and won't be forgotten.