So-Lo is a synthpop album by American musician Danny Elfman, released in 1984 by MCA Records. While it is attributed to Elfman, it is generally considered to be the fourth album by Elfman's band Oingo Boingo. This album marked the first release with MCA records after leaving IRS Records.
Production
So-Lo features notably more electronic production than previous albums released by Oingo Boingo but retains the prominence of Steve Bartek's electric guitar. The album was produced during a hiatus for Oingo Boingo, following the departure of bassist Kerry Hatch and keyboardist Richard Gibbs. During this time of uncertainty, Elfman created So-Lo to explore different songwriting styles to what the band had been known for, describing it as "a chance to experiment with slower tempos." Elfman concluded that So-Lo was "much more laid-back than an Oingo Boingo album" and added that "it was fun to do some ballads and try to snap out of that image that a lot of people have of me just writing real fast... tunes." Despite rumors of the band breaking up, Elfman stated in 1985 that So-Lo was "not made out of frustration" and that he was more committed to the group than ever before. Conversely, a 1987 article published in BAM magazine, in which Elfman was interviewed about the band's past, suggested that Oingo Boingo had in fact considered disbanding in 1984. Sources also claim that the album was released under Elfman's name to circumvent a dispute with the band's record label, having recently moved from A&M Records to MCA Records. Oingo Boingo's remaining members returned as session musicians and all feature on the record, with Flea of the then-recently formed Red Hot Chili Peppers providing "additional bass guitar". The track "Lightning" had been recorded in 1983 for Good For Your Soul while Hatch and Gibbs were still with the band, hence they are also credited on the album.
Release
Initial pressings of the album included a different mix of the opening song, "Gratitude," featuring a longer, faded-out ending and a spoken word verse that went missing on subsequent releases. The single release and accompanying music video used a revised mix of the song, which was subsequently issued on all repressings of So-Lo. The original mix was also released on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack compilation in 1984. The missing verse is as follows: I used to eat people like you for breakfast I used to fly, high up in the sky I used to chew up rocks and spit out gravel I had a heart as cold as ice The missing verse was retained for all live performances of the song, sometimes with slightly different lyrics, and also appeared on the song's re-recording for Boingo Alive in 1988. In 2014, Varèse Sarabande issued a remastered version of the album on CD with the single edit of "Gratitude" included as a bonus track, erroneously labelled as the original mix.
