I am starting this topic to give attention to of one of the most underrated musicians of the last 25 years.

For a short recap of his career till now on, read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...orld_Party

Karl is a very intelligent, smart musician taking a lot of (perfectionistic) time to release his albums.

But when he delivers, he truelly DELIVERS! His album Goodbye jumbo from 1990 is way better then any album Prince has released in the nineties.

Just like Prince he has the capability to mix different (BIG) influences into his music: Dylan, The Beatles, The Stones, Van Morrison, Sly Stone and (indeed) Prince, and create something endearing out of it.

He is a far better lyricist then Prince, and with that he shows a sense of (British) selfirony and playfullness the pompous, theatrical lyrics from Prince are often missing.

Goodbye Jumbo is an album every 'serious' musiclover should own IMO. But his other albums show joyfull signs of brilliance on individual songs:
Ship of fools from his debute album Private Revolution (1989) is as relevant now as it was back then.
His album 'Bang' moves between sober (semi-)acoustic songs and glittering dancebeats in a surprising way.
His album Egyptology is quite dark and selfquestioning lyricwise, but that gives his carefully constructed neo-psychedelic pop/rock a deeper edge.
His latest album 'Dumbing up' may not offer something really new, but the exquisite musicianship and the lyrical qualities are endearing enough to stay interested in him.

IMO Karl deserves attention here for his splendid album "Goodbye jumbo" alone allready. It easily sweeps with the floor with musical 'nobodies' like Janet Jackson and Kylie Minogue.

The ones going for some shallow image, weak singing voices and lack of substance should probably stay with their 'Idols', but for anyone interested in great, intelligent, timeless music i advice you to buy a copy of "Goodbye Jumbo" and when you like that album, dont be affraid to check out some of his other material.

'goodbye jumbo' is a great album, but the first album, 'private revolution', is by far my favorite world party album. the title song and "ship of fools" are sublime.

I'm a big fan of the first two World Party albums. Overall, I probably like the first album a little more too, but the second record has some really splashy, poppy songs that I absolutely play to death whenever it comes into rotation.

Anxiety said:

Exactly. Ship of Fools was the joint.

MsLegs said:

Goodbye Jumbo is one of my all time fave albums. Thank You World is brilliant. 1st album is almost as good...Ship of Fools is excellent.

Personally i think his first album sounds a bit too 'demo-like', the synths on that album havent dated very well.

And i also think the songwriting on his first album is not always 'on par'. I mean: Private Revolution (the title track) and Ship of fools are great (signature) songs, but there are too many songs on that album that are half-baken.

Goodbye Jumbo is a huge step forward IMO. One of the few albums i know you can listen to without skipping any tracks (Take me up probably being the weakest brother in the bunch).

His album Bang is probably a bit too dualistic for some, on the one hand offering electronical dancebeats and busy arrangements, and on the other hand offering 'retro' material with acoustic guitars and sixties-like vocal harmonies, but i admire his guts to release such a schizophrenic album.

Egyptology is underrated in my opinion. Its a rather dark album, in terms of the music and lyrics, but it shows how the positive, forwardthinking 'hippy' he was on 'Private revolution' learns to deal with reality. That gives this album a certain depth, that previous efforts were sometimes missing.

His last album Dumbing up, gives me an ambivalent feeling. Sure, on most songs he shows his musical mastership, and his abilities to handle every kind of instrument he wants. But at the same time it feels like a 'step in place'. He sounds like he is doubting his ideals, the way he handles his music (how intelligent his music may sound, i hear quite a lot of 'gimmicks' on this album).

I just hope his next album (whenever it may come out, he seems to take his time.. lol) shows some step forward.

I remember a friend of mine told me World Party sounded like Prince. No fucking way. lol

They are ok, not Bowie, but ok. Right Anx?

Sweet Soul Dream is a great love song and I often put it on compilations for girls I'm trying to woo!

2freaky4church1 said:

there are HUGE elements of prince in world party's music - karl wallinger has even mentioned in several interviews that he's a big prince fan.

and of course they're not bowie. who is? these days, even bowie isn't bowie!

Anxiety said:

Its interesting that some found a purple connection. I wounder how that sat with Sinead O'connor who use to play with World Party/ Karl .

MsLegs said:

i didn't quite think about it that way!

Anxiety said: