The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 754

Number 754

World Party

"Ship Of Fools"

(1987)

................Genre: Indie Rock...............

I wonder how many people remember this wee classic form the 80's?

The story of Karl Wallinger is definitely as fascinating one. I especially like the last paragraph of this article below.

Have guitar ... will travel

"Four years ago, Karl Wallinger's ,World Party fell apart. He had terminated his long deal with Chrysalis Records because of their handling of the Egyptology CD release (this CD included the hit "She's the One"); without his knowledge, most of his band and his former label manager produced a near identical version of his song to win Robbie Williams the Brits "Single of the Year"; his manager and mentor, Steve Fargnoli, died of cancer; and then Karl had an aneurysm. It seemed like Karl Wallinger's 20 year old ship of fools was scuppered, taking with it one of Britain's finest musical treasures. Now, despite feeling like his head's been sawn in half, (which, incidentally, it has) Wallinger and World Party are back on the campaign trail. He's regained control of his voice, his legs, his warped sense of humour and his music catalogue. He's launched Seaview Records and is playing South By Southwest in Austin this year. Dumbing Up, the album that only received a partial UK release four years ago, has been remastered and repackaged with two new tracks, new graphics and a DVD of intimate World Party action. There may even be life for the bizarre comedy concept, Seaview TV"

I wear my sunglasses at night

"With the success of Private Revolution, the World Party estates grew to include Seaview, an ironically named loft space in a Victorian warehouse with a panoramic view of London. Always the chief architect, Karl drew on the talents of engineers and producers such as Prince's Paisley Park engineer, Joe Blaney. "It was like having my own Abbey Road," he says animatedly. "It was always an apprenticeship and I got these guys in so I could learn from them as well as benefit from their work." A yet more accomplished second album resulted"

Damn headache

Flushed with success, Karl became the classic sharp-witted, sharp-tongued, selfish, reluctant, brilliant, hilarious, eccentric mix up that we expect of all true artists. "Listen to all the best music and you know that whoever wrote it was off his trolley. I never wrote a good song while I was straight," he says, chain smoking despite doctor's orders. But Karl has rarely listened to expert advice."

Wallinger -- like World Party -- is a contradiction. He can be very, very angry and very, very funny but the trials and tribulations of the last few years have left him wittily sanguine. "I was so lucky that Robbie recorded 'She's the One' because it allowed me to keep going. He nicked my pig and killed it but gave me enough bacon to live on for four years. He kept my kids in school and me in Seaview and for that I thank him." ~ [Source: artistdirect.com]

For Robbie Williams see #400

For m0re Robbie Williams visit MM Vol 1 #126

For Prince see #812

For m0re Prince visit MM Vol 1 #136

What does Rolling Stone Magazine think about World Party?
"Faced with that scenario, he's gone to great lengths to take the name of his outfit literally and give the public something to dance to. Bang! is a veritable housewarming party, celebrating the Private Revolutionary's move from his ascetic garret to the shag-carpeted, patchouli-scented pad recently vacated by Lenny Kravitz. Wallinger is hardly a shaman, but in expansive, soft-focus funk tunes like "Rescue Me," his utopian millennialism actually seems as if it could propel an antislacker backlash. A new-found urgency suffuses the album, permeating even the lush chamber psychedelia of "Is It Like Today?," in which an angry God berates the environmentally incorrect." ~ [Source: Rolling Stone]

You often wish that Rolling Stone just wrote in plain English with a relevant message rather than "an over the top" list of words which rhyme with mambo jambo that obviously makes some middle aged scholar, somewhere, chuckle over his joint. (Utopian Millennialism! wtf?)