Customer Reviews

Dumbing Up

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The only problem with World Party's music is the leisurely pace at which new material emerges. I have read all of the previous reviews of Dumbing Up, and here is my take.

First, I agree that the single Here Comes the Future does not mesh with the rest of the tracks. All of the World Party CDs after Private Revolution have a track or two that heads into Motown/soul/Prince territory with the falsetto singing. Those are not necessarily the tracks that I hit repeat on either.

But downgrading this CD because it does not measure up to the classic Private Revolution or Goodbye Jumbo is just crazy. What other artists out there are making music this good in the pop genre? I listen to tons of music, World Party has few equals.

Just for the record, on Dumbing Up, there are three songs that are as good as anything World Party has done, and that's saying a lot in my book: What Does It Mean Now, the very prescient Who are You, and See the Light. The rest of the CD is merely terrific. Take it off your CD player for a month or so (I did too), then put it back on after you're done with Radiohead and Verve Pipe and Starsailor and whoever else you are fancying these days. Five stars all the way.

First, this CD is great on it's own, as good as anything in the World Party catalog. It loses a bit of steam toward the end but finishes with the epic 8-1/2-minute "Always On My Mind." Wonderful.

As an "old" fan (I loved World Party back in the late 80's and early 90's), this US release of their 2000 album is welcome, because it caught my eye, whereas I had completely missed the original release. Not only that, but this includes a DVD containing over two hours' worth of material, mostly videos made for songs from all the studio albums, 1987 up through 2000. I suppose the "true" fan who kept up to date by getting this CD on import would have appreciated the DVD being sold separately, but for me, it's a 2-for-1 deal that's quite welcome.

Karl & gang have been away far too long. I'm so glad he's recovered from the aneurysm in 2001! Scary stuff. World Party is on tour this summer (2006) and hopefully we can all say "welcome back" to new songs soon!

This album has some very strong performances from Kurt, and a welcome return back to the form of 'Goodbye Jumbo' and 'Bang'.

I felt on 'Egyptology' he really had nothing to say...good, safe melodies with absolutely no lyrical depth. This album finds him back to true form. Inspired Lyrics, strong melodies that grab you from the very first listen.

Don't be thrown off by the opening track...the rest of the album is nothing like it. In fact, after the first few listens I've programmed out the 1st and last song, which seem a little out of place with the rest of the album.

This album should be well received by critics and loyal fans, and should gain him some new ones along the way.

World Party's new release features the catchy tunes, the soulful vocals and the often insightful lyrics of Karl Wallinger. The heavy Beatles influence on Wallinger is nothing he needs to apologize for. The arrangements are very modern and World Party albums are loaded with innovation.

The opening song, "Here Comes The Future" has you humming along after the first listen and is further augmented with a few rap verses. "Another 1000 Years" instantly brings the Beatles "Baby You're A Rich Man" into your mind. Karl Wallinger is also heavily influenced by Bob Dylan. Another favorite of mine from "Dumbing Up" is a song called "Who Are You?", which is done in a style reminiscent of Dylan in his "Highway 61 Revisited" era.

In the song "Who Are You?", Wallinger asks: "Are you the problem or the answer? Who are you?" Wallinger is clearly the answer for the person who loves leading edge rock music with real melodies, great individual vocals and harmonies, innovative studio work and meaningful lyrics. No one is doing a better job satisfying the person who appreciates these things today than Karl Wallinger and World Party.

Whether you refer to this CD as a reissue or a new release matters not, the songs are great. If I missed it the first time around, I am glad I found it this time around. This CD is as good as any in the World Party stable. Welcome back.

The best way to describe World Party is they sound like the Beatles if Bob Dylan and Prince were band members.

There is not a bad or mediocre World Party, although out of the five this one is probably their 2nd best (after Goodbye Jumbo). If you are new to World Party, this is a great place to start - highly recommended.

Below is the tracklisting for the videos on the DVD:

Seaview TV
Ship Of Fools
Private Revoltion
All Come True
Put The Message In The Box
Way Down Now
Thank You World
Is It Like Today?
Give It All Away
All I Gave
It Is Time
Beautiful Dream
Call Me Up
Here Comes The Future
What Does It Mean Now?
Strange Groove (Live)
Is It Too Late?

Wow, this is good stuff. British pop with everything from Beatles, Stones, Dylan influences worn on a sleeve. This is probably World Party's best or second best cd (after Goodbye Jumbo or Private Revolution). Wallinger makes consistently good albums from start to finish. Why this cd has not been released in the US is another example of American record companies witholding the good stuff from the cd buying public in favor of fluffy pop/rap stars (?) that are all advertising image over musical quality. Those so called stars 'dumb down' music, whereas Wallinger tries to 'Dumb up' the quality. He succeeds!

This is a really good album. Buy this just for the videos if nothing else.

Karl W. has been making music for years. Go find the waterboys and listen to This is the Sea or the song Savage Earth Heart. Great.

Now while he was not really the driving force behind them he became the force behind World Party. It is a much more poppy sound and when people say sounds like Beatles, is it because the Beatles are bad. No it is because World Party is good.

The difference between this and the import is 2 songs, Til I Got You and I Thought You Were A Spy are added and All The Love That's Wasted and Little Bit Of Perfection are dropped. That last song is super, nearly worth the price of buying this again as an import.

I have found that his music sounds like many artists, Crowded House and Beatles to name a few. He has a very chimey guitar sound and his hooks are great. Don't let the song Here Comes The Future throw you off. It is not that great and is in no way reflective of any of his other music.

If you like this, do get either Goodbye Jumbo or Egyptology. Those two along with this one are the only ones you need. All are outstanding.

Karl Wallinger has written great songs and Goodbye Jumbo is his classic. While his other albums have great songs, they don't have the overall strength as Goodbye Jumbo. Well, that has change because Dumbing Up is his best work besides Goodbye Jumbo. I was very impressed with the quality of the song writing throughout the whole album, from beginning to end. There are a couple of ok songs, but most of the songs are very good. It starts out very strong with one good song after another and finishes very strong also. I also love the meaningful lyrics besides the strong song structures. I think World Party (really Karl Wallinger) will go down in history as the most overlooked artist. He is a tremendous talent that does not get heard.