World Party - Ship of Fools
Back to "old man music" with this absolute classic from one-man-band and musical genius Karl Wallinger. He was born on 19 October 1957 in Wales. As a boy he completely absorbed the music of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and the Kinks... his musical career began as a keyboard player but he first became known as a multi-instrumentalist member of the Waterboys, contributing significantly to their 1985 hit "Whole of the Moon." After leaving the group, Wallinger's next project was World Party and its first album "Private Revolution" (1987). The video I linked above is from that album and reflects Wallinger's world-music style and social conscience. Private Revolution was followed in 1990 by World Party's masterpiece album, "Goodbye Jumbo", with its two hits "Way Down Now" and "Put the Message in the Box."
Wallinger's music was obviously influenced by the Beatles but he was an inspiring songwriter and musician. "Way Down Now" obviously draws inspiration from "Sympathy for the Devil" but it's by no means a pastiche. The energy of World Party's recordings and videos is really unmatched and his social message is especially relevant today. Sadly Wallinger died in 2024 of a stroke, at his home in Hastings.
Now for the painting... this week we have a swell Gendarme standard bearer from JezT, a buncha cool Greeks from RobH, unexpected Ultramarines from SteveA, and a great deal of WW2 infantry and vehicles from DavidB!
I hope you enjoy the posts and I'll be back Thursday with some more old man music when I sub for Minion GregB.
Dallas
