Reissue with bonus tracks and vinyl edition of World Party’s greatest hits.
Most people’s introduction to the music of Karl Wallinger came through his contributions to the first three albums by the Waterboys. He left them towards the end of 1985 when they toured “This Is The Sea” and formed World Party shortly afterwards. Formed might be slightly euphemistic as Wallinger himself was the only constant over just short of twenty years and as a songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist was well able to perform most parts on recordings himself.
After suffering a brain aneurysm, Wallinger scaled back his output. All of World Party’s studio records were made between 1986 and 2000. After that the original “Best In Show” – described as a greatest hits collection – was released in 2007 followed by a 5CD deep dive “Arkeology” (2012) and a 2CD live record, “Live!” in 2014.
The reissue of “Best In Show” released this year adds three songs to the original CD and a fourth for the double vinyl version. The running order has been changed to fit the vinyl format and has also been used for the CD reissue. Wallinger’s family and label (Seaview) curated the updated track sequence which made room for the extra tracks, including ‘Everybody’s Falling in Love’ (written in the wake of Wallinger’s career-threatening brain aneurysm and featured on “Arkeology”),
The first group of tracks sticks with the original version and is essentially the big songs – ‘Ship Of Fools’, ‘Way Down Now’, ‘Put The Message In The Box’, ‘Is It Like Today’ – which is World Party’s most streamed song – and ‘She’s The One’. which was covered by Robbie Williams and went platinum.
The big songs will need little introduction to anyone exposed to a radio in the mid 1980s and the 1990s. So, what of the rest? First thing to notice is that half the album is taken up with tracks from “Goodbye Jumbo” while debut “Private Revolution” accounts for three with the rest weighing in at two. apiece.
Wallinger is a fine songwriter and also adept at a wide range of arrangements. It’s sometimes hard to get away from the well-curated songs echoing the styles of other acts as he slips through the genres. ‘All Come True’ has a light jazzy feel redolent of Steely Dan while ‘Sweet Soul Dreams’ has a flavour of the Rolling Stones take on soul.
‘Thank You World’ ramps up the funk before Walinger starts off ‘Sunshine’ which, as the name implies, is a slice of 70s pop with lush melody and arrangement. Meanwhile ‘Is It Too Late?’ grinds into a bluesy riff. The selection flips to ‘What Does It Mean Now?’ from final studio effort “Dumbing Up”. The song reminded this listener of “Rumours” era Fleetwood Mac with the bass and piano laying the patterns while the harmonies fill the foreground.
The remainder of the album revisits similar themes with a special mention for the anthemic ‘When The Rainbow Comes’ and closer ‘Always’ with its mid-period Beatles vibe and some sweet bass and keyboard work.
The main reason for the reissue seems to be the deluxe coloured vinyl offering with updated artwork and the format seems to be the main driver for expanding the number of tracks and changing the running order.
That so much of a Best Of comes from one album only goes to emphasise just how good “Goodbye Jumbo” was. One for the fans.
It’s a tragedy that Karl Wallinger was taken so early. IMHO he was one of the most talented musician/songwriters to arrive on the music scene since the mid-80’s.
His legacy speaks for itself.
Oh and that rating 8/10? I think I’ll rectify that – 11/10