ARTIST: World Party  

TITLE:  Private Revolution

YEAR RELEASED: 1986

CHART ACTION: #39

SINGLES: Ship of Fools (#27 US, #5 Mainstream Rock, #42 UK), Private Revolution

OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: A cover of Dylan’s “All I Really Want to Do”

LINEUP: Karl Wallinger with help from Andrew Thistlethwaite, Sinead O’Connor, and Steve Wickham

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Former member of the Waterboys goes solo (really, he’s a one man band for the most part) and gets an international hit single in the process.

 SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: “Ship of Fools” blazed through the airwaves in 1986 and 1987 and provided Karl Wallinger’s persona of World Party a legitimate hit single in the US, something the Waterboys could never do.

Unfortunately, the album it’s attached to is spotty and uneven. Wallinger’s intent is pure – he wants to live in a world where we take care of the Earth and each other. His execution isn’t so great. The songs, except for a couple, drag on for too long and / or don’t show any interesting directions or hooks.

I have always been beguiled by “Ship of Fools” and really hoped the album would be better. It’s not, sad to say.

NOTES & MINUTIAE: On the credits, he made up pseudonyms for his ‘band’.

IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: No

GRADE: C+: The hit is great, some other songs OK, but about half are exile-worthy.