Bloggerhythms

For much of its existence World Party was primarily a solo project of Welshman Karl Wallinger rather than a full-fledged band. He frequently played most of the instruments himself, and at other times he operated much like Steely Dan did with the leader hiring musicians for each project as needed. World Party made five albums beginning in 1986. Their recording career ended in 2000 due to Wallinger's poor health. Unfortunately, he died in 2024 at age 66. Not long after  Dumbing Up  was released, the ex-Waterboy suffered a brain aneurysm that kept him inactive for many years. Later, Wallinger returned to performing live. He also recorded with Peter Gabriel, but there were no more World Party records. Upon its release,  Dumbing Up  reached only #64 in the UK, and it never charted at all in the United States. It was World Party's least successful commercial effort even though - artistically - the record rivaled all of Wallinger's earlier work.  The singer...