The blended influences are melded together into a lovely stew, and the best thing is that you hear the references, but the songs are all new, and all Wallinger's. And he plays new rock like a classic- Dylan, Beatles, Stones, Prince.
Put The Message In The Box and Way Down Now deserved their singles success, but the whole record is strong. Is It Too Late, a bluesy jam, opens the record. The swinging Take It Up, the Beach Boys-like choir of God On My Side, the Prince-like funk of Show Me To The Top, the uplifting Sweet Soul Dream, all are excellent.
Wallinger suffered a brain aneurism in 2000 and spent several years recovering and rehabbing from surgery, but he's produced a few newer World Party releases (a 2008 Best Of and a 2012 5-CD box of B-sides, outtakes, and some recent recordings) and continues to tour sporadically. The guy is a living tribute to the sixties music he loves.
