Goodbye Jumbo

Goodbye Jumbo is the second studio album by Welsh-British alternative rock band World Party, released in May 1990 on Ensign Records.

The album received generally positive reviews from critics and peaked at No. 73 on the US Billboard 200 and No. 36 on the UK Albums Chart. "Way Down Now", the album's lead single, spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, and follow-up single "Put the Message in the Box" reached No. 8.

Critical reception

Writing for Spin, Jon Young deemed Goodbye Jumbo a "winning opus" and said that frontman Karl Wallinger's "unabashed enthusiasm" and "ability to craft killer pop tunes" prevent the album's liberal referencing of earlier musical styles from becoming "sterile". Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot considered the album to be heavily influenced by the Beatles' "sense of pop and studio craft", further commenting that the "biting" humour and irony in its lyrics are effectively balanced by upbeat "melodies and moments". Chris Willman of the Los Angeles Times stated that Wallinger's "Lennonisms sound somehow endemic, not affected", and that the album never lapses into "petty theft" despite its numerous influences. In Rolling Stone, Don McLeese wrote that "Goodbye Jumbo displays an ambition as broad as the emotional range of its music", and that while "Wallinger's missionary zeal occasionally belabors his messages", the music "is sufficiently vital to overpower resistance". The Village VoiceTemplate:'s Robert Christgau, however, dismissed the album as a "dud".

At the end of 1990, Goodbye Jumbo was named the year's best album by Q. It was also voted the fifteenth best album of 1990 in The Village VoiceTemplate:'s year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll. At the Grammy Awards' 1991 ceremony, Goodbye Jumbo was nominated for Best Alternative Music Performance. In 2000, it was ranked 94th on QTemplate:'s list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever".

In 2000 it was voted number 474 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Karl Wallinger.

1. "Is It Too Late?" – 4:24
2. "Way Down Now" – 3:49
3. "When the Rainbow Comes" – 4:58
4. "Put the Message in the Box" – 4:16
5. "Ain't Gonna Come Till I'm Ready" – 5:05
6. "And I Fell Back Alone" – 3:57
7. "Take It Up" – 4:37
8. "God on My Side" – 4:14
9. "Show Me to the Top" – 5:15 (contains untitled hidden track beginning at 4:42)
10. "Love Street" – 4:21
11. "Sweet Soul Dream" – 4:39
12. "Thank You World" – 3:47

Personnel

Credits for Goodbye Jumbo adapted from album liner notes.

Musicians

• Karl Wallinger – vocals, all instruments (except as indicated), composition, design, engineering, production
• Guy Chambers – drum samples (1), synthesizer (3,4,9,10), sampler (4), backwards piano (5), acoustic piano (10), harmonium (11),
• Chris Sharrock – drum kit (2, 3, 4)
• Jeff Trott – slide guitar (1,3), electric guitar (2), 12-string acoustic guitar (3)
• Jerod Minnies – acoustic guitar (1)
• Martyn Swain – bass guitar (10)
• Chris Whitten – drum kit (1,5)
• Steve Wickham – violin (7)
• Roy Morgan – tambourine (2)
• Dave Catlin-Birch – guitar (6,7)
• Sophia Ramos – backing vocals (3)
• Sinéad O'Connor – backing vocals (11)

Additional personnel

• Joe Blaney – engineering
• Karl Wallinger and Stephanie Nash – artwork
• Steven Fargnoli – management
• Karl Wallinger and Michael Nash – design
• Steve Wallace – photography
• Tim Young – digital editing, mastering

Charts

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Chart performance for Goodbye Jumbo

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	70
Canadian Albums (RPM)	26

External links

• Template:Discogs master