PARTY AIMS TOO HIGH

“PRIVATE REVOLUTION.” World Party. Chrysalis. It’s Karl Wallinger’s Party and he’ll sound like who he wants to. There’s Mick Jagger (in his drawling vocals), Bob Dylan (a fairly straight version of “All I Really Want to Do”), Van Morrison (into the mystic with “It Can Be Beautiful”) and even Prince (the minimalist funk of the title tune). Mostly, though, Wallinger shows the influence of Mike Scott, his former boss in the Waterboys. But where Scott effectively conveys the personal nature of his intense spirituality, Wallinger’s aim is often higher than his reach. Still, there is a winning sense of hope in the one-world pantheism of such tunes as “World Party,” even if it is expressed somewhat clumsily. And the music--a wide variety of styles benefiting from clever production touches--is interesting at every turn.