Copyright 1990 Chicago Tribune Company   
Chicago Tribune
September 14, 1990, Friday, NORTH SPORTS FINAL EDITION
SECTION: FRIDAY; Pg. O; ZONE: CN; Take 2. FRIDAY'S GUIDE TO MOVIES
& MUSIC. 
Concert line
LENGTH: 1064 words
HEADLINE: A Beatles reunion for Karl Wallinger and Jellyfish
BYLINE: By Chris Heim
BODY:

     If Karl Wallinger of World Party or the members of the band
Jellyfish ever have a near-death experience of the kind depicted in
the film "Flatliners," the first thing they will probably see on
the other side is the smiling spirit of John Lennon.
     Beatles-esque pop has enjoyed continual revivals over the
years. It has been a perennial favorite among Midwestern bands and
such artists as Nick Lowe, Tom Petty, Dwight Twilley and the dBs,
to name a few. Today, Wallinger (who, with occasional guest con
tributors, constitutes the "band" World Party) is one of its finest
exponents, and newcomers Jellyfish are adding a few interesting
twists of their own.
     These days, psychedelic pop and Lennon's sardonic postmodern
sensibilities, rather than the simpler, sweeter sentiments of early
British Invasion, are the prime influences. That comes naturally
for Wallinger, a Welsh lad who spent some time in the Waterb
oys before striking out on his own with "Private Revolution" and
his recently released second album, "Goodbye Jumbo." 
     As a kid, he was obsessed with "Sgt. Pepper" along with a
kaleidoscope of other '60s musical happenings, including Dylanesque
folk-rock, that lean, driven "Beggars Banquet"-era Stones sound,
and some Sly-style funk. Wallinger doesn't just patch all this 
together into some ugly Frankenstein-monster music. Elegantly
eclectic and a studio perfectionist (like another '60s icon, the
Beach Boys' Brian Wilson), he meticulously melds his influences
into a coherent new sound and then fires it up with the primal e
nergy that is the heart and soul of all great pop.
     And if Wallinger isn't exactly singing "Blowing in the Wind"
or "Give Peace a Chance," he has inherited from Lennon and Dylan a
strong sense of social responsibility and an uneasy suspicion that
all is not right with the planet. Say you want a revolution
? Well, we'd all love to change the world. Wallinger at least is
making it a bit more interesting.
     Jellyfish uses '60s influences more as a fashion statement
than as a basis for an artistic manifesto. You might say the group
plays Badfinger to Wallinger's Beatles. But it does have that '60s
pop sound and spunky iconoclasm down fairly well on its recen
t debut, "Bellybutton." Jellyfish opens for World Party (Wallinger
and his touring band) Wednesday at the Vic.