Sailing Around the World
The Wiggles must have gotten it in their heads that all play and no work makes for a bunch of dull Aussie boys. How else to explainSailing Around the World, which skimps on rudderless, ridiculous good fun in favor of a bunch of two-minute geography lessons? Where once the blokes good-naturedly shook their sillies out and sung the humble praises of fruit salad, they now find themselves compelled to drag preschoolers across the globe when most of them would be happier doing the "Numbers Rhumba" in front of their TV sets.Questioning the wisdom of the band's decision to explore its academic side wouldn't seem as important if the songs on this disc were catchier, but Jeff, Murray, Greg and Anthony's stroll through "London Town" has about as much personality as the Queen Mother; hula-hula-hula-ing across Hawaii ("Honolulu") calls for a crazy tempo that never kicks in; and pondering the spectacle of the Parthenon while Greek music plays seems unlikely to appeal to anybody still in Pampers. Only when the barrel is rolled out for "The Barrel Polka" do we want to stick around for the rest of the tour, but by then it's too late. Captain Feathersword, at the helm, high-tails it to the end of this uncharacteristically uninspired disc three songs later.--Tammy La Gorce