Jah Wobble S/D

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Didn't find any old thread on this. I don't know any music of the famous former PIL bassist Jah Wobble. Where to start? What to avoid?

alex in mainhattan, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Just to help your memory:

1980 The Legend Lives On Virgin
1983 Snake Charmer Island
1983 Jah Wobble's Bedroom Album Lago
1985 Neon Moon Island
1986 Tradewinds Lago
1990 Without Judgement Kk
1991 Rising Above Bedlam Atlantic
1994 Take Me to God Polygram
1994 The Sun Does Rise Polygram
1995 Psalms Southern
1995 Heaven and Earth Island
1996 The Inspiration of William Blake All Saints
1997 Jah Wobble Presents the Light Programme 30 Hertz
1997 Requiem 30 Hertz
1998 Umbra Sumus 30 Hertz
1998 The Five Tone Dragon 30 Hertz
1998 Celtic Poets 30 Hertz
1999 Deep Space Import
2000 Full Moon over the Shopping Mall [UK] Import
2000 Full Moon over the Shopping Mall [US] Blueprint
2000 Molam Dub Blueprint
2000 Beach Fervour Spare Blueprint
2001 Passage to Hades Blueprint
2001 Largely Live in Hartlepool and Manchester Resurgent
2001 The Light Programme Blueprint
2001 The Early Years Blueprint

alex in mainhattan, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I once saw Jah Wobble live and I was impressed by two pieces which featured his spoken word vocals backed by dubby atmospherics. These compositions were called "I Love Everybody" and "No Change is Sexy". In his fragmented lyrics he juxtaposed realist descriptions of urban Britain with his spiritual visions. He sounded like a mystical version of Mark E. Smith. The recorded versions are available on the "Take Me To God" album.

I've got a compilation of Wobble's recent work called "30 Hertz", and I dislike most of it. He tries too hard to be eclectic. The extract from the "Celtic Poets" album is particularly bad. The track from the "Deep Space" album is easily the best. I prefer Wobble's material when he is inspired by Can, dub and the trance-like musics of the Middle-East. When he strays into Classical-style music, such as on the "Requiem" album, his music becomes too grandiose.

Mark Dixon, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

He can't be so bad, can he? Or so unknown. Maybe he is unknown as he is crap. In that case forget the thread.

alex in mainhattan, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

pil really went down the toilet after wobble left, didn't they? metal box = classic. flowers of romance = oh dear. album = laswellised. one of most important musicians in last 25 yrs.

XStatic Peace, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

two years pass...
Revive!

Being a fan of "Second Edition" and his contribution to The Orb, I have been very curious to check out some of Wobble's records, but there isn't much info out there on their quality.

Is there anyone around here familiar with Wobble's solo material?

earlnash, Monday, 15 March 2004 00:17 (twenty years ago) link

'Becoming more like God' was a good single (1994).
I listened to the Blake album when it came out (being a fan of the latter) and didn't know what to make of it. I think it was quite good in retrospect.

pete s, Monday, 15 March 2004 00:43 (twenty years ago) link

Take Me To God and the singles off it were all kind of sort of Proper Pop Hits in 1994, it seems curious now. I'm pretty sure it is immense and mighty album but I only have in on cassette and am always afraid to listen now in case it seems either really laughably over-earnest or really bonkers-krazy-madcap, although I suspect it will be neither. The Sun Will Rise was aboslutely the best use for Dolores O'Riordan ever ever though.

I have Heaven & Earth in a box somewhere, after Take Me To God I recall it seemed really pretty feeble and nothingy, although A Love Song was quite nice. Not worth seeking out though.

Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Monday, 15 March 2004 01:47 (twenty years ago) link

i just listened to Snake Charmer and the track hold on to your dreams has the only the edge guitar playing i have ever been able to stomach, as well as lyrics by arthur russell.

i also remember liking Molam Dub (which i think was Laotian dub???)

mullygrubber (gaz), Monday, 15 March 2004 01:56 (twenty years ago) link

The Legend Lives On (AKA Betrayal) is great. like seriously. i read it was the album that caused him to get kicked out of PIL. i guess he re-used a bunch of the basslines from one of their albums all over this one. he doesn't have the greatest voice, but that's exactly why i like this. it's real dubbed out post punk On-U Sound type stuff

JaXoN (JasonD), Monday, 15 March 2004 03:00 (twenty years ago) link

I really enjoyed the Solaris Live set. I've said so in ones and zeroes:

http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/w/wobble_jah/solaris.shtml

paul c (paul c), Monday, 15 March 2004 19:09 (twenty years ago) link

I've only got the set he did with Holger and Jaki -- which i very much like, methinks i'll need to seek out some more.

christoff (christoff), Monday, 15 March 2004 21:28 (twenty years ago) link

Also seek "How Much Are They", with Czukay and Liebzeit.

Missed from the list, "The Human Condition" live cassette. (I think there were two different ones). around 1982 or so.

VIEP (a 'album' based around "Blueberry Hill" from "Betrayal", some remixes and two or three new tracks.)

mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 09:55 (twenty years ago) link

He's also got a bunch of 12"'s and early 80s records that AMG missed. Most of that stuff is good. I have one 12" with a b/w snap of him standing on a porch holding a cat.

Also search: Full Circle (which includes the "How Much Are They" EP), his work on Holger Czukay's records, Legend Lives On, "Visions of You" from Rising Above Bedlam (good backing vox from Baldy O'Connor) and that first full Invaders album (Without Judgment) is ok. Spinner w/ Brian Eno isn't bad.

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:14 (twenty years ago) link

The collection "The Early Years" is a 2cd and is supposed to have a bunch of singles that he put out. It is only $15 bucks at Forcedexposure, so I think I am going to give that one a try.

earlnash, Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:31 (twenty years ago) link

Agree about "Full Circle"--one of the most listenable post-Can things. The recent "Passage to Hades" (with Evan Parker!) is wonderful. A very strange context for Parker, it works surprisingly well.

no opinion, Wednesday, 17 March 2004 07:36 (twenty years ago) link

Cat on cover = "Fading"

mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 09:30 (twenty years ago) link

Legend Lives on (Betrayal) as mentioned is one of the great underappreciated dubby post-punk LP's ever, in the "my ex-band hates me", "i'm going to eat a live hamster before recording my vocals", "might as well steal back all my good basslines that lydon put to poor use on metal box" division. Potential Homos/Slits/Flying Lizards in a blender fans take note.

Dr. Annabel Lies (Michael Kelly), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 09:46 (twenty years ago) link

I'm lending my support to Legend Lives on (Betrayal) - fantastic post-punk dub. His voice works brilliantly and there's none of the mystical shit that crops up in his later work. It sounds surprisingly relevant now as well.

Braces Tower, Wednesday, 17 March 2004 09:50 (twenty years ago) link

earns bonus points for getting the stripey shirted kicked-out curly bob sportin' 00's casualty hipster girls to squirm up to the decks and coo "ooohmigod what is this that yr playin?" especially tracks 1,3,8 - works like a charm lemme tell ya. cat's outta the bag!!

Dr. Annabel Lies (Michael Kelly), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 10:07 (twenty years ago) link

I had the LP, "Pineapple" nowhere near the timing on the label. On the CD, it *is* six mins.

mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 10:18 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah, mark, it's the "Fading" b/w "Nocturnal". I see that it's on that 30 Hertz comp. That thing look really interesting.

I also have some record of his from the mid-80s w/ a yellow cover, but I can't remember what it's called. Linn-drummy, but decent, as I recall...

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 14:59 (twenty years ago) link

I also have some record of his from the mid-80s w/ a yellow cover, but I can't remember what it's called. Linn-drummy, but decent, as I recall...

Ah, mystery solved — it's Psalms, which AMG lists as being from 1995, but...it isn't.

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 15:02 (twenty years ago) link

four months pass...
Have been listening to wobble since coming across the "Betrayal" 12 inch in 1980 or so. He's been my favourite musician ever since.
"The Bedroom Album" if you can find a copy is brilliant especially
"A Long Long Way" which swings like the clappers. "Psalms" according to my record was released in 1987. "How much are they" is an amazing piece of original music for the time. "Take me to God" is probably one of his most widely appealing albums and i've introduced a number of people to Jah Wobble through it. I just wished I lived in Europe so I could have seen him over the years, having only seen him at Womadelaide in the mid Nineties. He's original no doubt about it.

Tim Dixon, Saturday, 24 July 2004 22:04 (nineteen years ago) link

seven years pass...

did anyone else get into his album with Lonelady/Julie Campbell? it's really quite good, though tbh i suspect that's more because of Lonelady's involvement..

back in gloom (electricsound), Thursday, 5 January 2012 23:07 (twelve years ago) link

I knew Jah Wobble had an album out, but I didn't know it was with her. That makes me a lot more interested (not that I'm a huge fan of hers, but I think what I've heard is promising).

Jah Wobble, particularly at one time, seemed like someone I should like. The things he said in interviews, the music he borrowed from, some of the people he collaborated with. But I got rid of my Jah Wobble CDs a long while back.

_Rudipherous_, Friday, 6 January 2012 03:07 (twelve years ago) link

I think in the end the Sinead O'Connor and Natacha Atlas vocals were my favorite part of Rising Above Bedlam. (I didn't know who Atlas was at the time but was very interested in who this singer was. This was just a little before I started becoming much more familiar with Arabic music.) I don't think I've actually heard any of his albums since then, not completely.

_Rudipherous_, Friday, 6 January 2012 03:12 (twelve years ago) link

My favorite among these albums is Molam Dub, in which Wobble adds cavernous bass to traditional folk music from Southern Laos. Very disorienting, in a good way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_ZAkchXjW8

der dukatenscheisser (Sanpaku), Friday, 6 January 2012 18:17 (twelve years ago) link

Yeah I like Molam Dub a lot too.

Blah Sabbath (Drugs A. Money), Friday, 6 January 2012 21:18 (twelve years ago) link

two years pass...

Betrayal is great! Just discovered it

Kornblud (admrl), Sunday, 16 February 2014 21:17 (ten years ago) link

Just put on Molam Dub which I had never heard before – I love how much of it is a variation on a theme.

Perhaps I should do a Spotify playlist of the guy...

Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 18 February 2014 11:29 (ten years ago) link

The Wobble/Levene LP from a few years back is pretty good! Not sure I had so much as heard of it. Levene sounds as shred-worthy as always – and a lot of this feels suitably Metal Box-ish, like alternate takes of "Graveyard" or something, with small pop hooks snuck in by Wobble for good measure.

Naive Teen Idol, Wednesday, 19 February 2014 13:28 (ten years ago) link

two years pass...

Anyone pick up the 6CD "Redux" box"? Thoughts?

Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 9 March 2016 21:19 (eight years ago) link

one year passes...

He's a London tube train driver

glumdalclitch, Saturday, 13 January 2018 14:34 (six years ago) link

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CqobhOTWIAAPurH.jpg

glumdalclitch, Saturday, 13 January 2018 14:35 (six years ago) link

don’t really know it it’s a reissue or a comp or what but I’ve been enjoying the Lagos Years thing a lot that came out last year

faust apes (NickB), Saturday, 13 January 2018 15:01 (six years ago) link

He seems to be a FB buddy of my sister, she goes to see him play when she can.

Whiney Houston (Tom D.), Saturday, 13 January 2018 15:13 (six years ago) link

strictly going by social media, he seems like a good bloke does jah

faust apes (NickB), Saturday, 13 January 2018 17:33 (six years ago) link

One might almost say a diamond geezer.

Whiney Houston (Tom D.), Saturday, 13 January 2018 18:58 (six years ago) link

glad he’s not some ho-wobble wotter

faust apes (NickB), Saturday, 13 January 2018 20:47 (six years ago) link

Not working the tube. Caption for that photo: "Look I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression with this photograph. I'm not actually working for London underground again . I did an interview with TFL and they kindly sorted out me getting behind the controls again. My celebrity's lifestyle and extensive touring commitments obviously wouldn't allow me to take on a full time position. In any case my show Bizz chums just wouldn't allow it....."

jaywbabcock, Sunday, 14 January 2018 00:14 (six years ago) link

Ah. Apologies for misinfo.

glumdalclitch, Sunday, 14 January 2018 00:44 (six years ago) link

“My celebrity’s lifestyle,” LOL

Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 14 January 2018 04:30 (six years ago) link

one year passes...

The Snake Charmer mini album was finally reissued on CD for the first time (on the Music On CD label, an implied initiative I endorse) at the end of last year, ICYMI like I did until just recently. It's good (sounds OK too.)

Armand Frippanino (Noel Emits), Sunday, 21 April 2019 14:57 (four years ago) link

three years pass...

press release email:

NEW SINGLE - ‘DIM SUM’ (Feat GZ Tian) - DIMPLE DISCS - 19TH AUGUST 2022

Jah Wobble & The Invaders Of The Heart have announced that they will set off on an extensive UK Tour throughout August, September and October 2022.

The dates begin at the We Out Here Festival in Abbots Ripton, Cambridgeshire on the 27th of August and finish up in London at Cleopatra Records 30th Anniversary night at the 02 Academy Islington on the 26th of October which will feature Jon Klein and will be the first ever live rendition of the ‘Metal Box Rebuilt in Dub’ album.

The shows will see the original PIL bassist and The Invaders Of The Heart line up of Marc Layton-Bennett (drums & percussion), George King (keyboards) & Martin Chung (guitar) perform a set of new tracks together with some of his finest solo, Invaders Of The Heart and Public Image Limited output from an incredible and genre bursting career that spans over forty years.

curmudgeon, Monday, 15 August 2022 21:42 (one year ago) link

one year passes...

spell correct wants me to call him "nah wobble"

just given how much ambient I listen to these days I'm mainly off my "put this guy in a band where his all-time tone can be put into the service of some songs" and more "ride this groove forever, hah wobble" all right then I'm gonna let spell correct just do what it wants here ok

J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Monday, 6 November 2023 13:15 (five months ago) link

Hell yes. In that vein, I've been listening to a fair bit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VvaAgOLicI

I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Monday, 6 November 2023 21:11 (five months ago) link

His autobiography has some great material on PiL and dealing Virgin, but my god did he turn into a racist loon who absolutely abhors Bangladeshi people. His daughters from his first marriage are no-contact with him, and you can easily tell why

beamish13, Tuesday, 7 November 2023 20:44 (five months ago) link


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