Bass of Sobriety

On emerging from his mole-like toil, steering commuters through the trogloditic world occupied by London Underground, Jah Wobble returned tentatively to a music business that had been seriously pissed-off with many of the madcap bassist's pre-subterranean antics.

It was difficult for anyone to take him seriously; he had gained reputation: he was difficult, drunk, and often disorderly.

But he had a vision.
An aural vision.
And he found just the right musician to help give his vision substance.

Ex-Etonian and 'Ubertoff' (as Wobble dubbed him) Justin Adams had a sensibility in his guitar playing that was inspired by and reminiscent of Middle-Eastern and Arabic sounds.
This was music to Wobble's ears, and they were soon playing together under the name Invaders of the Heart.

It did take a couple of years before anyone really took notice of their efforts, and it was only through Wobble's dogged persistency that the breakthrough album Without Judgment was ever released at all.

While they were waiting for their breakthrough to happen, Wobble and Adams recorded several tracks for Aki Nawaz's Nation Records, for inclusion on their seminal world-music dance fusion compilation Fuse.

Nation released the better of the tracks as 12" singles; Invaders of the Heart's 'The Unspoken Word' being one of them.

With the assistance of Zahrema's voice, 'The Unspoken Word' is a bubbly piece of arabic flavoured dub; essentially Jah Wobble, the Ovation bass fluid and confident; but Adams forceful in his playing, reminds the listener that it was the combination of Wobble and Adams that formed and shaped the distinctive sound; a sound so immediately identifiable to Invaders of the Heart.

Invaders of the Heart - The Unspoken Word (1989)

A: The Unspoken Word
B: The Unspoken Word (Dub)

Decent vinyl rip @320kbs
A segues nicely into B, creating a continuous piece lasting 16 minutes.

Make your ears all Wobbly here

Honest John

I thought I'd post a little more music from Jah Wobble's enormous back catalogue in celebration of the release of his autobiography: Memoirs of a Geezer.

I anticipate reading it with even more excitement than reading Ozzy Osbourne's recent confessional.
And for a rock autobiography it has received good reviews, making it a truly essential purchase.

So firstly let's journey back to 1983 for a collaborative recording from Wobble, The Edge and Holger Czukay with the mini-LP release Snake Charmer.

The title track very much reflects the time in which it was made; an example from the early days of electonica based dance music; a time still suffering from the lasting effects of the doings of Trevor Horn and the sounds emanating from his Perfect Sounds stable.

'It Was a Camel' and 'Sleazy' (undoubtedly the best track. A jam really, with the band stripped right back to a trio, creating enough space to allow Mr. Wobble to reveal his bass chops) probably represent best where Wobble was going with his music, although he was yet to fall into bed with ambient dub and find inspiration in world music.

Jah Wobble, The Edge & Holger Czukay - Snake Charmer (1983)

Snake Charmer
Hold On To Your Dreams
It Was a Camel
Sleazy
Snake Charmer (reprise)

Excellent vinyl rip @320kbs
Charm yourself here
My other offering comes from December 1991; an Andy (remember him?) Kershaw session broadcast by the BBC.

Here the Invaders of the Heart are in full flight; Animal has been replaced by the idiosyncratic Justin Adams, and the band rely heavily on Arabic and North African rhythms and textures.
Wobble has found his distinctive bass sound, and he's much more bold and adventurous in what he's doing.

If the earlier recording revealed an artist searching for a niche, this session proved that over the following eight years Wobble had dug in deep, finding his muse in the very Earth.

Invaders of the Heart - BBC Radio Session for Andy Kershaw (1991)

Emigrate
Moroccan
Saeta

Excellent cassette rip @320kbs
Ululate along with this here

What Judgement Shall I Dread

In 1989, a post-PIL Jah Wobble didn't have the greatest reputation to help build a new career in music.

He was seen as unpredictable, unreliable, a drinker and some thought even a little mad.

It was however, this recording that asserted Wobble as still being of interest; still an important player; and a pioneer in the new burgeoning genres of fusion and ambient music.

Sold cheaply to a small Belgian independent label, KK Records, this recording was quickly circulated around the underground music scene where it was warmly received; the band even did a session for John Peel's show, proving absolutely that Wobble had re-entered the zeitgeist.

Wobble had reaffirmed commercial potential and soon signed to Warner, going on to release the Mercury nominated Rising Above Bedlam, which even provided him (and collaborator Sinead O'Connor) with a hit and a live slot and interview on Channel 4's cult show The Word.

I was fortunate enough to see this original line up at the time of the release of Without Judgement perform at London's Marquee Club; and it truly was one of the best gigs I ever experienced in that hallowed space.

It was without doubt the best live performance I have ever seen of a band creating live ambient music; the fusion with worldy rhythms and beats, the masterful guitar playing of Justin Adams and Wobble's never deviating dub patterns created a spellbinding, hypnotic intensity, reproduced with great verisimilitude on this album.

For my money, Wobble failed to recreate the energy and brilliance of this album, and despite some great recordings that followed in its wake, he never managed to capture and replicate the consistency of quality this album reveals.

Even his William Blake album, The Inspiration of William Blake, reminds the listener of this earlier recording, where Wobble performs his own 'A13', a poem that captures contemporary working class London in a way that would wholly satisfy even the original Lambeth bard.

You can check it out here on this audio only vid; it also serves as a nice taster for the rest of the album, so if this don't convince ya...

Invaders of the Heart - Without Judgement (1989)

Bungalow Park
What the Problem Is
Anything Can Happen
A13
Drowned and the Saved
So Many Years
Message From Our Sponsor
Coypu
Good Ghosts
Saracen
Eternal Vendor
Invisible Cities
Inferno
Location
Uncommercial Road
Will the Circle Be Unbroken

Excellent vinyl rip @320kbs
Make yourself go all wobbly here