Rising Above Bedlam
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
1991
Album Summary
Rising Above Bedlam is an album by Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart, released by Oval Records in 1991.The album was a shortlisted nominee for the 1992 Mercury Prize.
WikipediaThis is a mouthful, I'm listening to a band named 'Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart' with an album named "Rising Above Bedlam." I have no idea what to expect here. Allmusic says they specialize in experimental ethnic pop and fusion. The first track is pleasant so far, it reminds me of Primal Scream and their landmark Screamadelica album. The album as a whole breezes by nicely, and I'm enjoying the different voices that come together to make a cohesive album. Despite how eclectic and experimental the whole thing feels. I'm not sure I will revisit this at any point soon, but I enjoyed the ride and how nice it floated through my life.
Jah Wobble's Rising Above Bedlam feels like a genuine attempt at cross cultural fusion, which is commendable. But on the evidence, Wobble's understanding of the musical traditions he's borrowing from are skin deep, and that's being generous. The songs are dull and obvious and Wobble invariably makes the least interesting choices possible when it comes to timbres and instrumental colors. This music would be at home in a Starbucks Putumayo collection cd. One star for basic musical competence. Zero stars for the songs, arrangements, production, and lack of taste.
The arrangements are repetitive, the vocals are just plain bad (or irritating, take your pick), the sound is dated, and the ideas were already done better in the 80s. Nothing salvageable here at all.
This guy is from Public Image Ltd. The album mixes world music with some weird/cool grooves. Some elements reminiscent of INXS, Sugar Ray. A collection of very good musicians doing something they aren't taking all that seriously.
What an interesting album! I had not heard of "Jah Wobble" (stage name of John Wardle that came about as a drunken Sid Vicious mumbled his hame), but now I know he grew up with John Lydon and other Sex Pistols members. I've also now learned that Wobble was the bassist for PiL. This album is great. Influenced by reggae, world music, and the rock/punk world in which Wobble grew up, it all comes together quite nicely here. I hear some of the tracks as "Velvet Underground moves to the Caribbean." Really cool.
I don't know if I'm rating this high because I was surprised or if it really is good. Other vibe, world music albums don't really work for me, but this one hits the mark. I feel like if David Byrne could have gotten his hands on this band, he'd have had a whole other Talking Heads career!
I know Jah Wobble more from PIL and his collaborations with Holger Czukay of Can. I like him as a support player/collaborator but maybe not so much as a solo artist. He's got a ton of releases and I wonder why this particular one was chosen. I feel like this list is pretty solid in its picks the further back it goes but right about here in the timeline going forward it gets a little more spotty. Can't say I really enjoyed it, like I don't want to listen to it again, but it wouldn't really bother me if someone had it on in the background. Okay, skipped through the tracks again and I like the first song alright as a single but the rest of the album doesn't have the same vibe. 2.5 rounded down I guess?
Just kind of... meh. Had some fun instrumentals, but the vocalist was the bad type of annoying
An upbeat, mellow, album that goes down smooth. It feels almost mystic at times. I wasn't sure about the album when it started but by the end I was enraptured. The album made me happy, and I don't know that there's higher praise I can give than that.
Интересный микс стилей, культур и инструментов. Понравилось сочетание народной музыки и современной.
Loved it, nice change of pace. Slightly alternative music nice background for working.
I had to listen to this album on YouTube as I couldn’t find it elsewhere. That is unfortunate because it will be hard to listen to again and I really loved this album! In has a pretty amazing world music vibe. I pretty much loved the whole album (aside from the annoying ads that interrupted periodically). It is lush, exotic and is really interesting! I don’t think there is a song on here that I didn’t like. Really great!
Never heard of them before but really liking the album. A mix of styles. A few songs sound like Soup Dragons meet Kate Bush. One sounds like Pet Shop Boys. One has a middle eastern or maybe Indian styled but the words are in Spanish.
Jah Wobble hero of course and I loved this one with exotic music, even sometimes thought I heard Fad Gadget! 5 stars
This was a fantastic mix mash of styles…..unusual but familiar at the same time. Enjoyed it!
Complete shift from what he was doing with PIL, but still a great album. A melting pot of different musical cultures, but surprisingly unified. Closer to a 3.7
The main guys voice was really not good but the music was incredibly cool. Erzulie was fun, some of the others got long. 7.5 for me
Scrapes a 7 from me. Cool except the English lyrics are corny and when the guy sings his voice is almost unbearable
Brilliant ! I wasn’t expecting it to be so good. Some excellent Zumba tracks. I shall probably play it again while I’m cooking and have a dance along! I was reserving 4* for classics but this was an unexpected ****
This is weird and wild for sure. Worth an occasional, maybe even party lounge listen? Eno collab
4/5 Solid music, different from what i would normally listen to, and probably ain't gonna hunt it out again later, but did not mind listening to it, at all. However, got at bit samey over time.
This was really nice. Felt like I was sitting on a beanbag, a bit buzzed.
Wereldmuziek in de letterlijke vorm van het woord. Vanuit alle hoeken heeft dit album invloeden. Eentje om nog eens op te leggen in de zomermaanden, onder het zonnetje
I knew this album as my dad was a fan - and love the opening track 'Visions of You' - it's amazing and you think you are on the verge of greatness, but sadly doesn't rise to such peaks again, still a great album
Somehow I never checked out Jah Wobble's work back in the nineties, so I was unfamiliar with this album. It serves up an interesting melange of different musical styles. Not everything works, and some of the electronic elements sound a bit dated, but overall I enjoyed listening to it.
Interesting, and seemed quite familiar despite it being my first time hearing any of it, I guess due to the 'eastern' influences that I hear on the radio where I am.
Only had time for one listen today. I liked it. Nice mixture of cultures and styles.
Seen as John Lydon's a massive tory cunt now, this is a very good alternative. If PiL was pop and dub instead of prog and punk. Proper quality aye.
1st time of listening and whilst I am an admirer of Mr Wobbles creativity and humour I wasn't sure what to expect. Pleasantly surprised by this album with traces of the "Madchester" sound on "Visions Of You" (with Sinead O'Conner on Vocals) The Latin/Bhangra "Bomba" to the more ethereal songs like the Title Track "Rising Above Bedlam" which is reminiscent of his PiL days are all spot on. As I say a lovely LP that is new to me and offers some great "Fusion" music. Rightfully on the list as far as I am concerned.
Pretty funky, can't believe I've never heard of jah wobble before, will definitely be checking out more of his albums
Usually I strongly dislike world music, but this album really hit some of the right spots and I really enjoyed it as background music.
4/19/2022 Today's Album: "Rising Above Bedlam" by Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart - This album was a really fantastic surprise. It seems to be a collection of music from around the world and each song has a ton of really bright and interesting instrumentation amongst it. I really love the opening track Visions of You. It sounds so sweet and has this really nice chilled out guitar line and bongo groove, not to mention the incredibly catchy chorus. The male vocalist throughout the album really toes the line between a performance that feels kind of off and creepy and one that sounds clear and confident. I really like the instrumental break in the song Ungodly Kingdom. It has that great island vibe and incorporates a ton of pacific instrumentation to back up that idea. Some of the tracks don't pull me in as quickly as others, like the track Rising above Bedlam, but most of them have really engaging sonic ideas right off the bat. I like the song Erzulie for it's chilled out eastern vocal performance and I like how melodic the bass guitar is in it too. It's a really great Latin dance track with a lot of different levels of energy throughout. Everyman's an island takes a sort of psychedelic approach, with this groovy meditative bassline and some really strung out electric guitar. I like just how groovy it is and how much they are switching up the sound even just measure to measure. It reminds me of a lot of King Gizzard's microtonal music, but with a bit of a softer edge. The opening drum beat of Soledad is so welcoming and brings you into a sort of Arabian dream. The, what I think are Latin, vocals would usually turn me away from the track, but not knowing the lyrics feels okay because the vocal performance is just so hypnotic and eastern sounding. The bass line and drum beat keep the song so sturdy throughout as the guitar and auxiliary percussion solo on top. The solo sections of this album really feel reserved and like they only are doing what they must to add to the experience of the track and I really appreciate the subtlety of it. Sweet Divinity is a very strange track to me because it sounds extremely unique. There's these weird sections of trumpet and trombones sort of just going ham on this dueling fanfare and it breaks up the verses in a very engaging way. It feels like a song that I wouldn't like under usual circumstanced, but the sheer skill of these musicians keeps me engaged in this sort of creepy and uncomfortable tune. The closer Wonderful World is a great way to pick up from the weird spot we were left in with Sweet Divinity and I really like the instrumentation and vocal performance here. It's a bouncy and playful track with a really chorus and some nice chorus vocals backing things up. They play with the reverb subtly in some of the vocal sections in a really pleasing, yet experimental way and I just really like whatever effect is on the guitars because they sound so tropical and bubbly. It ends things off in the same really cheery optimistic vibe introduced in the first track Visions of You and it's a great way to end. As a whole package, this is a really great album if you like stuff that sounds like it's from outside of the good ol' USA. There's fun microtonal sounding stuff, a lot of eastern and Latin influence, and all of the cultures on display also showcases a huge variety of talent. I think there are some tracks that are a little worse than the majority and the vocals can be a little off putting at first, but if you can just put this on in the background while you're doing something and vibe along to the grooves, I think it'd be a nice time for almost anyone. Score: 8.5/10 Best world music I've heard yet Highlights: Visions of You, Bomba, Ungodly Kingdom, Erzulie, Everyman's an Island, Soledad, Sweet Divinity, Wonderful World
I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I was going to. It's going to require some more listens, but I'll definitely be back!
Solid album. I could (and did) easily play this in the background over and over. Sinead O'Connor's vocals on Visions of You and Sweet Divinity were great adds. Wobble's regular vocals are just okay. The variety of musical styles from around the world were also pretty cool - Indian-style on Visions of You, African-style on Ungodly Kingdom, Latin-style on Bomba, Middle Eastern-style on Everyman's an Island, combo of the last two on Soledad. Although reggae/Spanish combo on Relight the Flame wasn't as good; wailing in latter half was cool. Love the guitarwork on Ungodly Kingdom - picking at the beginning and the electric stuff at around the 2:45 mark. Erzulie felt like something almost out of Bladerunner at the start; neat vocals and pace/change of pace throughout. Title track was a bit boring though the lyrics were intriguing. Only other song I didn't really enjoy was Wonderful World - sounded cheesy compared to the rest of the album. After looking back at what I liked and didn't, I realize I liked most of it, quite a bit.
The worldliness of the album was nice to hear. I listened to the last song a few times and I don't get it. The appeal of it escaped me a bit. I always felt that Sinead O'Connor got a bum rap back in the 90s, and her performance on this album is great. It'd be nice to hear her in more stuff like this, maybe more atmospheric. Imagine her in one of Fripp's soundscapes... But you know Wobble is a forgiving and gracious artist. He had to deal with John Lydon for a few albums in Public Image, didn't he? So yeah, I dug this. May have to seek out some more.
Really liked this. Spiritual feel to it. A suprising addition was Sinead O Connor's vocals included throughout the album. Her voice, combined with Jah Wobble's addictive basslines made the album. Personally felt the first half was better than the second half. Nonetheless, great album. Wobble's changed up his style compared with his days in PiL. Refreshing to hear music using a combination of different cultures.
Such a recognisable voice on him, liked the Public Image Limited stuff
I thought this would be brand new to me, but turns out I'd heard the first track before - very Screamadelica! This was quite a pleasant listen. Quite enjoyed the mix of dub, world music and electronics, though you can definitely have too much of that. Fave track - "Visions of You"
I enjoyed this one! What a mix of sounds and cultures. A lot of the songs (especially the ones where the English guy sings lead) sound a little like the Happy Mondays album we had a while back. That clubby dance-rock style was called Madchester and I hear of lot of that in this music. But then there’s Spanish lyrics, African music and Middle Eastern melodies - each song seems to hop to a different country (and a few blend multiple genres together). There’s a druggy energy that ties it together and big drums on every track that sound like they were recorded in a vast warehouse. Highlights: “Visions of You,” “Bomba,” “Ungodly Kingdom”
Derrière cet infini nom d'artsite se cache en fait tout simplement Kingsley Coman, tout fraîchement revenu de sa médiocre coupe du monde au Qatar. Un album coup de poing à mettre entre toutes les mains.
Je pense que beaucoup d'entre vous ont écouté cet album sans même savoir que Jah Wobble était depuis 2006 le détenteur du record de la personnalité la moins célèbre du monde. Un huissier s'est en effet basé sur le fait que personne n'ait jamais entendu parler de Jah Wobble pour homologuer ledit record. Ce dernier a pourtant bien failli lui être retiré en 2018 après qu'un internaute a découvert que son compte Instagram comptait trois abonnés. Une enquête a finalement prouvé qu'il s'agissait de bots (le groupe de chaudières TLC pour être précis).
I would say Wobble was one of the earliest and more influential purveyors of the emerging genre of World Music back in the 80s'. Him along with David Byrne perhaps. Kudos to him for being able to attract top vocal talent including Sinead O'Connor and Natasha Atlas, and later Delores O'Riordan. Coming from PiL you wouldn't guess that Wardle would be a fan of Jamaican reggae and dub but he was and and he plays his bass guitar here with aplomb channeling Robbie Shakespeare (of Sly and Robbie fame). I also really enjoy him mixing Latin and Middle-Eastern music seamlessly into this album. Spotify's algorithms also gave me some tracks from his 2004 album The Celtic Poets and I thought that was an even better album. Wobble's sound also reminds me a lot of Malcolm McLaren's forays into tribal/world music on his Duck Rock album. Overall, this album works really well and was quite enjoyable.
I think that Natasha Atlas is the star of this album. The best songs she co-wrote and sang in, and probably got less credit then she deserved. As a side note I was surprised to hear her singing in Spanish, though Wikipedia tells me she started her career in a Belgian salsa band. Natasha's songs I would give a 5. Musically the rhythms and textures and bass playing are nice & I'd give the rest of the album a 4, except that Jah Wobble's voice ruins everything. He should know better.
I liked what Public Image did; this album is completely different but also very enjoyable. Jah Wobble is a very good bass player. Too bad they don't list the other musicians on the album. I read that the female vocalist on Visions of You is Sinead O'Connor. The other female vocalist (on Erzulie and several other songs) is amazing. The Arabian beats work beautifully with her vocals.
This is surprisingly cool. Although maybe that's just because I finally switched to Tidal. If any listeners are still on Spotify, might be worth making the switch to any other service that has lossless. Favorite tracks were "Visions of You", "Bomba", "Erzulie"
It's a good world music album with very diverse influences. I liked the second half of it a bit more, it was more interesting.
Not a fan of vocals as such, but the instrumental composition is quite unique
Some of it’s really good but I get tired of it quickly. I remember it being that way.
Das erste Album, das ich nicht bei Apple Music finden konnte. Groovige Musik! Teilweise richtig gute Tracks, wenn nicht gerade der monotone Sänger, bestimmt Jah Wobble höchstselbst, uns die Ehre erweist. Er bringt natürlich eine Form von Charakter mit sich, aber ich hab es lieber schön.
I liked some of the songs, like the one with Sinead O'Connor, but there were some tracks that just sorta vibed! Overall an enjoyable experience~!
World music, algumas faixas sao ok (gostei das q sao em espanhol e arabe(?)), percursao ainda tá com cara de anos 80 q me desagradou.
Never heard this before! First struck me as a precursor to Thievery Corporation. I was a little put off by the ridiculous canned drums and twerpy basslines, but I think the music got better as the album went on, and it also just grew on me.
Tried to be very experimental but mostly came off as bland and overstayed its welcome. 6
No tiene estilo definido. Alguna se parece a James. Otra es como música de honololú. Otra como samba latina. Otra como árabe. Un poco Enigma. Le daré un 3 porque alguna canción no está mal.
6. There was definitely some interesting stuff going on, but it started to feel a little long and a little too chaotic
Never even crossed my radar before but liked it. The fact Jah Wobble used to work for LU is also cool.
Erg diverse plaat, en iets waar ik nog nooit van had gehoord. Niet onaardig.
Not sure I will be able to make it through the album.. too repetitive to be enjoyable -
Another weird and strange experiment album which is a recipe for disaster in my book but against all odds, I really enjoyed this. I had an extremely productive day and I can’t say it wasn’t because of this album. I especially enjoyed the song with Sinead O’Connor. It just works!
Got some interesting sounds on there and I like the collaborative element of it. Bit too conceptual for my taste but I do like the world music vibe.
Never heard of this before... a new experience. I did read that Jah Wobble was a guitarist from PIL, so I did have some expectations.... Visions of you. I recognized Sinead O'Connor right away. Radio-worthy track. Relight the flame has a familiar quality. It made me think of Robbie Robertson. The song feels right. I consider it a standout. Bomba...what language is that? Spanish? It's nice. Rising Above Bedlam got me with the drums...the spoken lyrics...Robbie Robertson (feel) again... (Somewhere down that Crazy River)... Those drums in "Soledad" are, in a word: powerful! I wanted to look and see if Phil Collins was featured. The other songs seemed ok. Nothing much else stood out to me. Stand out tracks: Visions of You Relight the Flame Soledad Bomba. Overall, the album was nice to listen to. I probably won't listen to it again unless something brings me back to it ( such as it being on a list like this). It is a solid 3/5 for now.
I missed this one when it came out, although I do recall the Sinead O'Connor-voiced "Visions of You" getting some play on college radio. That is a great track, probably the best on the album. "Soledad" is also really beautiful, with Arabic-style vocals in Spanish by Natacha Atlas. The mixture of various "world" sounds is well done, but very much of that time. "Relight the Flame" and "Erzulie" have a cool mingling of Spanish-style guitar with a dub/Reggae rhythm and lovely Arabic-style vocals by Natacha Atlas. You wouldn't think some of these sounds would be necessary together, but the prevailing attitude is "why not?" and it mostly works. Some of the beats and keyboard sounds/ arrangements are a little dated. Wardle's own vocals stand out in contrast to the other vocalists, and not in a good way. His best vocal is on is "Rising Above Bedlam," which relies less on the world beat sounds and is a sold early-'90s alternative track. A mostly enjoyable/interesting listen. I'd have to be in a particular mood to revisit it though. Fave songs: Visions of You, Soledad, Everyman's an Island
Some funky rhythms. Feels a little pretentious and overly artsy for me. I like it better than Lou Reed but not my favorite.
On first listen, this caught me right and I thought I had a four star album. Second time around I was less engaged- maybe I was already wary of the world-influenced, dub-flavoured, Britpop-foreshadowing cocktail and started to see it more as a composite of influences than something truly original. Or maybe I just realised a lot of it was quite boring. Not to deny a lot of it works: "Visions of You" is an obvious lead single, from the Sinead O'Connor feature to a borderline singalong chorus. "Ungodly Kingdom" has a strong refrain, and the chants work well embedded against the main vocal line. "Erzulie" is hypnotic in the way it builds up and moves through various sections: my other favourite on offer here. There's no way anyone would choose to listen to this on the strength of Wobble's vocals, so it's a good job the guest vocalists and rhythm section are consistently strong across the record. Some of the percussion sounds are dated (for a surreal moment I thought "Relight the Flame" was going straight into Genesis' "Invisible Touch") but it all holds together well enough sonically. The dub bass is consistently up front in the mix- unsurprising as it's Wobble's primary instrument- and there are some groovy lines to hold together the songs. All of this leads me to my main criticism: the music is often great, but the lyrical content is either distractingly bad or not making any effort to match the atmospherics. Attempts at social commentary in the weak spot "Everyman's an Island" were especially eye-roll inducing (hey guys, did you know the word "fun" was invented by marketing executives to sell soft drinks? Nope, me neither.) It's background music and might reward repeated listening, but I don't think I'll be rushing back to it.
Dubby, loping beats. Bomps along nicely in a world music vibe. Whoever told Jah Wobble he should take lead vocal on most of the tracks needs a pop in the chops. I mean, he's got Sinead O'Connor right there backing him on a couple of tracks...
Absolutely unsure how to rate this album. Guess I'm glad I heard it. It was very unique especially when you consider the other music that was released around this time. Definitely didn't like it though. Also didn't hate it. Giving it a 3, but I don't know if that's right.