Rising Above Bedlam

Tosi ristiriitainen olo tästä levystä. Tavallaan tykkään paljonkin mutta sitten taas toisaalta en saa otetta. Kallistun nyt kuitenkin positiivisen puolelle ja annan vahvan nelosta hipovan kolmosen. 3/5

Arvostan kokeellista otetta mut vähän turhaa tauhkaa myös. 3/5

I was vibing to this during the first three or so tracks. I would definitely prefer to listen to all of these styles and genres separately than as a mishmash like this, but I liked the percussion and vocals enough to get enjoyment out of it. However, it gets less interesting as it goes on. This is partially because I prefer the house-influenced beginning to the dub-influenced end. But as it goes on it also feels more and more half-baked, with the genre influences being used in predictable ways. Ironically it may be more interesting if there was less variety and a smaller number of sounds were explored in more different ways.

Awful electro garbage with an even more awful voice.

This was a really cool album. It has a crazy mix of instruments and styles, but it never felt all over the place. More like it kept finding different ways to sound interesting from one song to the next. The guitar solo on “Visions of You” was great, and the bass line had that trip hop feel that gave it a lot of groove. “Relight the Flame” was cool too, especially with that Spanish guitar mixed with the reggae feel. The sitar sound in “Everyman’s an Island” was great and added even more to the whole genre mashup thing the album has going on. Really strong 4 for me. Favorite song: "Relight The Flame"

Note to self: Good background music for when you open a restaurant - Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart's, "Rising Above Bedlam".

2/5 - I didn't need to hear this, because it made very little impression on me. The band name and album art put me in a skeptical mood from the jump, and the music didn't turn me around. Immediately felt like some 90s take on "world music" and all the generic associations that brings along. There were a few moments when I thought it was alright, but I kept thinking : "Is this anyone's favorite band?"

premda je počelo dosta dobro i imalo dobrih momenata, sve u svemu nije baš bilo dobro... pjesma "bomba" nije bomba, u stvari, zakurac je. žao mi je džaše, al ne valja ti ovo

7/10… world music / balearic-arabic 👂

Not quite sure what to make of this. Had a couple of good songs and some fun grooves and beats but overall quite boring for me.

Not my usual pick of rock but honestly pretty fun, I never really knew where it was going. Obsessed with the more feminine vocals. I don't think it would be something I'd pick up again but equally the listening experience wasn't bad. Top Picks: Relight the Flame Rising Above Bedlam Erzulie Soledad Sweet Divinity Solid 3.

Much like my review for Run-D.M.C.'s Raising Hell where I said "This is bad, not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good..." This is bad, not bad meaning good, but bad meaning bad...

Omg no 2/5

I enjoyed my time but can't say it was very memorable

Interesting...Jah likes the Dub. 3/5

это было интересно и определенно расширяет границы восприятия музыки некоторые песни имели терапевтический и поднимающий настроение эффект. i'd definetely listen to this again rather that beatles not sorry

1.5

I definitely did not dislike this like most the people in the group. My biggest gripe, if you will, is that it has that very early 90s digital sterile cleanness to it. But quite honestly musically I don't think there's anything on here I disliked. But there was also nothing on here that I absolutely loved. My favorite track was the opener, "Visions of You", with Sinead O'Connor which kind of gives me a vibe of what Enigma would do with "Return to Innocence", without the native American chanting of course. But most of this is fine. I kind of liked it kind of exotic coffee shop way, but it is also nothing I I'm compelled to revisit. Though if it was playing for me, I'd probably enjoy it as background music. No this is not terribly exciting, but I honestly don't think it's that bad. 6.7 ★★★

Uninspired world music blend. 2 stars

Never heard of this one before. Jah Wobble was apparently the bassist for PiL, which this album sounds nothing like. It's a very generic blend of world music (Latin, dub, Middle Eastern). It's not bad, but it's not cohesive in the slightest. Every song feels like a completely different artist, especially since there's a handful of wildly different vocalists on the album (including Sinead O'Connor). Not the worst, but devoid of personality. 2.5 stars.

2.5

Crap and lame. Would rather put on Back To Bedlam by James Blunt. This is like the cheesiest ever tour of world music with a litany of terrible dated keyboard sounds and even more rancid sneery terrible talk-singy vocals. Around the same time as Screamadelica, this makes Bobby Gillespie or even Shaun Ryder and Bez seem like Jeff Buckley. In terms of music there’s a whole lotta crusty dub techno, ersatz Guns Of Brixton, cliche desert film score and Yvan Eht Nioj style Indian music. And for added punishment Sinead O Connor sings on a couple of tracks too. So there it is, Jah Wobble’s Invaders Of The 1001 List. Never rising above 1 star.

fascinating album, just absolutely no frame of reference for this one

Das Album versucht eine globale Klangreise, doch die Mischung aus Dub, Ethno und Elektronik bleibt oft oberflächlich. Visions of You mit Sinéad O’Connor bringt Tiefe, aber vieles wirkt wie musikalischer Flickenteppich. Wer Wobbles rohe Energie aus der PiL-Zeit sucht, wird hier eher enttäuscht – zu viel Politur, zu wenig Punk.

Niet mijn ding

Would not buy

I grew up in the late 90s/early 00s era, so I still got a peak of the whole "90s one world" vibe that permeated education, graphic design, music, and the overall mentality. I still look back on this era with nostalgia. However, not even my nostalgia-tinted glasses improve my opinion on this album. It is repetitive, lousy, dull, and somehow it feels as if "cultural appropriation" came out of a laboratory flask. I do not rate it as a one-star album only because some of the basslines are actually good.

Never heard of before this. Enjoyed it. Great bass and guitar and rhythm.

Not available

Ну неплохая тема, расслабляет, под определённое настроение

Not familiar with his solo work. So this was a first. Starts strong especially Bomba and Visions of You. Liked it more than I thought I would. 3.5 rounded down. Heard before? No Owned: No. 5/1001, 5/19 (26%) Will I get? Maybe Recommend: No

That was a fun adventure! I don't know how to categorize the music but in a good way.

Wow! This stuff is so startling bad that I went to find out how it ever got made. Turns out, in the early 90s, the devil came back to the crossroads, just when Jah Wobble and Kurt Condon came along. Cobain played a few songs and the devil bowed his head and wished he had long hair to toss around to the rhythm. Jah wobble then presented his mess of sounds. The devil was much pleased by the ‘forgot to read the instructions’ drum machine groove; the downcycled and appropriated instrumentation, so poorly played and utilized below its potential; the child-like rhythms; the “Jesus I could do better than that” vocals. The devil rejoiced…but decreed that it was TOO evil to send this music forward to the people, and so he chose Cobain. Though the devil continues to spin him some Jah Wobble whenever he feels like a little flagellation of the soul for himself

Never listened before and won’t be listening again.

There were a couple of songs I didn't mind, and I overall didn't hate this, but it's not for me. 2 Stars.

Standout Songs: Visions Of You Rising Above Bedlam So this is my first album with the genre label as “World” (after 102 albums), and I gotta say, I don’t really care for it. It’s a blend of many different cultures of music and just feels confusing. Not my style

wreszcie posluchane cos przy wiekszych silach zyciowych niz w ciagu ostatnich kilku dni, a tu takie wyzwanie sie wylosowalo, bo po przesluchu albumiku mam mieszane uczucia, jak to zazwyczaj przy tak kategorii world music, ktory jest takim koszem na smieci w ktory mozna zapakowac wszystko i nic, a zazwyczaj bywa skrotem na to ze na plycie pojawiaja sie wstawki w niesluchalnych jezykach, w tym przypadku jest to hiszpanski, moze w jakiejs poludniowo amerykanskiej odmianie, co jest o tyle dziwny, ze dwie panie ktore sa w creditsach to belgijka i irlandka, a jak wokale latino, to instrumentalne akcenty z tamtych rejonow tez sie musialy naturalnie pojawic, co najbardziej slychac na trakach jak bomba i erzulie, ktore mi najbardziej nie podchodza z calego krazka, bo o ile na innych trakach sa jedynie elementy egzotycznych instrumentow, to na tych dwoch czuc kicz orientalizmu z brzdakaniem hiszpanskich gitar i arabskimi perkusjami, no i sa tez wstawki elektroniczne ktore raz sa przyjemne, a w innych brzmiace dziwnie z klaskaniem czy akustykiem w parze, ale co pozytywnie ten odsluch wyroznia, to basik pana wobbla, bo czuc ze jest to glowny instrument wokol ktorego jest budowany krazek, a to dosc nietypowy zabieg i nie pamietam zebym gdzies slyszal basiste tworzacego plyte wokol swojego basu, a tu to wyszlo, zwlaszcza na trakach z recytowana poezja daje to unikalne polaczenie jak na sweet divinity czy tytulowym rising above bedlam, no i na koncowce troche zawialo tez dubem na wonderful world, ktory tym pozytywnm akcentem zamyka dziwny i trudny w jednoznacznej ocenie odsluch, na plejke dodam zamykajacy kawalek i tytulowy bedlam

This sounds like something you would hear in the background of a smoked out room where people use the word "ganja" unironically.

This list is becoming exhausting. Not even 15% done and I keep getting shit like this. A white dude from England that goes by Jah. How does anyone need to hear this crap. Jah Wobble has 11,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Now listeners does not equal good or bad, but I have friends I grew up with that have larger following and better music than this. I am getting close to throwing in the towel on the British circle jerk of a list. 2 more albums this week and they better be bangers or this journey is over. There is something to say about me not liking wildly accepted classic albums like Boob Dylan and U2, but what the fuck is this. Album review, it sounds like a shallow white guy that appreciates other cultures and did a crap job of blending cultures into one sound. It is not good, it is not coherent, it is not worthwhile, it is not unique, it is shit. 1.8/10 133/1001

So so

I liked the first song

Not for me!

Bem… Não é ofensivamente ruim nem nada mas é dolorosamente cartunesco, clichê e tosco. Possui uma sonoridade bem chatinha. Há momentos de luz aqui, principalmente no que se diz respeito à instrumentalização que às vezes me pegou de surpresa. Gostei especialmente do baixo em algumas canções. E eu também sou chegado em sotaques. Mas ao todo, os pontos positivos não foram suficientes para tirar o gosto azedo da minha boca. Gosto esse deixado por toda essa pira genérica de World Music que simplesmente não me desce. 2/5

Album #15 of my 1,001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die list Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart - Rising Above Bedlam At some point, many white musicians got into world music around the same time. Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, David Byrne, etc. Jah Wobble, or John Wardle, got into it as well forming the Invaders of the Heart. The group released Rising Above Bedlam in 1991. I’d never heard of the band or the album. I just never got into world music, though Simon’s Graceland is a great album. It appears Jah Wobble & the Invaders of the Heart put out one good album & Rising Above Bedlam was it. And it’s fine. I probably won't ever listen to it again, but it has nice rhythms throughout, but this ain’t me, babe. Sinead O’Conner even pop up on the 1st track. Trouser Press, whoever they are, called Rising Above Bedlam, “a refreshing departure from some of the flat, occasionally tedious & self-conscious material [Wobble] lobbed out in the '80s." So, that explains Wobble &the Invaders. Nothing stood out to me on this album, but Visions of You features O’Connor & it was very nostalgic to hear her. Maybe I'm just being stubborn & not opening my mind enough, but I'm ready for my next album

I loved everything about this. The mix up of styles, cultures, instruments and vocalists really kept me interested. Jah was understated and let the music rule. I loved it!

I'd probably really like Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart if it had less Jah Wobble

Fav: Visions Of You Least Fav: Rising Above Bedlam Catchy and full of ideas, but a terrible lead vocalist ruins what could’ve been a great album

Pretty cool

Tolle Musik für die selbstbewusste Bar, die den letzten Espresso und den ersten Cocktail des Tages anbietet. Hab so ne Bar noch nicht, aber gut zu wissen, wo es die Musik gibt!

Man muss schon sagen, dass das eher anstrengend war aber wenn man sich darauf eingelassen hat, wirklich gute Musik allerdings nicht ganz nah bei mir

Had no idea of this band (formed by Jah Wobble, bassist for PiL) but it was surprisingly good.

What genre even is this and who is it for? It’s such a musical hodgepodge drenched in 90s weirdness. There’s traditional Indian singing, electronic dance and bluesy solos. It is an enigma with some pretty sick baselines.

Jah Wobble (real name John Wardle) is a pretty good stage name for this British guy. His album is a bit offbeat, and has an international flavor. Sinead O’Connor provides backing vocals on some of the tracks. I enjoyed most of the album and considered rating it four stars but there were a few songs that were duds, so it settles in at 3.5 stars.

Jah Wobble, now there's a British name. A very unaesthetic album cover. I never heard of him or his band(s), but he is indeed British, and has collaborated with a lot of heard-of people, including Sinéad O'Connor on the first track here. It's fine. Wiki calls it "world music", which is an interesting little phrase. Mostly it's chill electro with a little bit of chanting and Spanish guitar. And finally a song in Spanish! Sung by... an Egyptian-Belgian lady? Hmm. OK, you have my attention, Jah Wobble. But then, there's also some talk-singing over non-Spanish guitar. It's a pretty eclectic album, I'll give em that. But I think I'd prefer to just have an album of Natacha Atlas tracks (the aforementioned singer, who also sings in French on a different song). It's better than average, or at least more interesting, but I don't think it's quite 4 territory. Highlights: 'Bomba', 'Wonderful World'

Enjoyed it

"Visions of You" (featuring Sinéad O'Connor) es una de las joyas del disco. Poco después repetiría éxito con Take Me to God y Baaba Maal, Dolores O'Riordan, Chaka Demus entre otros.

Sometimes the music is nice, sometimes it's annoying. The lyrics and singing are almost always annoying (especially the dude).

Interesting music and timbres. Excellent musicianship. But, it got a bit repetitive after awhile.

Not for me

It was fine.

Surprisingly diverse and joyful. A fun listen with a number of influences present. It felt genuine rather than just an imitation, so it gets a lot of points for that.

world, dub, jazz, 1991 -> 3

Stupid name aside, this is a cool listen. At times it like an improv variety show where the band are asking for genres and styles and produce something a bit weird and a lot interesting.

Interesting but not really for me

2.5 stars. Enjoyed the beginning more than the end, started to get weird and abstract.

Visions of You is really good and there are interesting ideas and concepts but they don't really translate to songs I want to listen to. 4/10

2 out of 5. Lyrics were the biggest killer on this album. Sounds very surface level.

Bomba is a nice track. Sinead O’Connor provides vocals for Visions of You. Rest ok 2/5

Difficult to relate to this due to its various themes and not really knowing what was coming next. Could detect tones of the 80s and early signs of Brit Pop in there though

Good, but not nearly as good as some of Jah Wobble’s earlier output.

Interesting music. Never heard of it before today. And I am impressed. Deserved place on this list....

Don't think Jah Wobble knew what he was trying to accomplish with this album. There's too much going on with none of it focused enough to make sense

bounced between a 2 and a 3, most songs on it do not really do anything for me, but i did like the music for the most part, landed on a 2

This is a weird one. It's a cool blend of genres with a strong world music influence, particularly dub. Reminds me of The Clash at times. Some of these songs work others not so much. Jah Wobble is an interesting figure though. 3, I liked it ok but won't revisit. 1=Crap that shouldn't be here 2=I didn't like it but get why it's here 3=I thought it was ok or even like it, get why it's here, but won't revisit 4=I like it, will revisit 5=This is some of the best music I've ever heard and will continue listening to it

I don't know this guy but I can already tell he's the most insufferable person in the world. 2/10

There is a wonderful song on this album, and an equally atrocious one as well. Feels pretty dated as a whole. Listening with 2025 ears is an experience. This albums is a solid 2. It's not terrible, but it's not necessarily good.

No lo escucharía una segunda vez, pero me ha gustado musicalmente y creo que los músicos que han participado tienen mucho talento :)

Damn, that bass line! The Arabic influences are cool but they sometimes get kind of buried. The solo guitar leads are magical. The speechifying detracts from grabbing groove. A world vibe that can flirt with the simplistic, sadly.

Aaaawwwww! I could listen to Visions of You on repeat. Love it so much. Had forgotten all about Jah Wobble but was very happy to be reminded. Excellent nostalgia moment.

I had a difficult time taking this seriously. At the same time, I didn’t mind what I was listening to. Not sure I ever actively enjoyed it, but there was something about the bouncy strangeness that was alluring.

Perhaps I was too busy to really get this one, but this struck me as inessential.

Prikemna elektronika mm

I guess it was kind of catchy, but I couldn’t figure out if it was serious or a drug-fueled project of cultural appropriation. This was truly bizarre. I cannot really understand why it is essential listening, but I am finding 80% of this list to not be particularly essential.

My mind was tainted by the global reviews. However, it gave me a different and funnier perspective. No chance I was going to enjoy this regardless, but it’s goofy. It is giving old dude on an acid trip playing his guitar in his shag carpeted basement and his kids come down to tell him to turn it down. Sonically it’s intriguing but not going to revisit and hopefully will forget about it quickly.

Not bad. Not the sort of thing I would normally listen to but I definitely enjoyed it.

Listened to this twice and literally can't remember a note of it. I think Sinead and Bono may have been features? I know this guy was in PIL at some point? I'm not even sure what genre this is supposed to be.

This is pretty cool and relaxed. I was expecting something completely different when I read the name but I enjoyed what happened.

I thought this was an interesting listen. There is some good stuff in here, and some interesting variety. I don't know enough about the artist to comment on their foray into the style of the music, but all in all just an easy listen.

Not available on Apple Music

It's kinda of like being stoned touring Epcot's international pavilion with an aging punk rocker. Not a bad experience, but a bit confusing.

Interesting, definitely a lot of musical influences and styles.

This alright. Has some good moments

Woah this was a cool album. There were some really interesting sounds on here! Relight the Flame felt kind of ska, and Erzulie was a lot more traditional. Really varied and cool. 4.5/5 stars.

Kind of boring and couldn’t ever take off

Before "cultural appropriation" entered the lexicon, there was this.

Pretty interesting and weird, got old pretty quick but still a nice sound

For his next album, Jah Wobble brought in more guest singers, which was a wise move. I quite liked some of the music, but whether he's singing or doing spoken word, his vocals are definitely a sticking point.

First listen

World music dub is interesting.

very interesting

Whatever psychedelic, world music thing he's trying to evoke is instantly spoiled by his vocals. A bit too Duck Rock adjacent.

Visions of You draws you in instantly, lovely vocals from Sinead. Enjoyable album with lots of variety drawing from different cultures. The bass from Jah Wobble stands out throughout. 6/10

Unavailable

It’s cool. I like the vibe. I’m finding it to be more of a passive listen than active. I like Wobble’s bass tone. Probably wouldn’t seek this out.

This was another head scratcher and an album I'll be remembering when I get to the end of this project and certain excluded albums come to mind.

Weird

Not terrible, but not good.

Ehhhh

This was a weird mix. Not sure that I liked all of it, but maybe the beginning and the end.

Olihan taas tylsää...

Loved the music, was not doing with the spoken word and Hinduism

The best I can say is that it’s not too awful

Love the creative instruments. Could see people not enjoying the vocals as they kinda drone, but i don't mind it. not a fan of the synthetic drums. bass is weirdly buried in the mix on some songs considering he's a bassist. feel like it just dosn't have enough room to breathe. other songs like Visions of You the mixing is better though. I think the album is hits and misses, which is understandable for all the weirdness going on. if im being totally honest the opening track gave me really high hopes for the album, but only really everymans an island got me as excited. 3.5

el bajo esta guapo

Not for me

2 - felt like an album made by three completely different artists, all of which weren’t very good

Surprisingly good.

This was a really nice listen. Jah Wobble's burbling dub basslinbes underpining some really fun and interesting tunes that keep the excitement going. Fun and lively and some beautiful music. 3.5 stars

I don't quite know what to say about this. It's not bad. But it sure is busy. I can sense a deep love for music and community, but this feels tedious. Jah Wobble is an incredible bass player, with a pretty unique and nuanced sound. As a vocalist, though, there is something that does not line up with the rest. A contrast between the expansive sense of possibilities from the music and the limited range of his voice. Maybe that is why the spoken bits work better than when he tries to sing. Did I need to listen to this before I die? No, I don't think so.

Ok listen it’s not terrible music in the slightest. It’s just not my vibe and that’s ok. I just don’t hear the reason why it’s on this list and I’m truly baffled by the criteria to make it. It’s fine music but did I HAVE to hear it before I die? Absolutely not.

I liked the first track well enough. This doesn't make the grade for me otherwise.

There are flashes of real brilliance here but they don't quite make up for the rest of the runtime which veers wildly between uninspired and borderline offensive. A light 2.5*

Anytime a track had some decent groove going, this asshole's voice and bullshit lyrics creep in to fuck it up. It does have its moments but that vocal just took me out of most of it.

Visons of you

I don’t know what this album was to be honest. I’m not sure if there was a meaning but I didn’t enjoy it or connect to it at all. Even the vocals didn’t seem very good and felt all over the place. Did not enjoy it.

This is a great eclectic mix of world music, poetry and punk with great bass beats m mixed in.

I had a school friend who was really into Jah Wobble - so this triggers strong memories of hanging round his house playing Championship Manager. Good times. Sadly I think the album has dated somewhat and whilst I enjoyed a couple of tracks - Ungodly Kingdom / Visions of You - the majority were a bit meh. Strong bass as you would expect and some interesting world music noodlings - but sounding a little dated and not really enjoying the almost spoken word flat vocal delivery on majority of the songs. I think just scrapes a 3.

Rising Above Bedlam ‘Oh look mummy, a speed restriction’ TLDR; Stuart Pearce talking new age nonsense over excellent bass playing The bass is clearly great throughout, as you might expect, and Visions of You’s proto-Tattva vibes and Sinead O’Connor vocals makes for a great opener. And musically much of the rest of it is good, in a noodly world music way, although a couple of tracks are pretty musically and culturally questionable But it’s the canal boat, Thai fisherman trousers, roll ups, short fringed lady vibes alongside the stunning revelation that advertising tries to sell you things that sours it. If it was purely an instrumental album I think it could have pushed close to a 4 - but the contrast of the breadth and warmth of the music with the really quite bad lyrics and vocals really does detract from the whole thing quite a bit, putting it at the cusp of 2 and 3. The bass is undoubtedly good, but I can’t ever see myself listening again, unless there are vocal-less mixes, so I’ll go 2. 😮‍💨😮‍💨 Playlist submission: Visions of You

Against all odds the album grew on me. Sure It has major problems, not least some misjudged cod reggae, and fusion of multiple world styles, sometimes within the same song. But all in all, it incorporates world music without bastardising it; and what results is something pretty eccentric and, at its best, evocative. It has a creativity, it's quite cinematic in places and it feels genuine. Although probably played by middle class folk that hang out at the world stage at Glastonbury and go to find themselves in Goa, I may even come back to it.

what in the psychedelic shit show was this

Oh, boy. I can already hear the haters bitching about cultural appropriation and such. You know, I think I'd be more liberal if my, then, constituents weren't such whiny assholes. ANYWAY... I quite enjoyed this - well enough to want to listen to it several times today, at any rate. It really is obscure gems like this that make this challenge worth the effort. Overall, I think this is a solid 4, but I'm giving it a 5 just to piss off some overly sensitive schlub out there. Is it you? Good.

I’m not sure what I just listened to. I kinda liked it though.

I don’t know what this was, but it wasn’t good.

So 90s - has aged a bit. But enjoyed the nostalgia

Zoals Peter Kops, beter bekend als rapper Extince al ooit treffend sprak: "Wa zulle we nou krijge?". Een soort jaren '90 Matisyahu met iets meer experimenteerdrang en een computer uit een tijd waarin nog niemand ooit van een Pentium had gehoord. Een rare combinatie achterhaalde computergeluiden, wat wereldse zang en blije ontwikkelingslandpercussie. Het is jaren '80 meets jaren '90. Het is Zuid-Amerika meets India meets Afrika meets Jamaica meets Bristol, UK. 2 sterren.

Nah

Ein bisschen Ethno, interessante Instrumentierung, schöne Bassverläufe

Quite nice! Very international. Mix of British, with gypsy, flamenco, Latin style.

Sounds like Nigel from Spinal Tap did a reggae project. Utter shite.

Took me a while to feel it but was loving it by the end.

Slow grower - i enjoyed the latin american elements being integrated into the music

Pretty "alternative" style of music with a lot of weird sounds and repetition. It's fascinating for a very short period of time. Jah Wobbles didn't invade my heart.

It's like he's trying to sound as uninterested as possible

I’m not even sure how to classify this one. British pop with Indian influences? Started out solid enough with the psychedelic elements but fell off near the end.

A solid collection of world music

I actually saw Jah Wobble perform last week. Part of his set including a collaboration with a band formed by his wife sons combining electronic music with traditional Chinese instruments. Now in his 60s, Wobble has become something of a local celebrity in the family-oriented London Borough of Merton. He hosts a weekly jam session, open to anyone regarding of experience, but specifically aimed at lonely older men, a group that often struggles with mental health. Given this social consciousness and rabid interest in world music, Wobble seems like a genuinely good guy. This stands in contrast to his image though. To see and hear him, you might expect that he's the kind of person you might find at the pub, ready to smash a pint glass if his team loses. The pre-sober Wobble wasn't far off from this to be fair. The stories of his drunken days with Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious seem to built into his general demeanor. This is the same person who once set fire to his squat-mates' furniture to keep warm. The same guy who joined Rotten's very dark and experimental Public Image Ltd. How did he arrive at Invaders of the Heart and jam sessions in the back of Wimbledon Library? By collaborating with everyone under the sun, apparently. Wobble has worked with the likes of Brian Eno, The Edge, Bjork, Primal Scream, Baaba Maal and many others. Somewhere along the way, he applied his bass playing and dub techniques to world music. Long introduction aside, "Rising Above the Bedlam" does seem to drift in between Wobble's two worlds. It's easy to cringe at the idea of a white British punk kid playing world music, like the sad echoes of colonialism's past. But he generally does it the right way by recruiting the right people, like the amazing Natasha Atlas. It's not a perfect album. The dubs are sometimes gimmicky and the cheap keyboards are a needless distraction on a few tracks. But overall, it's a surprisingly good collection of songs. It doesn't make much sense but it's best not to think about that. You could cynically call this the soundtrack of a working class Brit on holiday. But this isn't an all-inclusive, drinking by the pool and clubbing at night affair. Wobble goes out into the world to meet people and has an amazing time doing it.

well that was certainly some kind of album i guess

Very strange album overall, but with some great songs here and there. Definitely worth a listen.

I can pass on this one Will I listen to again: 0%

Dated, disappointing

Not uninteresting but quite self indulgent

What even is this?

6/10 tale as old as time; a western musician becomes obsessed with African and Asian (particularly Indian) music and incorporates it into their rock music the only difference is, Jah Wobble doesn’t have even a fraction of the talent that George Harrison, Paul Simon, etc. have

There's some cool bass playing here. I found this interesting with a variety of musical influences. I think this one could grow on me.

more of a vibe than I was expecting. not bad

I don't know if this album quite deserves a 2... But I just can't get myself to give it a 3. Actually I think some of the compositions were alright, especially rhythmically. Production-wise not so much. And the vocals and lyrics were just a miss. I had a feeling the album was trying so hard to be "profound" the entire way through which is just a turn-off for me. So there you go: 2.5 stars

Did not like it. A clusterfuck of genres and i just don't like that kind of singing that jan wobble bring to the table. That kind of sing-talking.

This is totally unfair, but my immediate reaction to this was that I didn't realize AI was around in 1991. World Electronica is a gateway phrase to mediocrity. It sounds fine, if you're into it, but it could have been generic library music, and I wouldn't have known the difference.

Bass lines are good. Decent album from the ex bassist from PIL that got his nickname when Sid Vicious drunkenly pronounced his name wrong and it stuck

As I wrote yesterday, it's nice to hear new music (for me). What a pleasant surprise this is.

What a delightfully bizarre album. I don’t even really know how to categorize this. I don’t know the validity of this, but it sounds like a random white guy got inspired by various different cultures one day and decided to blend them all together into one bafflingly strange, yet creative album. It has a little bit of everything, from Indian, to Spanish, even a bit of traditional Anglo Rock vibes. I can see it coming off as a bit pretentious and douchey, which is probably why the rating here is so low, but I actually kind of dig this. My favorite song is “Everyman’s an Island”, because it is very replayable and fits the whole World Music theme very well. There’s a lot of different styles blended into this album, and I really think that for the most part, they do work. What a pleasant little surprise of an album this was. Extremely goofy name aside, the album is pretty good.

Okay, I get the appeal here. Pleasant and offbeat, if not especially exciting

Chemistry teacher plays us the album he and his new girlfriend made over the Summer on holiday with parent's inheritance money

Sometimes a bit cringe but otherwise great

Good grooves with various world music influences

White guy makes album co-opting other people’s music, with singers from different cultures? Sure. Who am I to judge? One of my favorite albums is Graceland.

Pretty interesting post punk with "world music" fusion. I really don't like that term world music, and I think what complaints you could levee against it's blanket-encompassing nature of every non-white style, you might be able to throw at this album to some extent.

Wasn’t impressed

Only interesting songs were Rising Above Bedlam and Everymans An Island

Couldn’t find this so I listened to some of their other stuff. Wish I hadn’t to be fair.

Ooooh okay, I'm vibing, girlypop!! Meh, I'm already having way less fun on this second song than I was having on the first song. I only listened to maybe half???? before I dipped. Kind of weird and like it wanted to be something better. Maybe upon a relisten (if I ever get around to one), it will click.

World music, esoteric 90s electro pop. Different genres of world music. Pleasant. Long songs. Vibey.

Lots of different sounds keep it interesting. Despite being released in the 90s, it has a very 80s sound.

weird album 2/5 #albumsky #musicsky

It’s not that bad

Better than PiL

imma pass

This one really confused me. On the one hand, the bass and percussion is super groovy, although maybe repetitive. On the otherhand, every time the bass-ish vocalist comes in, the song becomes unreasonable. Like his voice sounds out of place, out of tune, and poorly mixed, it makes no sense. Meanwhile the woman’s vocals are fantastically mixed and professional sounding. Multiple songs I had to skip because the man’s voice was so unpleasant. The melodic elements that went outside the major scale were pretty cool, not something I here in western music often, and the doversity of instruments was also cool. Many of the songs were long and honestly could have had the same impact in a minute or two if they cut out all the looping, although the changeups were cool when they eventually happen. I think if the album would get somewhere close to a 4, but the repetitiveness takes it down at least half a star and the mans voice takes it down another point and a half… if I’m being kind. (If I’m being honest it makes it unlistenable)

Didn’t hate it. Didn’t love it. Solid bass lines and percussion. That was the highlight on most pieces. Doubt I will listen again on purpose.

Sounds like brainwashing music

Not really moved by this, to be honest. Competent but uninspired

I wasn't expecting to like this but surprisingly I did. It's an interesting collection of world music and different vocalists. Every track is very different

pass

this put me in a worse mood than I already was.

I still have on CD. It’s good enough.

That was a dubby good time. Im glad i finally heard this.

Cool album!

Found this one fun and enjoyable. I liked the music styles and how the songs were composed. It had good vibes and worked as a whole. My knock on it is that nothing really stood out as "great" - just a lot of "good". Overall: 3.25/5

This was interesting, very fusion and better than other ex Pistols output that I’ve heard. I also listened to his English Roots Music.

This album was fine. I can see that it was an attempt at some kind of psychedelia which is very hit or miss as a genre for me, but for whatever reason it just didn’t really click. It was ok, but I did find my attention wavering a lot and not really realising when one song ended or another started. I suppose you need to be in a particular state of mind to fully appreciate this kind of music, and I just wasn’t there today.

not for me

Interesante

kind of a weird album with lots of middle eastern influence it seems.

I figured I wouldn't like this, but it wasn't too bad at all. I almost, almost gave it 4 stars on the basis of the first half. The second half wasn't quite as good, so it's a strong 3 stars I guess. I expected the bass guitar to be decent, and it was. I hadn't expected to like much else, but I did. It was actually quite relaxing to listen to.

annoying that this isn’t on apple music, had to go on youtube, album was okay, had a decent vibe and all that jazzy stuff like

Long, boring, lame.

I honestly didn't notice when the album ended.

Absolutely unlistenable

This guy thinks he’s very cool

The bass is really good here. The first track sounded shoegazey which I liked Edit Apr 15 2026: 4 --> 3

They have grooves, but a tough listen

Not available on Apple Music but from the reviews here it doesn’t seem like it would be worth it to look for an alternative.

Not available on Youtube Music :(

This is kinda trash

just a really smooth fun album that combines reggae influences with psychedelic synths and sort of that 90s breakbeat electronic influence - pretty impressive endeavor that was enjoyable to listen to.

Background music.

# 447 : When your only claim to fame is that you are in this list…

SO much fun listening to this. Delicious

You can tell this guy is a bass player given that the bass parts are probably the best thing here. Lots of varied influences present here and some work better than others. I wasn’t a fan of the first three songs. Highlights were Ungodly Kingdom and Wonderful World.

So the beats were so cool and I really liked the different influences that were in this but the male vocals were SO jarring

Liked this more than I thought I would. The two last songs was a bit of a drag, an I think the record could do with remaster to give it a little beefier sound.

It was OK. Overall, not for me.

Some kinda fun

I usually don't listen to "world music" but this is was pretty fun and enjoyable. Sinead on the first track was a treat.

Very weird and eclectic. Didn't like a lot of it

This was really weird and not something I’d care to listen to again.

Not bad.

#536. I wonder how the guy that made this list even found this weird ass shit, let alone decided that anyone else should ever have to listen to it as well. 2/5: pretty bad

Äääääääääh hmmm Jooa weiss nöd irgendwie no guet??? Bitzli orientalism hä. He weiss nöd i has recht geil gfunde aber bim zweite mol lose verlürts chli sin charme

hui das chönt emfall no en harzige werde. fuck ich find de world musig 90er scheiss afoch nöd geil. visions of poo alte. nai finds nöd so schlimm aber ich ha vorher aretha glost und das het halt null seel die dünne froschige stimme bringed halt nöd so viel. relight the flame isch jo gad au ehner basisch so. die "spanisch" gitarre hilft nöd mitem "indische?" touch zeme. ui. und d rick astley ass toms alte wüüüüürkli. bomba tönt au wie en slightly nervöse massage warteruum. seg nöd mamacita du arschloch. ah d sinead o connor singt zum teil? cool aber sorry immernonig cool. ok sie singt nur ufem erste song. die eigentlch sängerin isch belgierin/ägypterin und irgendwie chunt mer s spanisch gad zimli schräg ine. aha de jah wobble isch de bassist gsi vo public image limited scho klar finden so scheeeeeisse. erzulie het etz no en groove moll bass isch erstuunlich cool. everymans an island joo okay. nai actualöy nöd okay. soledad stresst mi etz au seeehr. nai. da git e 1 au wenn nocher no zwei meisterwerk chömed. es isch sooo laaangsaaaam. er singt au afoch nöd guet. so nöd cool schlecht sondern sonder inkompetent schlecht. boah nai die synthi blöser uf sweet divinity naaaaai.

hahahha erst gad letscht wuche han ichs wort bedlam kenneglernt und jz stolper ich scho wieder drüber. Whitechapel wird aber wahrsch besser sii visions of you isch schomal recht langwilig gsi, nöd schlecht aber echt nüt speziells hahah das isch ja mit abstand de grössti song fuck isch das langwilig looogisch ischer brit everyman's an island hani no ok gfunde ah scho fertig ja ich hans nöd guet gfunde und ich chegg nöd, wiso das uf de liste sött sii (ussert dasser brit isch) ah und public image ltd isch au arshc btw

A nice surprise. Great album with great songs.

I am nearly done this list. I am over the 1080 records listened to at this point. It is still so awesome that I can be surprised at this stage. I had no idea who Jah Wobble was and was expecting a mid 90’s rapper. Not the case. I enjoyed the first few songs but then eventually faded on it. Still love the surprise that you come across on this journey.

Much more interesting that I thought it would be. Worth a second listen.

1.6

Desconocidos, curiosos pero no merecen ser de los 1001 albums

This is one of those "experimental" albums that actually pulls off some of its experiments. It's not often enough for me to like it, but it proves that there is a lot of room for fusion of "Western" music with specifically Asian music that I could like. This isn't it, but if I hear an artist claim this as an influential work for them, I would check it out immediately.

just not good

Meh...

A bit repetitive - after the first track, I don't really recall any of the songs, until the last track which was a repeat of the first.

3. Quite like dub.

It's like a boring Massive Attack with the lead singer from the B-52s

Strange. Another one I’m not sure why it’s on the list.

What starts like a downbeat Mancunian rave gem develops some very undigestible ethno-kitsch traits de caractère, that „Visions of You“ cannot level alone.

Meningsløst tull.

The first song has all the streams, and then 20000 people moved through the rest. Hardly worthy of a list.

Not crazy about this, tbh.

This album is like post punk mixed with those new-age groups you'd hear on the Pure Moods commercial in the middle of the night in the 90s. It's at once a bit ahead of its time and also SO of its time. A lot of it is kind of appropriative, but at least the singer has Egyptian heritage, so it's not completely out of pocket (maybe?). It doesn't surprise me that Peter Tosh disciple Sinead O'Connor ended up on this record. Nor did it surprise me to find out other people involved with this project were connected to PiL and Bauhaus/Love and Rockets. Look, is it kind of cheesy? Sure. But it's also quite fun. I'm a sucker for Spanish guitar, soaring electric guitar riffs, cool bass lines, and artists who sing in multiple languages. It's part of why I'm a big Shakira fan. In terms of impact and worthiness of being on this list, I don't know. I've never heard of this group or this album, and I'm betting most people outside the UK haven't (and likely many inside as well). But was it an enjoyable listen? Hells yeah. Judge me all you want. 4/5

Parece que en todas las décadas alguien cree haber descubierto la música del mundo.

That weird time period where western beats and oriental scales were all the rage - ideal for b-movie soundtracks of the era where the western protagonist finds himself in an eastern market and the all-white filmmakers need music to communicate a sense of the unknown and exoticism. However, for 2020s listening... meh.

Honestly had to skip this. A random white guy in his 40s doing his best world music impression with karaoke vocals. 12k monthly listeners on Spotify. Cultural appropriation. Awful.

Unavailable on Apple Music

Wobbling rubbish

01) Visions of You - 7,0 02) Relight The Flame - 6,5 03) Bomba - 6,5 04) Ungodly Kingdom - 6,0 05) Rising Above Bedlam - 5,5 06) Erzulie - 5,5 07) Everyman's An Island - 5,5 08) Soledad - 6,0 09) Sweet Divinity - 5,5 10) Wonderful World - 5,0 TOTAL: 5,90 (59/100) Current ranking: 387/477

I liked the album. Not something I would normally put on but it was a pleasant listen.

'I’ve done so many albums, I love the music. It’s an emanation of yourself in some way, but I don’t have an extreme attachment to it. I find that really tiresome when people worry so much about how they look or what represents them. I’m not too bothered to find something that absolutely represents me, it doesn’t matter.’

me and all my homies fw jah wobble

Pre-listening thoughts: I felt guilty the other day that World is in my least fav genres listed on my summary but dude I think the editors of this book are including bullshit World entries (like this). I am positive there are better World albums out there, not made by an entitled white guy who appropriated other cultures’ music. Why did this need to make the list. Post/during listening thoughts: ok slay Sinéad O’Connor! But holy shit all the other vocals are garbage. And the production! The first track is only mildly redeeming. I am actually pissed that this was an inclusion on this list. Fuck you Jah Wobble. 2/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: no Fav tracks: Visions of You Least fav tracks: everything else but especially Bomba’s production

3.25

Functionally fine, but reminds me too much of Muzak

I'm not sure what to think of this album. The front man of the band, Jah Wobble, was bassist for the band Public Image Ltd. before starting this band. They are like World fusion....has touches of reggae, traditional Indian music, and African bongo work throughout. Apparently Jah Wobble's real name is John Wardle. Dude grew up with Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious of The Sex Pistols, and was good friends with them. One night, Sid Vicious was drunk and tried to say John Wardle, but it came out Jah Wobble, so he kept it as his stage name. This album was really hard to find a copy of. No one made a complete compilation of the songs on YouTube, and the album isn't on Spotify. I resorted to looking up the track listing on Wikipedia, and searching for the individual tracks on YouTube. I really liked the strong bass work throughout this record, and there was definitely some experimentation on this one. Some of it worked, some didn't. There was so much experimentation, that the album almost felt like a mixed album of a bunch of different artists. They would change up their sound so much between tracks that there wasn't much cohesion to the flow of the record. With a bit more direction, this album had the potential to be great, but as is, it suffers a bit. Favourite songs: Everyman's An Island, Visions of You, Erzulie, Bomba, Ungodly Kingdom Least favourite songs: Rising Above Bedlam, Sweet Divinity 3/5

As a background music is great, but its not really my vibe

Super inconsistent. What is the goal here?

Thought I would g like this but it was pretty alright.

absolute white boy malarkey

Strange mix of Cuban, middle eastern, and a heavily accented English bloke singing. Some of it was OK.

Quite surprised by this record. Liked it.

Praise Jah. The lanky bass genius takes us on a lush dub journey which holds true to the title. Favourite tracks: Visions of You, Bomba, Evurline, Soledad, Wonderful World

Tough album to find.

Kind of interesting, certainly has a nice mix of international sounds and some language bending. But overall kind of just musak to my ears. More obscure British trash from the British bias of the book. 2.

Les chanteuses sont remarquables. La fusion arabe est un peu un rendez-vous manqué, à mon avis. C'est entraînant et j'y ai trouvé du plaisir, même si dans l'ensemble, les arrangements ont vieilli.

Better than I was expecting

A very unusual but interesting record. Not sure entirely what to make of it. It's a very interesting combination of a variety of genres that you don't hear often. It feels like a funkier version of a Pure Moods compilation from the 90s. Which sounds like a slight, but it's just the best description.

terrible

Holy cultural appropriation Batman!

6/10. I was expecting this one to go the same way as Peggy Suicide a few days ago and was dreading turning it on. I need not have because I was greeted by a interesting and eclectic mix of songs some with great vocals and solid backing. Whilst I enjoyed listening to this I do question the inspiration for the tracks, and whether this is entirely authentic.

Not relevant.

It was nice to hear Sinead again. Bomba is pretty good. The rest is just alright.

Vocals sound like the lead singer of XTC, but music is worldly for lack of better words.

Interesting album, the cross cultural ethno-infused beats and melodies definitely make this a "world" album. That said, not something I'd actively search out and listen to. Was it worth a listen? Yeah I think so. Is it worth listening to more than once? Nah, at least not for me. If I had to sum it up in 3 words? Inoffensive cultural appropriation. 2/5 stars

As much as I've loved world music in my journey throughout this project, something about this album seemed kind of off. It sounds phony.

That guy may come from PIL, but what he did on his own is terrible. I'm baffled that this album made the cut to this book.

I just can't believe this album is part of this list. How much did he pay for this??

So, this is on the same list as Abbey Road, Nevermind, The Dark Side Of The Moon, Straight Outta Compton, Paranoid, Kind Of Blue, Illmatic, Kid A, Rust Never Sleeps... Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart is considered good enough to be there among these. I must be really missing something.

Damn, this somehow manages to sound the way a combination of patchouli and dollar store incense smells. If you're the sort of person who likes this music, I'm probably questioning your life choices.

Who told him he could sing? Who told him he could play bass? They were lying. Cultural appropriation done badly. Why is this on this list? More forgettable twaddle. I was going to give it a 2, but the longer it ran the more bored I got. 1/5. (why can't you give 0?)

This was fun enough to be enjoyable, but ridiculous enough to never listen again

Couldn’t get this one on my music service. They had some of his other albums, but I wasn’t wild about what I heard.

Lots of Spanish/Andalusian, moorish influence mixed with early 90s production. I applaud the effort but I’m not intrigued.

I loved this. Different and unique

Okay I know it’s going to piss off the anti-appropriationists because yes this sounds like a dude put a global music album in a blender and added some dope bass and Sinead OConnor in for fun, but it’s really dope bass plus Sinead OConnor!

Eclectic and enjoyable

Strange

Really enjoyed this, quite different! Dodgy vocals on a couple of tracks but really enjoyable on the whole. Favourite tracks: Bomba & Erzulie. Would listen again. 4/5

★★★⅓

So many of these "World" genre albums just sound like some white guy went on a voluntourism gap year and is convinced he was "enlightened" and discovered something completely new and won't shut up about it. I did listen to the whole thing though so I guess 2.

I'm trying here, but "Everyman's an Island" might have the worst lyrics/poetry I've heard in a long time just read over copied beats. It reads like all my high school poetry that I was so proud of and now must hide under lock and key (or just burn). It's all supposed to sound profound, and it's just awful.

kinda weird? not bad but not good either

…what is this and why is it here

Very cool experimental. British, spanish, french, arabic mix all in one

I liked hearing Sinead O’Connor lead things off. I was shocked when doing my research and discovering that Jah Wobble had connections with the Sex Pistols.

This really fucking sucks. Just pick a fucking genre, guys. What the fuck is this pretentious bullshit. This is actively insulting and occasionally problematic. Did not enjoy. 1/5

This really is a rum egg. World music via broad Essex - I’m not saying I enjoyed it, but I didn’t not enjoy it. The weird stream of consciousness but in the middle can get back in its box, though. Very borderline 2/3.

Ok

Some interesting stuff on here, but it is a little too scattered and not very interesting. Overall it’s okay. 2/5 Won’t listen again

Cool.

I don’t even know what the hell this was. World music with a raspy quiet British man speaking in the background? 3/10

(ntm.)

nope

Love Jah.sincevi heard becoming god.