Showing posts with label Jah Wobble. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jah Wobble. Show all posts

Saturday, August 01, 2026

Jah Wobble - 2000 - Full Moon over the Shopping Mall



Jah Wobble - 2000 - Full Moon over the Shopping Mall @320



I'm happy to thoroughly recommend the latest  dispatch from  Jah Wobble's ongoing musical journey, boldly going where no musician has gone before. In short, another stunningly original set of tunes. I'll do my best to describe it, but keep in mind that these folks stick as many ideas into a single song than most bands could fit into a box set retrospective. I could spend all day trying to describe the various twists and turns each song takes. I've listened to it about three times a day for the last four days and I still hear something new in each tune each time. The album has the loose, friendly, improvised, feel of a live jam session. In mood it reminds me of nothing more than a classic Alice Coltrane record. The constant is the foundation that Wobble's bass and Liebezeit's drums provide.

For most of the record they're like one instrument. Various other musicians and instruments go at it on top of them. The first four tunes have an Indian feel to them, thanks to the sitar, tabla, and wordless vocals of B Shrivastav. And as if that wasn't enough, you also have C Bell's various high end pipes skitting around and JP Rasle's low end pipes getting a word in too. JP Rasle and B Shrivastav go home before the fifth track, 'Acting the Goat' starts. They're replaced by Wobble on keyboards. C Bell takes advantage of the extra space, honking and piping all over the place. Headphones recommended for the stereo goathorns solo! The sixth and last track is a whole new direction, as Wobble, Liebezeit, and J Cadbury channel Fela Kuti with their own version of an Afro-beat rhythm. C Bell's gone home, so H Becket's trumpet takes centre stage with Wobble and C Murphy making with the keyboards when you least expect it. Another masterpiece from start to finish. (Fodderstompf)

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Monday, September 22, 2025

Jah Wobble - 2016 - In Dub



Jah Wobble - 2016 - In Dub @320



Since parting ways with Public Image Ltd, Jah Wobble has released approximately 38 studio albums, plus countless collaborations and live albums. Yet, he is still able to come up with new ideas, sounds, and songs that not only surprise the listener but manage to have one foot firmly in the future and one in the past. Such is the case with his latest release, Dub Volume 1. The famed bassist and songwriter plays all the instruments and uses music to revisit his past and that of East London, which is where he grew up and spent his youth. Wobble, who was born John Joseph Wardle, looks at events that have happened over the years and lets his music explore the themes of the East End of London. All in dub form.

This is a solo project in the truest sense of the word. Not only does he play every instrument and write the songs, but he produced the album. Wobble dips into jazz and rock to explore the musical cultures of the diverse area and succeeds. The short but powerful “Tragic Slavic Dub” is a great example, as is “Old Jewish East End Of London Dub”, which has an absolutely brilliant ending. The opening song “Dub In The East” sets the stage for the rest of the album and shows Wobble incorporating all sorts of styles and sounds throughout the song. The song incorporates traditional Irish, Jewish, and other sounds which is really what he does with the songs on the album.

The vocals on “Lovers Rock Dub” are fun and brilliant. Using speed pitch, Wobble is having fun, and at the same time taking this listener on a trip to the past. This could have been a 12-in single, and while it is not retro, it does take one back to the glory days of dub singles by say Culture Club, which the song taps into. But every track has a tip of the hat to Wobble and the area’s history.

Wobble is an incredible musician and producer. Dub Volume 1 allows him to do what he does best. The music is well thought out and is played beautifully. All the songs lead comfortably into the next and the end result is a stunning, non-stop musical excursion all within the world of Dub. This is not an easy thing to do, but Wobble does, and it sounds like he does it with extreme ease. Dub Volume 1 is a brilliant album. (Spill Magazine)