Day 0692 - Rising Above Bedlam

Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart "Rising Above Bedlam" (1991)

Jah seems to be a bit of an interesting guy, having played in Public Image Ltd with his friend John Lydon and then with members of Can.   There are stories that he set fire to his room-mates' possessions and maybe even the drummer from the Fall, the aptly named "Karl Burns".

Jah had a number of musical collaborations throughout the 80s before releasing his first album with the Invaders of the Heart.  "Rising Above Bedlam" is the group's second release and takes the mixing of cultures/genres popular in London at the time to new levels.  There are middle-eastern chants, synthy noodlings, African rhythms, Spanish guitar, dub, street poetry... bedlam indeed.  Yet, Jah does manage to rise above the musical carnage of the mishmash of genres to present an interesting, cohesive album.

Day 0449 - Metal Box

Public Image Ltd "Metal Box" (1979)

Where the first PIL album had been all over the place, with some noisy drone pieces, and some remnants of John Lydon's punk stylings; Metal Box is much more cohesive, and more 'its own thing'.

The title and album cover really spell out the feel of the music: cold, bleak, and nihilistic. Blasts of bass-heavy post-punk that preceded many other such grinding, industrial bands. Bringing in influences seemingly as diverse as dub, and krautrock into the mix.

The album finishes with the somewhat out of place melodic, almost classical (but still cold and a little harsh somehow) piece "Radio 4".

Day 0407 - Public Image: First Issue

Public Image Ltd. "Public Image: First Issue" (1978)

 
I didn't realise that the Sex Pistols had imploded quite so quickly. John Lydon (nee Rotten) formed PiL shortly afterwards and moved on from his punk background to communicate his nihilistic, destructive street poetry via new idioms.

I seem to remember enjoying Metal Box and one or two other PIL tracks, but this one didn't really appeal to me. It sounds as though John didn't really know what he wanted to do at this stage and was just lashing out lyrically and casting about musically... which is an approach that can be interesting when done well, but on this occasion it just didn't really hold my attention.