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