REDUX
by JAH WOBBLE

Jah Wobble's box set of the heart

By Rick Hines, June 16, 2016

As an early proponent of PiL, I was a huge fan of Jah Wobble from the moment he hit the scene. The guy has a very distinct bass sound, and while he's no Jaco Pastorius, he has a unique style you only get with Wobble. After he left PiL, I kind of lost track of him as he pursued a variety of collaborative projects under various labels.

Wobble provides valuable insight into each song in the excellent book. He covers his career from his first PiL single to selections from his latest works on his own label. He doesn't limit himself to "solo" work--there are many collaborators here, from big names (e.g., Bill Laswell) to less big names (e.g., The Chinese Dub Orchestra). His work is divided into themes for this collection. Disc 1 is "Hits," Disc 2 is "80's," Disc 3 is "World," Disc 4 "Jazz," and 5 "Ambient and Spoken Word." The sixth disc consists of a new album of newly recorded cover versions. Since Wobble never met a boundary he wouldn't cross, there is a lot of stylistic cross-over from disc to disc.

While each disc provides a look at a facet of Wobble's career, I found that mixing all the discs at random on my iPod results in an alternate, but equally enjoyable, flow of songs. As various tracks catch my ear, it provides a guide into buying further Wobble albums. As if anticipating this, Wobble also provides a thorough illustrated discography.

Jah Wobble is a real one-of-a-kind, and this box provides a great overview of his vast, stylistically diverse catalog. My only regret is that I lost track of Jah for so many years; that has now been corrected.