Jah Wobble – The Inspiration Of William Blake (1996)

This is one of the many Jah Wobble CDs I've picked up over the years (17 to be precise), yet which rarely get an outing.

Wobble makes music which is always interesting, and never seems to stay still, always working in different genres and with different themes.

This album is, as the title suggests, inspired by the poetry of William Blake, and combines JW's bass heavy ambient themes with (mostly) spoken recitations of Blake's poems. Opening with the long piece Songs Of Innocence - Wobble gently reads excerpts from several sections of the work, punctuated by a lovely chorus between them, as a march like theme underpins everything. London is more percussive and bassy. Then there's Bananas, a puzzle, as I'm not aware of any Blake reference to the bendy yellow snack. It's a strange little instrumental beat, but seems incongruous here. I'm not convinced by Tyger, Tyger with a dub reggae backing and sung chorus, but it's a decent listen, while Holy Thursday is much more downbeat and spiritually ambient.

The second half contains a number of short instrumental pieces, the languid bass on Swallow In The World probably being the most interesting. The Blake inspirations are The Angel, a minimal accompaniment and the final piece, Auguries Of Innocence, opening with more ambient minimalism, before a thumping beat herald's Wobble's powerful delivery of the Blake lines.

It's an interesting experiment, with some stunning moments, as well as some listenable but unremarkable instrumentation.

Link to album tracks

3* - Jah Wobble's work is never dull, and this is enjoyable, Blake's words eclipsing the accompaniments.