| The Legend Lives On... Jah Wobble in "Betrayal" | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 1980 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:08 | |||
| Label | Virgin VS337 | |||
| Producer | Eddie Jobson | |||
| Jah Wobble chronology | ||||
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The Legend Lives On... Jah Wobble in "Betrayal" is the debut studio album by English bass guitarist Jah Wobble. Produced by musician Eddie Jobson, it was released in May 1980 through Virgin Records. A dispute over the use of rhythm tracks from his then band Public Image Ltd. on the album led to his departure from the band.
The album features a largely "guitar-free" sound, infused in reggae and punk-inspired dub." [1] [2] According to Trouser Press , Wobble "accentuates his reggae pretensions, fiddles with electronics and overdubbing and plays shadowy, threatening bass." [3]
The tracks "Not Another" and "Blueberry Hill" primarily feature rhythm tracks originally recorded during the sessions for Public Image Ltd.'s second studio album, Metal Box (1979). [2] This caused a dispute between Wobble and frontman John Lydon, which ultimately led to Wobble's departure in 1980. [1] [4]
Virgin Records' 1990 CD reissue of the album features seven bonus tracks, including a horn-laden remix of "Today Is the First Day." [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
Allmusic critic Andy Kellman panned the Wobble's vocals on the album, describing them as "awful, most resembling a liquored up Colin Newman." However, Kellman also wrote: "Aside from these gripes, it remains a pretty strong record. The Legend Lives On's finer moments often occur when Wobble's mouth is shut, or when he chants rather than sings." [2] Trouser Press similarly criticized the vocals, while at the same time regarding it as "a return to the DIY, no-rules punk tradition." [3]
All tracks are written by Jah Wobble except where noted.
Album personnel as adapted from Allmusic. [5]
Public Image Ltd are an English post-punk band formed by singer John Lydon, guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and drummer Jim Walker in 1978. The group's personnel has changed frequently over the years; Lydon has been the sole constant member.
John Joseph Wardle, known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist, singer, poet and composer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but left the band after two albums. Following his departure from PiL, he developed a successful solo career. In 2012, he reunited with fellow PiL guitarist Keith Levene for Metal Box in Dub and the album Yin & Yang. Since 2013, he has been one of the featured pundits on Sunday morning's The Virtual Jukebox segment of BBC Radio 5 Live's Up All Night with Dotun Adebayo. His autobiography, Memoirs of a Geezer, was published in 2009.
Josef K were a Scottish post-punk band, active between 1979 and 1982, who released singles on the Postcard Records label. The band was named after the protagonist of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial. Although they released just one album while together and achieved only moderate success, they have since proved influential on many bands that followed.
Metal Box is the second album by Public Image Ltd, released by Virgin Records on 23 November 1979. The album takes its name from the round metal canister which contained the initial pressings of the record. It was later reissued in standard vinyl packaging as Second Edition in February 1980 by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom, and by Warner Bros. Records and Island Records in the United States.
The Damage Manual is an industrial supergroup that originally formed in 2000. It featured Martin Atkins on drums and loops, Chris Connelly on vocals, Geordie Walker on guitar and Jah Wobble on bass. A second lineup saw Steven Seibold of the band Hate Dept. replacing both Walker and Wobble after their departure.
The Flowers of Romance is the third studio album by English experimental rock band Public Image Ltd, released on 10 April 1981 by record label Virgin.
Public Image: First Issue is the debut studio album by English rock band Public Image Ltd, released in 1978 by record label Virgin.
Joy is the fourth studio album by Scottish punk rock and new wave band Skids. It was their first after the departure of signature guitarist Stuart Adamson, who went on to found Big Country. As such, it represented a change of direction from rock towards folk music, amplifying the traditional Scottish element already hinted at in previous releases. This would be their last album until the release of Burning Cities, over 36 years later.
"Death Disco" is a song by Public Image Ltd. The record was released in both 7" and 12" single formats with a "½ Mix" of the song and "Megga mix" on the 12" version. It reached number twenty on the UK Singles Chart. The song was released in an alternative version as "Swan Lake" on the group's second album, Metal Box, with slight changes at the end. The title change reflects the quote from Tchaikovsky's score that surfaces in Keith Levene's guitar part.
Junkyard is the third studio album by Australian post-punk group The Birthday Party. It was released on 10 May 1982 by Missing Link Records in Australia and by 4AD in the UK. It was the group's last full-length studio recording. It has received critical acclaim.
The Gladiators are a Jamaican roots reggae band, most popular during the 1970s. The core was Albert Griffiths, Clinton Fearon and Gallimore Sutherland rhythm guitar and singer. The two most famous albums are Trenchtown Mix Up (1976) and Proverbial Reggae (1978) with songs as "Hearsay", "Jah Works", "Dreadlocks the Time is Now". "Mix Up", "Music Makers from Jamaica", and "Soul Rebel" – a song written by The Wailers. Gladiators also cooperated with the toaster U-Roy.
The Armoury Show were a British new wave band, formed in 1983 and consisting of Richard Jobson on vocals, Russell Webb on bass guitar, John McGeoch on guitar and John Doyle on drums.
Spinner is an instrumental album by British musicians Brian Eno and Jah Wobble, released in 1995.
Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred is the first EP by Canadian punk rock band Nomeansno. Released in 1981, it and the "Look, Here Come the Wormies / SS Social Service" 7" split single from the previous year are the two official Nomeansno releases from their origins recording in their parents' basement before becoming a live band. Originally self-released in a limited vinyl run, the EP since has been re-released by the band's Wrong Records imprint on 7" and included on reissues of the band's 1982 debut album Mama.
Paris au Printemps is a live album recorded by Public Image Ltd in 1980 on two consecutive dates in January in Paris, and released in November the same year. The title of the album is French for 'Paris in the Spring', with French names also given to the band itself and songs in the track listing. It is notable as the band's last full-length release featuring founding bass player Jah Wobble, as well as the Paris concerts being drummer Martin Atkins' first gigs with Public Image Ltd. The album reached number 61 on the UK album charts.
Rising Above Bedlam is an album by Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart, released by Oval Records in 1991.
Full Circle is a collaborative album between musicians Holger Czukay, Jah Wobble and Jaki Liebezeit, released in 1982 through Virgin Records.
Radioaxiom: A Dub Transmission is a collaborative album by Bill Laswell and Jah Wobble, released on September 18, 2001 by Axiom and Palm Pictures.
Look, Here Come the Wormies / SS Social Service is a split 7" vinyl single with one song each from Victoria, British Columbia punk rock bands Nomeansno and Mass Appeal, artist Ray Carter's first audio work. The record was independently issued in a limited run in 1980 and has not been re-released. It is the first Nomeansno record and one of two, along with the Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred EP, from the band's home-recording era before they became a live band.
Gooseberry Sound Studios, also known as just Gooseberry Studios, were recording studios at 19 Gerrard Street, Chinatown, London, located in a cellar underneath a dental practice.