Gomez
Posted by: ryan_d on 08 May 2007
Some here know that i'm a huge Gomez fan. And i have just got their latest release 'How We Operate' and have to say that it is fantastic. I was mildly disappointed that it never got released on vinyl as I have all their other records on that format, which are really well pressed too.
This latest record isn't so bluesy in its approach and has a lighter feel to it, but still very good.
Just wondering if there are any other Gomez fans out there......I know of one at least
Ryan
This latest record isn't so bluesy in its approach and has a lighter feel to it, but still very good.
Just wondering if there are any other Gomez fans out there......I know of one at least
Ryan
quote:Originally posted by ryan_d:
...Just wondering if there are any other Gomez fans out there......I know of one at least
How we operate is, so far as only just got it, great. Like I said above, not as bluesy adn with hints of americana in it, probably influences from living over there now. But no worse for it.
Maybe James, being a groupee, would like to comment.......
Ryan
Maybe James, being a groupee, would like to comment.......
Ryan
quote:Originally posted by ryan_d:
Maybe James, being a groupee, would like to comment.......
ACKNOWLEDGED!
I'll enjoy talking about Gomez, chaps, but I'm really busy this week, and my work doesn't follow 9-5 guidelines in any sense! So I might not be able to give this thread my all for a little bit.
Enjoy listening to Gomez! And whatever you hear on record, it's nothing like Gomez live - and a LIVE band is what they really are.
James
Well, it's me again - a bit sooner than I anticipated! Mrs JWM is still marking (school work) so I thought I'd pen a line or two.
I feel very flattered that Ryan should describe me as a Gomez groupie! It's not just me, Mrs JWM too, and now No.1 sprog as well.
We discovered Gomez on (wait for it!) 'Later' in the glory days. They had such a fresh sound compared with the Britpop factory line stuff. I particularly remember the 'boing' sound effect on '78 Stone Wobble' making our ears prick up.
The debut album, 'Bring It On', recorded in a garage, was rightly a Mercury Prize winner, and enjoyed by John Lee Hooker, no less. Since then Gomez have suffered from the Mercury Prize curse.
'Bring It On' contains much original stuff, whilst disclosing the wide range of influences. Worm (above) suggests that the second album 'Liquid Skin' was slated by the critics - which I didn't know, cos I don't read the critics. It is, to some extent, "more of the same", and yet in many ways rather develops and extends the kinds of musical themes explored in 'Bring It On'.
I first saw Gomez on the "Liquid Skin" tour, and it was this that cemented for me the idea that, if all Britpop had its direct parallel from 30 years before, Gomez' direct antecedent is the Grateful Dead. AND what a joy it was to witness the on-stage farting about trying to get the Mellotron to work, and the extended pieces like 'California' (one of my test tracks, Worm, CD and vinyl) and 'We haven't Turned Around' and 'Devil will Ride'.
I have posted about 'In Our Gun' before. In some ways our favourite album, and especially the Tour - gig at Cambridge Cornex with legendary d.bassist Danny Thompson making a guest appearance to play for the title track, and 'Turned Around' encore.
"In Our Gun", I thought, continues the sense of experimentation and not being pinned down.
Three great albums and then - I have to say, a bit of running out of puff. To me, 'Split the Difference' is the least successful of their bona fide albums, though not without some good numbers. Seems to speak of "we're out of the limelight, where do we fit in?". Last album to be available on both CD and LP (tragically, as the Hut vinyl is just superb).
"Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline", a CD of experiments, demos, outakes and alternates, is interesting for your true Gomez afficienado. Things done in different tempos and keys from the versions that made the albums - but you're likely to get these oddballs live.
The third time I saw them, on the "Split the Difference" tour, at UEA Norwich, they played superbly well, for they are a consumate live band, but somehow it seemed a bit tired, or as if they'd lost direction a bit. I took a real muso friend to see them for the first time; and whilst I enjoyed the gig, for his sake I was a bit disappointed that somehow they weren't firing on all cylinders - as well as I KNEW they could. Was beginning to wonder whether I'd go see them again...
And then the 'How We Operate' tour... (I went cos No.1 sprog wants to get as many gigs as possible, and her old man's a soft touch!) Boy, oh boy, back to superb standard of performance. Alert, tight, leaner and sharper than the last time. Cambridge Junction was thrashing - same kind of venue as their energetic endless US tours.
And the album 'How We Operate' contains some much more respectable numbers.
I have to say I still don't go a bundle on Tom Gray's rather commercial poppy songs - they're alright until they get to some cringe-worthy chorus, viz 'Girlshapedlovedrug' (who wants to sing about a curvy, fondly-regarded carpet anyway?). But the album contains some really strong stuff from Ben Ottewell and Ian Ball.
I am also a fan of the live album, 'Out West'.
Try to track down the special edition with the DVD of them at Fillmore West (originally shown as a Channel 4 late night special) - 'In Our Gun' period, I think, but doing mainly the classics from the first album. Plus...
PLUS a superb and imaginative cover of Nick Drake's 'Black-Eyed Dog' - Quite wonderful! As is the one on the CD, which leads into 'Free to Run' (possibly my fave Gomez track).
The one thing I'd really love to see/hear again is the MAGNIFICENT cover Gomez did of The Doors' "Soul Kitchen" on Jools' Holland's Hootenanny, c. '98/'99.
Gomez remain a group of exceptionally competent musicians, who play as tight as a D.A. Many and various influences, but still doing their own thing, and with a deep Blues root - as so loved by John Lee Hooker in the early days.
With "Split the Difference" I had feared they had started to lose direction and decending into oblivion, but "How We Operate" has brought them back up again, and seemingly more comfortable in their own skins, liquid or otherwise!
The recent compilation "Five Men in a Hut"
is a good Intro to Gomez (plus a couple of previously-unreleased tracks for completeness for utter nutters), but sure-as-eggs-is-eggs, you'll be moving on to the hard stuff - "Five Men" is like a music centre, and the proper albums like separates - you know what makes more sense!!
James
I feel very flattered that Ryan should describe me as a Gomez groupie! It's not just me, Mrs JWM too, and now No.1 sprog as well.
We discovered Gomez on (wait for it!) 'Later' in the glory days. They had such a fresh sound compared with the Britpop factory line stuff. I particularly remember the 'boing' sound effect on '78 Stone Wobble' making our ears prick up.
The debut album, 'Bring It On', recorded in a garage, was rightly a Mercury Prize winner, and enjoyed by John Lee Hooker, no less. Since then Gomez have suffered from the Mercury Prize curse.
'Bring It On' contains much original stuff, whilst disclosing the wide range of influences. Worm (above) suggests that the second album 'Liquid Skin' was slated by the critics - which I didn't know, cos I don't read the critics. It is, to some extent, "more of the same", and yet in many ways rather develops and extends the kinds of musical themes explored in 'Bring It On'.
I first saw Gomez on the "Liquid Skin" tour, and it was this that cemented for me the idea that, if all Britpop had its direct parallel from 30 years before, Gomez' direct antecedent is the Grateful Dead. AND what a joy it was to witness the on-stage farting about trying to get the Mellotron to work, and the extended pieces like 'California' (one of my test tracks, Worm, CD and vinyl) and 'We haven't Turned Around' and 'Devil will Ride'.
I have posted about 'In Our Gun' before. In some ways our favourite album, and especially the Tour - gig at Cambridge Cornex with legendary d.bassist Danny Thompson making a guest appearance to play for the title track, and 'Turned Around' encore.
"In Our Gun", I thought, continues the sense of experimentation and not being pinned down.
Three great albums and then - I have to say, a bit of running out of puff. To me, 'Split the Difference' is the least successful of their bona fide albums, though not without some good numbers. Seems to speak of "we're out of the limelight, where do we fit in?". Last album to be available on both CD and LP (tragically, as the Hut vinyl is just superb).
"Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline", a CD of experiments, demos, outakes and alternates, is interesting for your true Gomez afficienado. Things done in different tempos and keys from the versions that made the albums - but you're likely to get these oddballs live.
The third time I saw them, on the "Split the Difference" tour, at UEA Norwich, they played superbly well, for they are a consumate live band, but somehow it seemed a bit tired, or as if they'd lost direction a bit. I took a real muso friend to see them for the first time; and whilst I enjoyed the gig, for his sake I was a bit disappointed that somehow they weren't firing on all cylinders - as well as I KNEW they could. Was beginning to wonder whether I'd go see them again...
And then the 'How We Operate' tour... (I went cos No.1 sprog wants to get as many gigs as possible, and her old man's a soft touch!) Boy, oh boy, back to superb standard of performance. Alert, tight, leaner and sharper than the last time. Cambridge Junction was thrashing - same kind of venue as their energetic endless US tours.
And the album 'How We Operate' contains some much more respectable numbers.
I have to say I still don't go a bundle on Tom Gray's rather commercial poppy songs - they're alright until they get to some cringe-worthy chorus, viz 'Girlshapedlovedrug' (who wants to sing about a curvy, fondly-regarded carpet anyway?). But the album contains some really strong stuff from Ben Ottewell and Ian Ball.
I am also a fan of the live album, 'Out West'.
Try to track down the special edition with the DVD of them at Fillmore West (originally shown as a Channel 4 late night special) - 'In Our Gun' period, I think, but doing mainly the classics from the first album. Plus...
PLUS a superb and imaginative cover of Nick Drake's 'Black-Eyed Dog' - Quite wonderful! As is the one on the CD, which leads into 'Free to Run' (possibly my fave Gomez track).
The one thing I'd really love to see/hear again is the MAGNIFICENT cover Gomez did of The Doors' "Soul Kitchen" on Jools' Holland's Hootenanny, c. '98/'99.
Gomez remain a group of exceptionally competent musicians, who play as tight as a D.A. Many and various influences, but still doing their own thing, and with a deep Blues root - as so loved by John Lee Hooker in the early days.
With "Split the Difference" I had feared they had started to lose direction and decending into oblivion, but "How We Operate" has brought them back up again, and seemingly more comfortable in their own skins, liquid or otherwise!
The recent compilation "Five Men in a Hut"
is a good Intro to Gomez (plus a couple of previously-unreleased tracks for completeness for utter nutters), but sure-as-eggs-is-eggs, you'll be moving on to the hard stuff - "Five Men" is like a music centre, and the proper albums like separates - you know what makes more sense!!
James
Now james. don't rub it in. Preceding this thread I had a bit of a Gomez marathon where i went through all the records and my mate has now went and bought all their main ones on hearing them.
he's also now considering an LP12, aand this is someone who was purely a digital advocate!! Ths band knows no boundaries...
The Hut vinyl is brilliantly pressed and of very high quality.
Ryan
he's also now considering an LP12, aand this is someone who was purely a digital advocate!! Ths band knows no boundaries...
The Hut vinyl is brilliantly pressed and of very high quality.
Ryan
Don't know it Worm...but will put it on the ever growing list. I seem to have migrated from the hifi room to this one......no bad thing either. Although I seem to be cured of upgradeitis for the moment, save for a poss tonearm change, its not sure its saving me any money!!! 
Ryan
Ryan
Ryan
I know what you mean. But it make sense to spend more time here because at the end of the day it has got to be about the music, the black boxes only facilitate that.
That's not to say I don't have upgrade plans (CDX2 next probably) but that will not be for about six months.
In the meantime, because I feel guilt free about not upgrading I find it very easy to justify adding freely to my music collection
Cheers
worm
I know what you mean. But it make sense to spend more time here because at the end of the day it has got to be about the music, the black boxes only facilitate that.
That's not to say I don't have upgrade plans (CDX2 next probably) but that will not be for about six months.
In the meantime, because I feel guilt free about not upgrading I find it very easy to justify adding freely to my music collection
Cheers
worm