Gomez

Got Hot shots and Heros to Zeros....they're from my part of the world too!! They are good, but have to say i prefer Gomez. If you've got any other recommendations from them i'd like to hear them.

Cheers
Ryan

or Wilco.

I know theres another thread with them mentioned in it but after seeing them on Later with JH they sound rather good.

I really need to give them a good listen. ONly heard snippets and was quite impressed intially but haven't went back to them. No reason why, just got distracted by other stuff

Ryan

Beta Band three ep's, you can pick it up really cheap and it has one of the best tracks of the 90's on it, dry rain.

The best of album also comes with bonus live cd,which is fantastic!

I'm feeling guilty, because I gave away my only Beta Band CD...

But can I recommend this amazing new band called ... GOMEZ??

At least it sounds like a new band to me now that I've sorted out my teething difficulties with my newly serviced and potted 82.

James

No sign of a tour yet, Ryan, but that hospitality's a-waiting for when they are down this way!

Much obliged James, and obviously the offer is reciprocated if they appear nearer this way.

After adding the hedgehog into my system the bass on 'Get Miles' from 'Bring It On' is quite scary. Room shakingly full. ON vinyl of course

Ryan

Great thread guys. With my CD player currently out of action I have been re-visiting some of my vinyl and this thread prompted me to dig out Liquid Skin for the first time in years. I'd forgotten how goot it was/is.

One question though - where best to track down the vinyl versions? Nothing much showing at my usual sources of Diverse, Acoustic Sounds, eBay and varying prices on Amazon Marketplace.

S.

Steve, sadly, sadly, I think the vinyl is now deleted...

There were vinyl releases only for the Hut label albums, - the four pukka studio albums 'Bring It On', 'Liquid Skin', 'In Our Gun', 'Split the Difference'; plus 'Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline', which comprises alternates, demos and outtakes.

So the LPs are like gold dust! I seem to remember they were in the £13-£15 range new. If you find a good one at reasonable price, snap it up!!

As well as the places you've looked, eBay traders sometimes have them (they often buy and trade on new old stock unsold by record shops). There's a 'Split the Difference' for £6-99 at the moment...

James

Got them all on vinyl (gloating smugly). A very benevolent friend donated them to my cause. Ebay will now probably be your best bet.

Like James correctly states its no longer available and the most recent recodrd wasn't released on vinyl either, which is a crying shame. The Hut pressings are superb too...(sorry to labour the point Steve )

Ryan

Ryan

How are you finding 'Out West'?

worm

Not got it yet Worm. On the next order though. Have you got it yet? Whats it like?

All the best

Ryan

I have had it a couple of weeks now (not watched the DVD yet).

If I am honest I prefer the studio albums but there is nothing not to like about it. Gomez themselves are typically laid back and understated. The music is great, the sound quality is OK - perhaps it would have been more fun if they had messed around a bit more with the live renditions of the tracks - they sound very true to the original studio recordings.

Cheers

worm

I'm always a bit reticent to get a live record as I don't think they can capture the atmosphere of the gig.......or if they do it just makes me jealous that I wasn't there

You can listen to a live record and view it in the same way you do studio recordings. When you are 'there' you don't so much care if the singer hits the notes perfectly everytime, you just enjoy the performance as a whole and the atmosphere of the crowd too....that can make a gig imho!

All the best

Ryan

quote:

Originally posted by JWM:
Steve, sadly, sadly, I think the vinyl is now deleted...

There were vinyl releases only for the Hut label albums, - the four pukka studio albums 'Bring It On', 'Liquid Skin', 'In Our Gun', 'Split the Difference'; plus 'Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline', which comprises alternates, demos and outtakes.

So the LPs are like gold dust! I seem to remember they were in the £13-£15 range new. If you find a good one at reasonable price, snap it up!!

As well as the places you've looked, eBay traders sometimes have them (they often buy and trade on new old stock unsold by record shops). There's a 'Split the Difference' for £6-99 at the moment...

James

Overlooked the one on eBay, but bagged In Our Gun and Split The Difference on Amazon Marketplace for just over £7 each. Thanks to all for the tips.

Steve.

Steve,
you won't be disappointed..In Our Gun is my favourite record. Split the Difference isn't as strong as the others but still good in comparison to a lot of other bands.

Ryan

Sorry to be the heretic here, but I love Out West!

And it does capture the spirit of a Gomez gig in that, although Gomez do give a variety of readings of their tunes (and of course now, 5+ years on from when Out West was actually recorded, there are more variations), they are always very accurate in their playing.

They also make medleys out of things.

At the stage of this performance, they were still 'breaking through the pain barrier' of playing Whippin' Piccadilly for the 5-gazillionth time(!!!); but these days when you hear it there is less of a 'going through the motions' feel.

The real discovery on this set, IMO, is the very imaginative cover of Nick Drake's Black-Eyed Dog, which moves into Free to Run - the more I listen to the depth of this, I come to think this is my 'desert island' Gomez track.

The DVD is of a c.1999 performance at the Fillmore, SF. Although Liquid Skin was out, it sticks to the better-known stuff from Bring It On, plus an excellent acoustic Black-Eyed Dog, and concluding with a well-known Buddy Holly number!

Out West is not exactly a slow burner, but like the comparison of Naim equipment and 'hifi', it certainly grows on you the more you listen; and eventually becomes unputdownable.

James

PS They've grown out of swearing on stage now, which they were still doing then...

James,
I'm stil waiting on my copy, so hopefully it won't disappoint.

Ryan

Ryan, in answer to your Gomez question on the "listening right now thread" :

I have downloaded two of their shows, the Wiltern show mentioned and also a show or portion of another Los Angeles show from October 1999. Several others I tried were rejected due to sound quality - always a huge variable with amatuer recordings (having been a bootlegger myself) but the hunt is worth it to find the decent ones. Re the band, I like them though I don't find myself particularly fond of the lead vocal sound ... just my particular ear, not unlike the difficulty I have with Colin Meloy of the Decemberists. I also have borrowed Liquid Skin, Split The Difference and How We Operate of which I find myself liking Liquid Skin most. I like the instrumental sound and the lyrics seem fine, though my periods of minimal concentration ability make me reluctant to comment much there ... they seem to integrate fine with the music and give them a nice overall presentation. I find myself continuing to play both the live and studio stuff, so that means I am enjoying it. Again, thanks for your focus on them.

Jeff A

Thanks Jeff..much appreciated. I will try to download from the links you provided, and find some others too. I'm still waiting for my official copy......Amazon seem to be getting very slow with some stuff these days.

All the best

Ryan

Ryan
I just downloaded this : http://www.archive.org/details/gomez2002-12-29.mbho.flac16 which is a 60 minute Gomez set of them opening for String Cheese Incident (ugh) at San Francisco on December 29, 2002 (approx the same time as "Out West"), perhaps that will hold you till amazon comes through. I am listening to it now and it is quite decent.

Jeff A

ps- while at the archives, consider Death Cab For Cutie, Mountain Goats, John Vanderslice, Little Feat, Paul Barare/Fred Tackett, etc etc etc. The first three were new to me and now I have started buying their commercial releases to catch up on what I have been missing.

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Anderson:
I am listening to it now and it is quite decent.

Dropouts on the last three tracks on my download

Thats a bugger Jeff. In process of downloading it at the mo.

many thanks for the links...keep em coming if you find more.

Ryan

I'm too thick to know how to download these things - they've all got file names and stuff. HELP!

Jeff, just got it down and mine is ok...no drops.

Will need to rip it to cd to hear it properly though.

Ryan

quote:

Originally posted by JWM:
I'm too thick to know how to download these things - they've all got file names and stuff. HELP!

I am not computer savy and use a Mac, so after I have selected an artist, I click date to organize them in newest-date-first order and then because of Mac/Itunes I click mp3 (these clicks are on the right margin of the list page) and it gives me the ones my system can access. On the specific show page I then click VBR MP3 which is a variable bit rate MP3 and in my experience of decent quality. If you are Windows based and can do flac or shn file, they are supposed to be higher quality. I have tried several "add-ons" to the Mac for converting flac and shn to something ITunes will play but haven't gotten any of them to work. A show in the 125 mb VBR MP3 size takes my system about 10-20 minutes to download.

Hope that helps.

Jeff A