Product Description

In simple terms, Gomez' debut is the result of a long studio woodshedding session by five Scottish lads sick to death of Britpop. So rather than nick riffs from the whole history of English rock, as many of their UK contemporaries had beendoing throughout the '90s, Gomez looked to America for inspiration. Their reverence for the roots-influenced sounds of California rock circa 1971 is only exceeded by their admiration of Beck's ability to update folk-rock records by cuttingand pasting modern textures onto them. And all of BRING IT ON swings between these musical ideas.
Thus, while singerBen Ottewell does a good Rod Stewart (another Scot who looked to American roots music for his muse), and acoustic guitars lead standard bar band instrumentation through the faux blues-rock grooves of mid tempo raves like "78 Stone Wobble" and "Get Myself Arrested", sampled vinyl scratches and dubbed out vocals date the songs as late-'90s creations (ain't noretro here). Seamlessly combining these philosophies duringtheir finest moments, Gomez play like Primal Scream's laid-back and understated younger siblings--heads full of the same old American jive, but powered by booze and pot smoke rather than Ecstasy.

Track Listing

1. Get Miles
2. Whippin' Piccadily
3. Make no sound
4. 78 stone wobble
5. Tijuana Lady
6. Here Comes The Breeze
7. Love is better than a warm trombone
8. Get myself arrested
9. Free To Run
10. Bubble Gum Years
11. Rie's Wagon
12. The Comeback

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4494 in Music
• Released on: 1998-04-13
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
In 1998, Gomez burst onto the music scene from out of nowhere and picked up the prestigious Mercury Music prize for their debut album, Bring It On. Hailing from Liverpool, this five-piece band of gawky youths seem to be the very antithesis of traditional rock stars, but their appearance and heritage belie their rich and rootsy sound: their combination of Ben Ottewell's gravely voice and slide guitar conjure up images of the American South, especially on singles "Whippin' Piccadilly" and "Get Myself Arrested". Combining a soul sensitivity with a pop sensibility, Gomez constructed one of the most stunning debuts of the 1990's. --Carina Trimingham

Customer Reviews

A Modern Masterpiece
I listened to this album once straight after buying it, then it quickly got hidden amongst my CD collection and I couldn't bear to listen to it again... Finally I came to my senses and forced myself to put it on again. I couldn't believe what I had missed out on in the year that I had ignored it. As with all great music, the album just grows and grows on me.

I love the whole bluesy/urban folk thing they have going in this album. It's such an amazing debut album, and such mature song crafting for their age. Sometimes they really remind me of the Beatles, the way they assemble the melodies and different instruments. The music also has a nice raw authentic organic feel to it, yet the sound quality is very good for the time, which is a rare treat these days.

This will always be one of my favourite albums, alongside their follow up - "Liquid Skin" (Which I would also recommend).

'Bring it on' indeed.

Fantastic album
Gomez are a unique combination of jam band and britpop - retaining all the integrity of the first with the catchiness of the second

1. Get Miles - great track but just an opener really.
2. Whippin' Piccadily - very catchy hummable song with great lyrics about getting the train at London's busiest line
3. Make no sound - a very pretty song with a slightly dark tone, very nicely played spartan acoustic guitar
4. 78 stone wobble - excellent song
5. Tijuana Lady - very beautiful song, despite the silly lyrics, which seem to be written by a British band that has very little idea about Mexico - the kind of allusions that someone British would make sombrero / poncho / El Mariachi / Desperado
6. Here Comes The Breeze - good song if one of the weaker numbers
7. Love is better than a warm trombone - instantly catchy hit single
8. Get myself arrested - great lyrics and attitude
9. Free To Run - very wistful number
10. Bubble Gum Years - somewhat like a standard old fashioned Britpop number
11. Rie's Wagon - actually disposeable in the albums context, a jam.
12. The Comeback - closing matching the first song, and finishing a pretty good album.

4.5 stars out of five.

Those kids can Rock!
I bought this album back in 1998 after hearing here comes the breeze on a Q magazine compilation CD. I was startled and baffled after listening to the 1st track and looking at the band photo in the album sleeve.....5 lanky students produced this masterclass!? its unfeasable!
The album's psychadelic opener Get Miles Away picks up where the Stone Roses left off with mind bending wah guitar and bluezy interludes. Its incredible how a small group of 19 year old students can sound like a blues/spiritual band from the 1930's, helped immensely by the vocal harmonies shared by a Gravelly voiced Ben, and 2 other strong singers.
The band also meld in odd vynl scratches and samples and some tinny electronica sounds as heard on the lead single Whippin Piccadilly.

However dont think that this is all experimental genre blending, the band are perfectly capable of Rocking out as heard on Love is Better than a Warm Trombone and the psychadelic swirling finisher Ries Wagon.
Overall this is one of the best debuts of the 90's and has enough originality to sustain its influences (something many indie bands of the 90's didnt have!). I highly reccomend this to music fans.