Gomez
Out West
(ATO Records)

Gomez’s latest offering is a double-disc album of live tracks recorded Jan. 20-22, 2005, at The Fillmore. “Out West” captures the critically acclaimed Britain band’s full-throttle blues-flavored rock. Gomez, which won a Mercury Music Prize for album of the year in England a few years back, is powered by big guitars and booming vocals. Plenty of that is found here.
With 20 songs, the CD has a good selection of material, including “These 3 Sins,” “Do One,” and “Nothing is Wrong,” from 2004’s “Split the Difference.” Highlights include a stirring version of “Here Comes the Breeze” and the rousing closer “Whippin’ Piccadilly,” both from the band’s 1998 outing, “Bring It On.” “Out West” also features “Going Out West” by Tom Waits and “Black Eyed Dog” by Nick Drake. Live albums are often plagued by bad sound, poor performance or just plain inconsistency. Gomez manages to avoid all those pitfalls. - D. Kimura