GOOLUTIONITES AND THE REAL PEOPLE

Tamam Shud was a psych-prog rock band formed in 1967. The name of the band is a a Persian phrase meaning "the very end", taken by the band's guitarist Bjerre from the closing words of Omar Khayyam's poem "The Rubaiyat". The band was probably influenced by the "Mystery of the Somerton Man", a case of a man's dead body found on Somerton beach in Adelaide, Australia on December 1948. A piece of paper with the words "Tamam Shud" was found inside a sectret pocket in the man's clothes. The body was never identified. Quite a story...as is the band's music.

After their debut, "Evolution", released in 1969, which was the soundtrack to Paul Witzig's surf film, Tamam Shud were offered a deal by Warner Brothers and decided to make a turn towards more adventurous, progressive music, compared to their mostly psych/acid (and less prog) rock debut. "Goolutionites and the Real People" was released in October 1970 with one line-up change: Zac Zytnic was replaced by guitar prodigy Tim Gaze, not more than 15 years old when he joined the band, who nevertheless contributed very much to Tamam Shud's "evolution-after- Evolution".

Considered as their masterpiece, this is a concept album about enironmental degradation by "goolutionites" (= polluters) versus "the real people" (=anti-polluters). The concept (as well as Gaze's embarking) was Bjerre's idea. The music is dominated by the guitar heavy riffing, flowing leads and kind of jazzy licks. The acid-rock influences are still present here, which gives a unique, more groovy and yet heavy rock, identity to the album. All songs are beautifully structured, sounding as a turning point from psychedelic rock to to the prog era which followed in the early '70s. After some live shows which followed the release of "Goolutionites..", Tamam Shud disbanded. Tim Gaze and Dannie Davidson went on to form another great band, Kahvas Jute, with Bob Daisley and Dennis Wilson (ex-Mecca).

Ian McFarlane (Australian music journalist and author of The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop) called Tamam Shud's final album as "one of the truly great Aussie progressive rock albums" and I couldn't agree more. Alongside Masters Apprentices, Buffalo, Madder Lake, and Kahvas Jute, Tamam Shud are among the underrated bands of '70s aussie prog rock.

Favorite songs: "Heaven Is Closed", " A Plague", "Goolutionites Theme (Part 1 & 2)".

Highly recommended to all psych/prog rock and proto-prog rock fans.