TAMAM SHUD

— First review of this album —

A mere two years wait this time. Barron is gone, leaving Bjerre as the only constant member. Bjerre switches to bass, and a new rhythm guitarist comes in, apparently as Bjerre's main collaborator (judging by the production credits). We also get a keyboard player - one who seems to mostly favour either slightly cheesy old organ sounds or washy pads, and who, though ever-present, rarely fully asserts himself. Gaze and Macara are back, and in Gaze's case back to full heroics. Bjerre writes everything again, and is credited as the only lead vocalist again - his voice is back to full prominence in the mix, not really a good thing because it's in now in very ragged shape, although he sometimes manages to find a deeper, more resonant tone ("The Ship"). We're generally in a psych-flavoured mainstream rock space, sometimes with a slight indie-pop leaning, with only "The Ship" really coming anywhere close to prog territory. If you wanted another Morning Of The Earth soundtrack you'll be disappointed. However, if you wanted something closer to Evolution or Goolutionites, you should enjoy this.

It looks like Tamam Shud are going to turn up with new recordings every 22 years (Morning of the Earth 1972, Permanent Culture 1994, Eight Years of Moonlight 2016). This new album sees the reformation of the Permanent Culture lineup (or, if you prefer, the Goolutionites lineup with Macara replacing Davidson). Released in the currently trendy format of vinyl with a digital download available to purchasers (but no CD release), and apparently limited to 500 copies.

Bjerre writes all the songs this time, and he's gone for a sort of psychedelic/grunge/indie-ish approach, driven largely by his own guitar and Barron's increasingly heavy bass - it sounds much like the kind of music I used to hear on RRR 20 years ago. Gaze is around, but rarely sounds like himself (even though we know from other recent releases, eg Spectrum's Breathing Space EP, that he still can play the old way) - instead of the speedy bluesy runs of old, we get long-lined atmospheric psych leads. That old line about how 'the vocal of the Shud is incidental'? Bjerre seems to have returned to that approach, as his vocals are kept low in the mix - not necessarily a bad thing, since the evidence is that his singing hasn't improved since Permanent Culture - but it means the lyrics are largely unintelligible. One thing I found interesting - Tamam Shud have always been associated with surf culture in Australia, even though their music wasn't what anyone usually thinks of as surf music. It seems they now want to embrace the surf label, as this album includes their most self-conscious references to old-style surf-rock on the instrumental "Outer Reef", and to a lesser extent "Broken Chair" - albeit still with that grungy-psych edge.

If you thought Evolution was the best thing they ever did, then you'll probably enjoy this - some of the writing is very reminiscent of that album, though with a much heavier/noisier production this time around. If, like me, you preferred their work around the time of Morning of the Earth, then you'll find this album rather disappointing.

I haven't yet tracked down a legit copy of this, but someone's uploaded the whole thing to Youtube, and that is what I'm reviewing.

Back to a four-piece lineup - basically the Goolutionites lineup, except with Macara on drums instead of the long-estranged Davidson - so no reeds, congas or keyboards to be heard, back to being a purely guitar band. The sound is a slightly psych-flavoured hard rock - little, if any prog interest here. Certainly nothing that sounds like their Morning of the Earth period, not even that close to their Evolution/Goolutionites period.

It's all very well-played, Tim Gaze especially has not lost anything as a lead guitarist - and on it's own terms, not bad music, I think if I took any individual track from this album and listened to it separately, I'd probably enjoy it, but listening to the whole thing all the way through, I started to lose interest by around about track four. I can't reliably tell who is singing each track (no composition or other credits on the Youtube link or any other page I can find), but if I've guessed right on who is who, Lindsay Bjerre's vocals have gone downhill in a big way - Tim Gaze seems to have held up slightly better.

Probably three stars on it's own terms, but for this site, and especially for anyone hoping to hear the Shud of the early 70s, only two stars.

On the basis of their outstanding contributions to Morning Of The Earth, the Bali Waters EP, and a couple of tracks recorded for GTK (one available on the ABC release The GTK Tapes, and a few more floating around YouTube), I've speculated on what kind of prog masterpiece Tamam Shud would have released if they'd been able to record a full studio album in 1971-72..

This live album may the closest we'll ever get to hearing such. And while the never-recorded third Tamam Shud album would have been a very enjoyable listen, it seems 'prog masterpiece' would have been a big overstatement, if this is representative of what they would have recorded.

Originally a bootleg, given an official release 30 years later, this was recorded from the back of the venue on a portable cassette recorder, so naturally the sound quality is absolutely wretched. The credits say Duryea was there, but if so he's not audible - or maybe he's just been drowned out by Nigel Macara, who on this recording hits the drums too hard for my liking (fine in the harder rocking selections, not so appropriate in the folkier moments)

Anyway, there are 15 tracks. Only one, "Bali Waters", had been officially released at the time (another, "Bow Wow" has since surfaced - in a different live version - as a bonus track on the Aztec re-release of Goolutionites), and one is a cover, leaving 12 completely unknown Shud originals.

Early in the recording the mood is subdued, more psych-folk-like pointing to the direction of Bjerre & Barron's next band Albatross. Richard Lockwood, mostly playing flute, is the lead instrument during this segment - Tim Gaze's guitar playing at this point is tasteful but self-effacing. This segment culminates with "Bali Waters" (the first and most overtly proggy selection), before the band fires up into more of a rock space with Gaze's heavy blues "Bow Wow". From this point on Gaze is in full rock guitar hero mode, leaving less space for Lockwood. They follow with a blues cover before moving into a succession of harder-edged Bjerre compositions, most of which have a slight psych-prog edge - "The Air's So Thick I Lost My Home", "The Young Girl Who Wastes Her Time", "The Morning Song", and "A Book Among Magazines". The folk-jazz flavoured "The Afternoon Song" is the most progressive of the new songs, a great culmination of the set, before the concert winds down with the country-flavoured "I'll Be Gone (not the Spectrum song).

So here is is, the most complete collection yet of Tamam Shud's post-Goolutionites material. It points to their never-recorded third album being a most worthy successor to Goolutionites, but overall not living up to the higher promise of their Morning Of the Earth contributions. Nevertheless, it's a tragedy that they never had a chance to record all this material properly.

"Australian psych-prog classic". Well, that is saying something, isn't it? I have read that line and similar, some even proclaiming it to be a masterpiece, many times and I always wonder what it is compared to. Is it Spectrums Milesago or The Aztecs or who? I have not an answer for this.

When I bought the album it was by way of lines as those above. Here was this amazing concept album of a progressive pedigree of the highest rank by this australian band, since long disbanded. I had to have it. When I received it, was I blown away? Was my inner feelings aroused by joy and musical fulfillment? Truthfully? No. No, I was not. By God, no.

The only thing I noticed, at first, was the extremely shaky vocals of Lindsay Bjerre. It drowned away everything else and I was deeply troubled. The album was then laid to rest, hidden away amongst the other CD:s of my collection. As time passed by, the feelings of dislike faded away and my interest for Tamam Shud re-emerged. By that time I managed to see through the foggy haze of rather bad vocals. When uncovered I found a treasure. A little gem of progressive rock.

The cover is beautiful with it's simple concept. A totally blue background, a gate and some sort of mythical being leading a parade of people, of sorts. That is alone something to behold. Inside this artistic delight is the music itself. The music of Tamam Shud is a mixture of psych, hard rock, jamming and progressive explorations, with a hint of jazz and folk. It is throughout a moody album. Reflective and pensive at times. Explosive and hard rocking at other times.

The music flows by, in an ever flowing segment, as many a progressive album do. Though comprised of several moods and changes in musical direction the music never strays too far but retains a sense of cohesiveness.

The shorter tracks, like "I love you all" and the jazzy "They'll take you down on the lot", are really effective parts of the equation, acting intermediary to the longer epics of the album. "Heaven is closed" and "A plague". The two songs "Goolutionites theme part 1 and 2" act as one entity and is a fine example of the jazzy progressive jazz-rock of Tamam Shud.

The vocals aren't as bad as I first experienced. They are not the greatest but in context they actually work really well. They are shaky but somewhat charming, ranging from being sometimes bad and sometimes quite good. If you get past the vocals I dare say you are in for a treat, listening to this album.

So, is it an australian masterpiece of prog? I can't say. I know too little about Australia's prog scene of the 1970's (or any decade) to say. It is, however, a great progressive album by any national standard and has that certain australian flavor I have found in Spectrum's music. That tone is very pleasing and makes for a very enjoyable experience. I really recommend anyone into psych-prog or progressive rock with jazzy elements to give it a listen. It is a great example of early progressive rock's attitude towards music in general, blending and twisting all genres into one delicious concoction.

I'm cheating here - I don't have this EP, but all three tracks appear on the Aztec re-release of Goolutionites, so I've at least heard all the music. Nothing here was completely new - the title track was on the Morning Of the Earth soundtrack album, while the other two tracks had been released as a single in 1971. "Bali Waters" is a gorgeous piece of music. Almost entirely instrumental (other than a hummed chorus), it spotlights Richard Lockwood's flute, and is supported by a very sympathetic strong arrangement from Peter Jones. It's one of the best tracks they ever recorded. 'Got A Feeling" and "My Father Told Me" are simpler songs, not so overtly proggy, although they do benefit from Lockwood's woodwinds and from Tim Gaze's more structured guitar playing.

Besides Bali Waters, two further tracks were recorded for the Morning Of The Earth soundtrack album. Those three tracks represent the best work of Tamam Shud and, along with this EP, point to the potential masterpiece that would have been Tamam Shud's third album, had they been allowed to record it.

Goolutionites still basically continues in the west coast acid rock style of the previous album - they still hadn't really crossed over into full-blown prog, although the addition of Tim Gaze to the band gave them the instrumental chops to carry the band into more ambitious territory in the years to come. Goolutionites is nevertheless a great album, a huge improvement over Evolution. Lindsay Bjerre's social and environmental concerns were coming to the fore in his lyrics, and for this album he put together a loose song cycle excoriating the selfish andwasteful lifestyle and repressive politics of mainstream society, and celebrating the virtues of nature and the new values of the counter culture. There are further explorations of unusual song structures on tracks like "Goolutionites Theme" and "Heaven Is Closed", while Tim Gaze's lead guitar drives the band to greater instrumental achievement on tracks like "I Love You All, "A Plague" and "Stand In The Sunlight". The gorgeous ballad "Take A Walk On A Foggy Morn" is possibly my favourite Tamam Shud song. This version of the band broke up almost immediately after the album was recorded, with Gaze and Davidson joining Kahvas Jute. Bjerre & Barron (eventually rejoined by Gaze) immediately took the band in a very different direction - lighter, jazzier, and proggier. Unfortunately, they were never allowed to record another album.

Quick note about editions. On the original pressing, "They'll Take You Down On The Lot" finishes with a quick descending four chord progression, a brief drum solo, and finally one of those rock and roll endings where everyone plays at once until a final drumbeat. On both of the official CD releases, this ending is cut short at the end of the drum solo. There are pirate CDs circulating which have the full ending. On the other hand, the Aztec re-release includes loads of bonus tracks - all their subsequent official releases (the Bali Waters EP and the contributions to Morning Of The Earth), and some rare live recordings from late in 1971. This was Tamam Shud's best period, so it's great to have so much of it finally available on a single CD - now if they could have included "America" from the GTK Tapes it would have been perfect.

Tamam Shud's debut was a seriously lo-fi garage rock album, recorded in mere hours when they had some studio time left following their recording (along with Carlos and Lockwood from Tully) of a soundtrack to the film of the same name as the album. At this point their music was more influenced by Haight-Ashbury style acid rock, but there are some quirkier musical moments - the unusual melody of "Falling Up", the detached rhythm of "I'm No One", the irregular metre of "Too Many Life", the unusual formal structure of "It's A Beautiful Day" - as well as more conventional but fantastic songs like "Music Train/Evolution", "Lady Sunshine", "Jesus Guide Me". A good beginning.

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.

Aussie proggers designed for the acid soaked rebellious 60s generation.

"Evolution" is a very psychedelic album from the Australian surf acids rockers Tamam Shud. There are moments of pure psych prog and other moments are simple rock structures reminiscent of early 60s rock. The vocals of Lindsay Bjerre are raw and unpolished, the songs are short and to the point for the most part, and there were strong rhythms; they were a no frills Aussie product of the psychedelic 60s. A lot of the songs are throwaway 60s fodder but there are a few shining moments.

'It's a beautiful day' has a staccato riff that pulsates along with a simple guitar motif, and then the time signature becomes odd. The guitars have a spacey quality, with very pronounced arpeggios. The lyrics are strange and non sensical; "it's a beautiful day the sound of the symphony...to a house of no ending, the minds are bending..." The time sig completely changes toward the end to an almost whimsical tune.

'Mr Strange' is a rocker with a driving beat and heavy guitars, the drumming is relentless and overblown with crashing cymbals that are constant. The psychedelic lyrics are notable; "it's been a while since we saw you I thought it was very strange, how does it feel Mr Strange, how is the weather today, you've been walking round in the rain... the bird has flown now your seed is sown..." Another blazing rock number with raucous guitars.

'Falling Up' has a quirky riff that sounds a bit like the Crazy World of Arthur Brown in structure and feel. The lead break is a cool surfie refrain typical of the underground 60s, similar to The Sonics or acid rockers The 13th Floor Elevators.

'Jesus Guide Me' is another rocking song and the lead singer Lindsay Bjerre is almost screaming the words 'Jesus Guide Me' as if he is crying out in desperation for help. Perhaps this is like the cry of the Jesus freaks, the long haired hippies that were searching for meaning during the late 60s.

'Lady Sunshine' has a metronome swinging beat that drives it and some unusual guitar noises. The vocals are melodic with typical 60s flower power themes, "lady sunshine let that sunshine in". The stoner rock of the album is evident on these types of throwaway tracks, that seemed designed to get high to rather than to admire any type of musical virtuosity.

The final song is 'Too Many Life' with a very strange structure, a driving beat that moves in metrical shapes slow to fast, and lead guitar breaks that flow along simply but effectively. The lyrics are rebellious anecdotes and the cry of wanting to be free from the system, the cry of the 60s youth; "Too many people using my time, blowing my mind, too many juries, judging my time, jailing my mind..." After the freakout ending, there is a male scream of pain and then a female screaming like she is being murdered and then we hear footsteps down a hallway. It really freaked me out as I wasn't prepared for that disturbing ending. In a way it is like a scream of agony from the youth wanting to be set free from the expectations of conforming to the rules and regulations of the late 60s.

The band are not virtuoso musicians on this album but they make their intentions known in their no-nonsense style in a bunch of songs less than three minutes, with some almost clocking 4 minutes and one clocking in at 7 minutes. They were not designed for prosperity or longevity, Lindsay Bjerre even admitted in a GTK interview that they were not good enough for an American tour and pretty much kept to the surf and sun of Australian shores to bring their music to the masses. Certainly the band were a product of their time and this album was a solid debut; a taste of the underground 60s sound of Aussie prog and is quite a curiosity worth hearing.