Cordon Bleu (album)

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Cordon Bleu
Cordon Bleu cover
Studio album by Solution
Released November 1975 (1975-11)
Recorded Rockfield Studios, Wales
Genre Symphonic rock
Length 42:45
Label Rocket Records
Producer Gus Dudgeon
Solution chronology
Divergence
(1972)		 Cordon Bleu
(1975)		 Fully Interlocking
(1977)

Cordon Bleu is the third album by the Dutch symphonic rock group Solution. It was released in 1975 on Elton John's label Rocket Records.

Contents

[edit] History

Recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, Cordon Bleu saw the main quartet of Willem Ennes, Tom Barlage, Guus Willemse and Hans Waterman complemented by Chiel Pos and Frankie Fish. Pos contributed acoustic guitar to "Last Detail" and tenor sax to "Third Line" and "Whirligig", while Fish co-wrote the lyrics and also added backing vocals.

Like its predecessor Divergence (1972), Cordon Bleu mixed long instrumental pieces ("Chappaqua" and "Whirligig") with shorter vocal songs which also featured instrumental passages ("Third Line", "Last Detail" and "Black Pearl"). "A Song for You" is the shortest song on the album, and is a more conventional pop song. This was released as a single in Europe, with an edited version of "Chappaqua" as the B-side. "Chappaqua" was issued as an A-side in its own right in some territories (backed by "Whirligig"), and was a B-side again to "Give Some More" in 1977/78.

Produced by Elton John's producer Gus Dudgeon, the album had a crisper sound than Solution and Divergence. This trend was continued on the following album Fully Interlocking (1977), also produced by Dudgeon.

Cordon Bleu charted in Holland on 20 December 1975, reaching #18 and spending 11 weeks on the chart.

First released on vinyl and cassette, it was later reissued by CBS in 1980 and on Compact Disc in 1988. In 2006, "Chappaqua", "Whirligig" and "Third Line" were included on the compilation The Ultimate Collection, with versions of the other three tracks featured on the live disc.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Chappaqua" (10:33)
    • Music by Tom, Willem & Hans
  2. "Third Line Part 1" (1:38)
    • Music by Tom, Willem & Guus
    • Words by Michiel & Frankie
  3. "Part 2" (5:44)
    • Music by Tom, Willem & Hans
  4. "A Song for You" (3:53)
    • Music by Guus
    • Words by Guus & Frankie
  5. "Whirligig" (9:00)
    • Music by Tom, Willem & Guus
  6. "Last Detail Part 1" (2:48)
    • Music by Tom, Willem & Guus
    • Words by Michiel & Frankie
  7. "Part 2" (2:41)
    • Music by Tom, Willem, Hans & Guus
  8. "Black Pearl Part 1" (1:14)
    • Music by Tom, Guus & Michiel
    • Words by Frankie
  9. "Part 2" (5:01)
    • Music by Tom & Willem

[edit] Credits

Tom Barlage: alto sax, soprano sax, flute, percussion
Willem Ennes: electric piano, acoustic piano, organ, Elka Rhapsody
Guus Willemse: bass guitar, lead vocals, electric guitar
Hans Waterman: drums

All backing vocals by Tom, Guus and Frankie Fish.
Special thanks to Michiel Pos for playing additional tenor sax
on Third Line and Whirligig and acoustic guitar on Last Detail.

Produced by Gus Dudgeon.
Recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales.
Engineers: Pat Moran & Phil Dunne.
Remixed at Marquee Studios in London.
Engineers: Steve Holroyd & Gus Dudgeon.
Sleeve design & photography by Hipgnosis.
Lettering by Richard Evans.

[edit] Miscellanea

  • The track times above are from the Compact Disc edition. They do not correlate with the sleeve notes on the original vinyl version; for example, there are no lyrics in "Black Pearl Part 1" although Frankie Fish is credited underneath its title. The vocal section appears in what is indexed as "Part 2" on the 1988 CD.
  • Chappaqua is named after a clubhouse in Groningen.
  • A melodic motif which appeared on "Preview" (1971) and "Second Line" (1972) is played on saxophones during the end of "Third Line", adding a thematic continuity.
  • The album cover is by Hipgnosis.

[edit] External links

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Solution
Albums