CORDON BLEU

Many years ago, I owned a copy of this album. I had found it in Arnhem whilst on holiday after searching for days and it was one of my most cherished possessions. One day, my wife saw it's scruffy, battered cover and threw it out. I was very upset and, soon after, I divorced her. I have trawled round many second hand record shops for a replacement, so far without success.That is how highly I rate the music of this band and this album in particular. Whilst the vocals do not quite match up to the instrumental parts, they are perfectly acceptable and the tracks are predominantly instrumental anyway, full of brilliant keyboard/sax interplays with an inventive and extremely tight rhythm section to back it all up. The feel is very jazzy but laid back with a mix of floating mellotron and other keyboards, some superb piano work and some virtuoso sax playing. There is a little guitar on this album, which is unusual for the band, and it is discrete and very well integrated. All the tracks are of a high standard, perhaps the pick being Whirligig and Black Pearl parts 1 and 2, which has excellent lyrics. The recording quality on vinyl is also fabulous. The album is noteworthy for its complete lack of commercialism, the sole aim appears to have been to create great music. The Dutch have produced some excellent progressive bands who are hardly known in Britain but who are appreciated in their own country and noted for virtuoso musicianship (FOCUS, TRACE, EKSEPTION). SOLUTION are another and well worth seeking out. I can only say that I would far sooner have another copy of this album than another wife. Enough said!