Cordon Bleu

Cordon Bleu is the third album by the Dutch symphonic rock group Solution. It was released in 1975 on Elton John's label, The Rocket Record Company. 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. Pos contributed acoustic guitar to "Last Detail" and tenor sax to "Third Line" and "Whirligig", while Frankie Fish co-wrote some lyrics and also, together with Pos, 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.