SOLUTION

An oddly shaped Dutch quintet from The Hague, Solution played an enchanting variant of mainly instrumental jazz-rock mixed with symphonic prog, not unlike Supersister, Focus, Earth & Fire, Finch and others?. I wouldn't speak of a Dutch school, but it wouldn't be so strange either, although Solution seem to lack some of the humour of Focus and Supersister. Lead by Tom Barlage on sax and flute and keyboardist Willem Ennes, Solution managed to release a few albums during the 70's, but mainly the early ones are of interest to progheads. With urban canal sleeve artwork, this album dates from 71 and was produced by John Schuursma and contained just four tracks. It was released on a small local label Catfish

The opening instrumental Koan is abased on a repetitive riff played on keyboards and sax, but it lies on solid layers of synths. The tempo changes rather often, lead by VanDe Sande's bass ruling over a strong drummer and a percussionist, and resting a while on a mid-tempo while Barlage's sax and flute take it away. After the all too obvious Preview as an intro to the 12-mins Phases, a slow developing spacey Floyd crescendo with a faraway flute until bassist Vande Sade sings (a bit in an early Peter Gabriel mode) a few lines before the track takes on a slightly menacing turn veering VdGG and Secret Oyster.

The flipside opens the descending riff of Trane Steps and first install a VdGG mood before Barlage does pay tribute to Coltrane, but he's showing that he's fully integrated this influence. Definitely my fave of the album,, especially before the almost brutal awakening of the French composer Ibert burlesque adaptation of Circus Circumstances, where for the first minutes the assault is a real drawback until the track gets into place and the tracks ends superbly. Again the sax and electric piano are reminiscent of Secret Oyster's Karsten Vogel and Ken Knudsen.

While certainly not perfect and essential as other jazz-rock fusion of the time (the movement was in full swing that year), Solution's debut album had the guts to mix in some more "symphonic" prog to its music and in itself it's definitely worth setting an ear on it.

3.5 stars actually...

A great band coming from The Netherlands that doesn't fear to blend jazz rock with eclectic prog,hard rock and some space elements!The debut self-titled album of the band was released back in 1972 and,in my opinion should have come as a mindblowing shock by that year.The musicianship is at times close to space/jazz rock,other times gets just nice and complex...Trully nice mix which demands a few spins to be full appreciated...

''Koan starts it all and this is a jazz/rock version of GENTLE GIANT with dynamic drums/keyboard entrance,jazzy following arrangements and flute-dominated ending theme...''Preview'' is a very nice piano/keyboards intro to the next track,the excellent ''Phases''.The track starts with almost 4 min. of amazing,hypnotic,spacey Floydian keyboard sound (EELA CRAIG come also to mind) which gets even more experimental afterwards with the addition of flute,bass lines and soft drumming.By the middle the band starts to really rock with the help of Peter Van Der Sande's rocking voice (a sound in the vein of BURNIN' RED IVANHOE) and,before the same rocking end,comes a KING CRIMSON-esque schizophenic interplay between guitar,bass,drums and saxophone...Woww,thrilling music!...This is also the only track of the album that has some vocals...''Trane Steps'' comes next and ,although it's a good track, it comes as a rather weak follower to the previous epic with a typical jazz/soul/blues rock format with a few experimentations in the vein of KING CRIMSON and GENTLE GIANT due mainly to the amazing work of Tom Barlage in the saxes...''Circus circumstances'' has a funny title and a humorous opening theme that reminds me of ''The Benny Hill show'' (!!!),the track gets a prog rock format on the way and ends with another jazz rocking style with interesting sax...

Another obsure jazz rock band from the early 70's which was progressive in nature and desreves much more attention...Fans of a more eclectic/jazz style of prog rock as well as Canterbury lovers will like this one a lot...

A mainly fusion band with some leanings towards a symphonic sound here, a dash of Canterbury there, Solution's debut album is a confident piece of mostly-instrumental early 70s jazz-rock with Tom Barledge's saxophone and flute and Willem Ennes' keys the main soloing instruments, the interplay between the two being the main draw.

Phases is probably the most uncharacteristic song on here, starting as it does with a long spacey sequence before breaking out into a symphonic number that's reminiscent of early Yes (except in the vocals department, in which bassist van der Sande is slightly weak). The rest of the album stays more in a fusion sphere, with Circus Circumstances starting off with circus music (hence the title) and breaking out into a sprawling instrumental reminiscent at points of Zappa's material on Hot Rats if you took out the lead guitar and layered on some thick saxophone and organ. Not a perfect album, but a very strong debut indeed, and certainly worth a listen if your taste in fusion extends to the Canterbury/Zappa-influenced end of things.

The early seventies appear to be an endless source of amazing music. It blows me away everytime I discover a great album from that era done by a band i've never heard of. When will it end. Hopefully never, but here's another one. SOLUTION were from Holland and played a Jazz / Rock styled brand of music but not limited to that. Sax and flute along with the usual instruments are featured on this 1972 release. Love the album cover as well.

"Koan" is uptempo as it hits the ground running. It does settle a minute in to a groovy sound with sax playing over top. It kicks back in as contrasts continue. Flute 2 1/2 minutes in along with a calm. Love the distorted organ reminding me of Canterbury. This is so good. Flute is back after 6 minutes. "Preview" is a short piece with piano melodies throughout. "Phases" opens with floating organ and atmosphere. Drums and more as it builds 3 1/2 minutes in, then it kicks in at 5 1/2 minutes. Vocals too and this is the only track with singing on it. Great sound after 7 minutes when the vocals stop and the sax becomes prominant. Vocals are back 8 minutes in. Such a cool sound 9 1/2 minutes in with those dark piano lines and sax. Vocals again after 11 minutes then it ends with atmosphere.

"Trane Stops" opens with organ as the drums and sax join in. Back to organ only as themes are repeated. I like the drumwork on this one. The guy can play. An interesting drum / organ section before 6 1/2 minutes then the sax joins in. Nice. Some jazzy bass here as well. "Circus Circumstances" kicks in quickly. This is insane as the sax hits us with short, quick blasts over and over. Yes the circus does come to mind until the sax stops and it turns heavier before 1 1/2 minutes. Great sound here. It then settles back before picking up as the tempo continues to shift. A calm with piano, drums and sax leading 5 minutes in then it kicks in one more time.

There's a great picture of the guys on the back cover of this release. This is another gem found, and one i'll enjoy for years to come. A solid 4 stars.

An elegantly-forged slice of jazzy progressive psychedelia courtesy of the Netherlands, this 1972 release from the little-known outfit Solution is yet another unexpected European surprise for those willing to undertake the exploration needed to locate such things. However, those familiar with the country's other progressive exports - the likes of Focus, Cargo, Trace, Supersister, Finch, Group 1850 etc - should sit up and take note as this is actually a rather different creation. Instead of flowing symphonic melodies and quirky art-rock, Solution's self-titled debut treads a distinct jazz-fusion path glossed with occasional Canterbury-style moments and one surprise(albeit, thankfully, rather brief) headlong rush into comedic faux-classical goofing. Supersister may be the nearest national Touchstone then, yet even that link may be tenuous at best. Made up of five fairly lengthy pieces and one disposable minute-long time-filler, 'Solution' should more than please those with a taste for Miles Davis' 1969-1975 electric period, Soft Machine's jazz-fusion series and the similarly-intoned sounds of Nucleus, Catapilla and Return To Forever. Highlights include both of the album's longer pieces, with the impressively mellow 'Phases' slowly building up a layered head of steam before morphing into the hazy John Coltrane tribute 'Trane Steps'. Both tracks display Solution's obvious affection for the sounds of classic American jazz, yet the real trick here is the group's seamless blending of complex jazz elements into a wider progressive whole. 'Trane Steps' in particular finds the group stretching out into almost psychedelic territory - some moments also hint towards National Health's first two studio recordings - yet kudos to the group for never quite slipping into the trap of indulgent soloing that blights many a lesser fusion outfit. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

Dutch band SOLUTION was formed back in 1966, and in a career that lasted until 1983 they explored quite a few different types of music prior to calling it a day. Their most interesting productions from a progressive rock point of view have generally been subscribed to their self-titled debut from 1971 and the following year's production "Divergence". Both albums have been unavailable for a number of years now, until the UK label Esoteric Recordings decided to reissue them on CD in the fall of 2012 ? as usual from this fine label, complete with a nice and good quality digital remastering.

As far as debut albums go, "Solution" is a very interesting one. Innovative, adventurous and broad in musical scope, I'm slightly mystified as to why this album isn't high on the list of classic albums progressive rock fans should sample. The very eclectic nature of this disc will not be to everybody's taste admittedly, but for those with a broad range in musical tastes and a keen interest in early 70's progressive rock Solution's debut warrants a keen inspection.

I found this as a 1976 two-for-one that includes their first two albums, released on EMI, in a Eugene, Oregon record store around 2012, knowing that I've been aware of Solution for ages, and that Focus recorded one of their songs as part of "Eruption". I was rather amused of the "EMI" label, the "E" red, "M" was white", and "I" was blue, referring to the colors of the Dutch flag, to let everyone know the Dutch origins of Solution. To me, the debut is by far the best thing they have ever done. Later stuff started venturing too often in lite jazz. When hearing this debut, I hear elements of Supersister, and while Alquin had yet to release an album, I can see exactly where those guys were coming from. Of course, Solution lacked the humor element of Supersister, for some that's what they like of Supersister, other that's what puts them off about them. "Koan" is an incredible piece, love those sax parts and use of electric piano that isn't too different from Supersister. "Phases" has some really great stuff on is, but the part that bothers me is the vocal parts. I really get an impression the band is torn between jazz rock, prog, and American west coast rock, and this song proves it. So long as there's no vocals, I could do without them. It's not that they're bad, but the US West Coast style doesn't suit the band . "Circus Circumstances", OK, is where the band was trying to pull a Supersister on us by trying to be humorous, but that circus music that starts the piece is pretty lame, luckily they get serious and drop that, and go back to what they do best, more of that stuff that reminds me of Supersister and Alquin at their best. The album does have a couple of questionable moments, most of it is simply great stuff that I can highly recommend.

SOLUTION was amongst one of the first wave of jazz-fusion bands that sprang forth following in the footsteps of Frank Zappa's "Hot Rats" era. This band began as The Keys in 1966 when a bunch of school kids in Groningen, Netherlands wanted to start their own jazz band. Having gone through a series of lineup changes and a band name Soulution, by the time the band had settled down into the members of Willem Ennes (piano & electric piano, organ), Tom Barlage (alto & soprano saxophones, flute), Peter van der Sande (bass, vocals), Guus Willemse (bass, vocals),Hans Waterman (drums) and Steve Boston (congas, cowbells), the band had shed the extra U due to false assumptions that it was a soul band. SOLUTION was born and released its eponymously titled debut in 1971 on the Dutch label Catfish as well as simultaneously on the Decca label in the UK.

Although the band existed as SOLUTION from 1970 - 86, it went through many phases becoming more commercial sounding as the 80s approached. This debut represents a brief glimpse of the band and the only album that featured original vocalist and bassist Peter van der Sande who was replaced with Guus Willemse who joined in the middle of the recording sessions. Both appear on this album on different tracks. SOLUTION's first offering is much more instrumentally oriented than the album's that follow with only a few vocal tracks and the lion's share devoted to extended jazz-fusion jams that follows in the fusion footsteps of Zappa and adds a touch of Canterbury flavors along with some other surprises.

The album originally only had five tracks surpassing the 38 minute mark with two of them over the ten minute mark. The opening "Koan" is perhaps the most "Hot Rats" influenced with a heavy rock aspect that offers some jazz swing and a busy percussive section with not only the rock drumming techniques but congas and cowbells. The complex use of keyboards and synthesizers keeps it in prog rock territory while the saxophone parts are right out fo the 60s jazz playbook. The track alternates between heavy uptempo deliveries and softer downtime and is completely instrumental. The flute sounds bring to mind another Dutch prog band of the era, namely Focus but SOLUTION found its own sound from the start so this actually sounds pretty unique especially in 1971.

After a minute long dreamy atmospheric intro called "Preview" the 12 minute "Phases" offers a darker space rock slab of fusion with soft passages that offer atmospheric counterpoints while a simple percussive drive thumps like a heartbeat and the wind sections craft complex polyphonic expressions but completely changes course when the track shifts into a vocal led prog rock with heavy electronic piano and organ usage as well as some nice pastoral flute driven moments. The second major track "Trane Steps" obviously is paying homage to John Coltrane and features both slow burning build ups of jazz-rock splendor to the more frantic ensemble of instrumental interplay where all the instruments have a moment to shine. The mood completely changes on the closing "Circus Circumstances" which sounds like a klezmer party run amok and has been rightfully compared to the zany antics of Sweden's Samla Mamas Manna.

By far the strongest SOLUTION's albums that became slightly more watered down with each following album, this band has unfortunately been buried underneath the long list of excellent bands that played stellar jazz-fusion in the 70s but this debut is a very technically demanding album while crafting tight-knit melodies that are instantly attainable. Some newer CD versions have five extra bonus tracks. The album was also released as a twofer with the second album "Divergence" only under the same eponymous title. While i wouldn't call SOLUTION the very top of the heap when it comes to jazz-fusion bands, this introduction to the band surely is a satisfying one with five excellent tracks that offer a lot of creative touches. While not nearly as successful as Focus or Supersister, this is still a band that the Netherlands should be quite proud of.