Description

The Final Solution was among the more intriguing of the legions of bands populating the mid-1960s San Francisco rock scene. Though they rarely recorded, the outfit was captured at the height of their powers in a blistering live performance at legendary SF club The Matrix. Now officially available, this long-overdue anthology of their extant recordings is prime evidence that this band deserves to be heard.

The Solution was formed in 1965 by bassist Bob Knickerbocker and guitarist Ernie Fosselius, friends at San Francisco State, then a melting pot of personalities which would fuel San Francisco’s young-adult bohemian scene. Rounding out the band were John Chance on drums and John Yager on guitar and vocals. The group began by playing Haight-Ashbury dives like Haight Levels, but their constant rehearsals and growing notoriety bagged the Solution a month-long residency at the famed Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada in August 1966.

After Chance left the group in the fall of 1966 to return to his studies, he was replaced by the Great! Society’s Jerry Slick on drums, and the band moved into a more musically experimental phase. But when a hopeful recording contract remained unconsummated, the band’s members began to lose interest and eventually drifted apart. While they rose high enough to share a bill with Quicksilver Messenger Service at the Fillmore Auditorium, the Final Solution was over before the Summer of Love had even begun.

The live material has been newly transferred  from Abram’s original reels and expertly mastered by Dan Hersch to reveal the magic on stage that night in July 1966. In addition to “Truck Driving Son-Of-A Gun” from the Matrix performance, the CD contains an additional 6 tracks recorded in their rehearsal space in November 1966 with Jerry Slick on drums.

Both the CD and LP come with a lavish booklet containing photos from Herb Greene and Bill Brach, rare posters, and a detailed essay from Grammy-nominated compilation producer Alec Palao.

The Final Solution

Just Like Gold: Live At The Matrix

1.  Tell Me Again
2.  Bleeding Roses
3.  If You Want
4.  The Time Is Here And Now
5.  Just Like Gold
6.  You Say That You Love Me / Got My Mojo Workin’
7.  Misty Mind
8.  So Long, Goodbye
9.  America The Beautiful
10.  Truck Driving Son-Of-A-Gun *
11.  Nothing To Fear *
12.  Misty Mind (Rehearsal Version) *
13.  If You Want (Rehearsal Version) *
14.  Just Like Gold (Rehearsal Version) *
15.  Blacklash *
16.  Bleeding Roses (Rehearsal Version) *

*CD only Bonus tracks