  We examine the structure of the Levi component $MA$ in a minimal parabolic
subgroup $P = MAN$ of a real reductive Lie group $G$ and work out the cases
where $M$ is metabelian, equivalently where $\mathfrak{p}$ is solvable. When
$G$ is a linear group we verify that $\mathfrak{p}$ is solvable if and only if
$M$ is commutative. In the general case $M$ is abelian modulo the center $Z_G$,
we indicate the exact structure of $M$ and $P$, and we work out the precise
Plancherel Theorem and Fourier Inversion Formulae. This lays the groundwork for
comparing tempered representations of $G$ with those induced from generic
representations of $P$.
