The Story of Simon Simopath explained

The Story of Simon Simopath
Type:Studio
Artist:Nirvana
Cover:SimonSimopath.jpg
Recorded:Early 1967
Studio:Pye, London
Genre:
Label:Island
Producer:Chris Blackwell
Next Title:All of Us
Next Year:1968

The Story of Simon Simopath is the debut album by British psychedelic band Nirvana, released by Island Records in 1967. Described by Melody Makers Chris Welch as a "science fiction pantomime album", the songs are linked with a story on the back cover which details the dream of Simon Simopath to fly.[1] In constructing a narrative storyline to connect the songs, The Story of Simon Simopath can be considered the very first full-length rock opera, predating both The Pretty Things' December 1968 entry S.F. Sorrow and The Who's May 1969 release Tommy by over a year. "Pentecost Hotel" was released as a single with the non-album b-side, "Feelin' Shattered". "Wings of Love" was the next single, also with a non-album b-side, "Requiem to John Coltrane". "Girl in the Park", from the second album, All of Us, featured the b-side, "C Side In Ocho Rios", which is an instrumental version of "In the Courtyard of the Stars".

Story

On the back cover is a text story, "The Story of Simon Simopath: A Science Fiction Pantomime", which links the song titles. It deals with a boy named Simon Simopath who dreams of having wings.[2] He is lonely,[3] and after reaching adulthood goes to work in a "computer office block".[4] He suffers a nervous breakdown and is unable to find help in a mental institution, but gets aboard a rocket and meets a centaur who will be his friend and a tiny goddess named Magdalena, who works at Pentecost Hotel. Simon and Magdalena fall in love and get married, followed by a jazzy party.

The title of the album is a possible reference to William Burroughs' novel Naked Lunch, which coins the word simopath to describe several escapees from a mental institution. In this context, the word refers to 'a citizen convinced he is an ape or other citizen'.[5]

Legacy

In a retrospective review on AllMusic, Stewart Mason feels that the "unashamedly twee early concept album", with its "deliberately childlike tone", despite being "a collection of unconnected songs forced together" in a "rather silly story", is a "uniformly solid set of well-constructed psych-pop tunes".[6]

The Story of Simon Simopath was selected for The MOJO Collection as one of the most significant albums in musical history.[7]

Track listing

Side one
  1. "Wings of Love" – 3:20
  2. "Lonely Boy" – 2:31
  3. "We Can Help You" – 1:57
  4. "Satellite Jockey" – 2:35
  5. "In the Courtyard of the Stars" – 2:36
Side two
  1. "You Are Just the One" – 2:07
  2. "Pentecost Hotel" – 3:06
  3. "I Never Found a Love Like This" – 2:50
  4. "Take This Hand" – 2:17
  5. "1999" – 2:09

The 2003 Universal Island Remasters collection includes both stereo and mono versions of the album on one disc. This release contains several bonus tracks:

All songs composed by Patrick Campbell-Lyons and Alex Spyropoulos

Personnel

Production

Notes and References

  1. Welch . Chris . Pop Singles . Melody Maker . 6 July 1968 . 8 July 2021.
  2. Web site: "Wings of Love" lyrics. genius.com.
  3. Web site: "lonely Boy" lyrics. genius.com.
  4. Web site: "We Can Help You" lyrics. genius.com.
  5. Jim . Irvin . Phil . Alexander . Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion . 2007 . 115 . Mojo.
  6. Web site: Mason . Stewart . The Story of Simon Simopath - Nirvana . . 2012-03-10.
  7. Book: Mojo Magazine. The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition . November 1, 2007. Canongate Books. 9781847676436 . Google Books.
  8. Nirvana - Rainbow Chaser: The 60s Recordings (The Island Years) . Dome . Malcolm . Malcolm Dome . 2018 . 15 . Liner notes . Island Records . London .