The Story of Simon Simopath

The Story of Simon Simopath is the debut album by British psychedelic band Nirvana, released by Island Records in 1967. The lyrics trace the story from life to death of the titular hero via a series of short songs. The story deals with a boy named Simon Simopath who dreams of having wings. He is unpopular at school, and after reaching adulthood (in 1999) goes to work in an office in front of a computer. 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 Story of Simon Simopath
Studio album by
Nirvana
ReleasedOctober 1967 (1967-10)
Recorded1967
GenrePsychedelic pop, sunshine pop, baroque pop [1]
Length25:28
LabelIsland
ProducerChris Blackwell
Nirvana chronology
The Story of Simon Simopath
(1967)		 All of Us
(1968)

"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".

Retrospective reviews
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

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".[3]

Track listing
  • All songs written by Patrick Campbell-Lyons and Alex Spyropoulos
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:

  • 11. "I Believe in Magic" (b-side to "Tiny Goddess")
  • 12. "Life Ain't Easy" (previously unreleased version)
  • 13. "Feelin' Shattered" (b-side to "Pentecost Hotel")
  • 14. "Requiem to John Coltrane" (b-side to "Wings of Love")

All songs composed by Patrick Campbell-Lyons and Alex Spyropoulos

Personnel
  • Patrick Campbell-Lyons – guitar and vocals
  • Ray Singer – guitar
  • Alex Spyropoulos – piano, keyboards and vocals
  • Michael Coe - French horn and viola
  • Brian Henderson - bass
  • Peter Kester – drums
  • David Preston – drums
  • Patrick Shanahan – drums
  • Sylvia A. Schuster – cello

Production notes
  • Chris Blackwell – executive producer
  • Brian Humphries – engineer
  • Syd Dale – conductor
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References
  1. The Story of Simon Simopath - allmusic.com
  2. https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-story-of-simon-simopath-mw0000084577
  3. Mason, Stewart. "The Story of Simon Simopath - Nirvana". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
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