The Story Of Simon Simopath – NIRVANA***

Wings Of Love/Lonely Boy/We Can Help You/Satellite Jockey/In The Courtyard Of The Stars/You’re Just The One/Pentecost Hotel/I Never Found A Love Like This/Take This Hand/1999

The Story Of Simon Simopath was the debut album from the British psychedelic group Nirvana. The single Pentecost Hotel was highly original and received quite a lot of airplay but still failed to chart. They should not be confused with the dreary US nineties band who filched their name.

“This 60s hidden pearl is full of lovely orchestration, innocent hippie lyrics and cute genre gestures. Short, charming, surprising and very unpretentious.”

“Average and forgettable psych pop. The only thing that really grabs me here is Pentecost Hotel, and it's a very weak grab.”

“I've always felt Nirvana were a bit of an acquired taste, and still do. Most of their music is heavily dependent on the lyrics, and their style of music is somewhat standard Brit-pop fare, with some mild psych elements to it.”

“Orchestral, baroque psychedelic pop that seems a little too sappy and sweet on first listen, but spin it a few more times and allow it to grow on you. It's beautiful.”

“An unashamedly twee early concept album, Ignoring the rather silly story (something about a boy who wishes he could fly), what's left is a regrettably brief but uniformly solid set of well constructed psych-pop tunes with attractive melodies and rich, semi-orchestrated arrangements.” “The standouts on this psychedelic fairy tale are the breathtakingly beautiful Wings Of Love and the uplifting Satellite Jockey and the hymn like Pentecost Hotel, lovingly arranged and produced, entirely locked in their age.”

“It's a paradox, in a way the music is very dated, but magically remains utterly timeless and at times, downright futuristic. All the songs are compact little masterpieces. Though they all have a misleadingly simplistic approach to melody and lyrics, there's clearly more going on under the surface.”

“They only made this sort of music in the late 1960s. Beautiful melodies, a childlike tenor and florid orchestration flow through this album, without being too saccharine.”