Title:  No Sad Songs
Company: Sound Stage 7
Catalog: STA 15004
Year: 1968
Country/State: Simmesport, Louisiana
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: minor edge wear

I own quite a bit of his recording catalog, but I'll readily admit that I've never been the world's biggest Joe Simon fan. Blame it on the fact his voice has always struck me as somewhat limited and 'metallic'. Also, while the guy has an extensive recording catalog, much of the latter day country-soul stuff simply sounds like the same ideas recycled over and over.

As Simon's sophomore album for Sound Stage 7 label , 1968's "No Sad Songs" offered up an odd mixture of previously released singles and a couple of new studio numbers. In fact, seven of the eleven tracks had previously been released as 'A' or 'B' sides.

- 1966's 'Teenager’s Prayer' b/w 'Long Hot Summer' (Sound Stage 7 catalog number SS45-2564)- 1966's 'My Special Prayer' b/w 'Travellng Man' (Sound Stage 7 catalog number 45-2577)
- 1967's 'Put Your Trust In Me' b/w 'Just A Dream' (Sound Stage catalog number 45-2583
- 1967's 'Nine Pound Steel' b/w 'The Girl’s Alright With Me' (Sound Stage catalog number 45-2589
- 1967's 'No Sad Songs' b/w 'Come On & Get It' (Sound Stage catalog number 45-2602)

Two more tracks were released as a single concurrently with the LP:

- 1968''s '(You Keep Me) Hangin’ On' b/w 'Long Hot Summer' (Sound Stage catalog number 2608)

So that left three 'new' songs - 'I Worry About You', 'In The Same Old Way', and 'Can't Find No Happiness'. The good news was that Simon's early work stood as some of his best material; most of it pre-dating his discovery of the country-soul genre that came to dominate much of his recording career, I may be one of the few folks that feels that way, but so what ...

- Simon made his name taking country material and giving it a soul twist. 'I Worry About You' was a perfect example of one of his early attempts in the genre. Lots of folks loved the result, but it simply didn't do much for my ears. The song itself was certainly okay, but produced John Richbourgh's decision to bury Simon in sappy orchestration and a cooing female backing chorus simply served to make a decent song vapid. rating: ** stars
- I'm not sure why, but every time I hear 'My Special Prayer' I think about B.W. Stevenson's 'My Maria'. The songs don't sound even remotely similar, but there's some connection in my fading brain. Anyhow, this was one of the prettiest performances on the collection. rating: *** stars
- As mentioned above, 'Long Hot Summer' was an odd choice for inclusion on the album. It had previously been released as a single, serving as Simon's debut on Richbourg's Sound Stage 7 label. That gave the song a very different feel - a great up tempo rocker with a very mid-1960s Motown feel. Not sure who provided the guitar, but it was wonderful. Shame Simon didn't continue recording in this vein. Gets my vote for the album's standout performance. rating: ***** stars- The title track was another up tempo number with a truly memorable melody. The interesting thing about this one was Simon's performance sounded like he'd borrowed a page out of the late Sam Cooke's performance manual. Easy to see why Sounds Stage 7 had previously tapped it as a single. rating: ***** stars
- 'I Worry About You' was a slow, R&B-ish number that came a bit too close to the MOR edge to be truly enjoyable. rating: ** stars
- Written by Dan Penn and Wayne Carson Thompson, 'Nine Pound Steel' was a classic slice of old school soul that would have given Solomon Burke, or James Carr a run for their money. In fact, the song actually bore a slight resemblance to Carr's 'Dark End of the Street' (which happened to have been written by Penn and Chips Moman who engineered and arranged the material on this album). rating: ***** stars
- I've always thought that Simon was better on up tempo material. His voice was better suited to faster material and he actually seemed to show more enthusiasm for the up tempo numbers. Prime example was the Simon original 'Put Your Trust In Me (Depend On Me)'. Another standout performance. rating; **** stars
- 'Traveling Man' had the makings of a great number, but ultimately sounded like little more than a throwaway track. Amazing how many cities Simon managed to name check in under two minutes ... rating; *** stars
- 'In The Same Old Way' was a slow, bluesy ballad that sounded a bit like Simon trying to channel Otsi Redding. Love the Steve Cropper-ish guitar and the horn charts were too-kill-for. rating; **** stars
- Kicked along by a nice organ and horns arrangement ,the bluesy ballad 'Can't Find No Happiness' has always reminded me of a Solomon Burke number. That's meant as a compliment ! rating; **** stars
- Another track with a distinctive 'retro' feel to it, 'Come On & Get It' had previously seen the light of day as a 1967 'B' side. Shame, since it was a great slice of mid-1960s soul and would have actually been a better choice as an 'A' side. The song had an instantly memorable Funky groove with Simon turning in a mesmerizing vocal that almost sounded like someone else. rating; ***** stars

Even though it wasn't a true studio set, this is easily one of Simon's most impressive efforts. Look for this one, rather than one of the throwaway sets on Spring.

"No Sad Songs" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) (You Keep Me) Hangin' On (Buddy Mize - Ira Allen) - 2:45
2.) My Special Prayer (Wini Scott) - 2:43
3.) Long Hot Summer (Allen Orange) - 2:18
4,) No Sad Songs (Darryl Carter) - 2:18
5.) I Worry About You (Norman Napp) - 2:50

(side 2)
1.) Nine Pound Steel (Dan Penn - Wayne Carson Thompson) - 2:45
2.) Put Your Trust In Me (Depend On Me) (Joe Simon) - 1:58
3.) Traveling Man (Joe Simon) - 1:52
4.) In The Same Old Way (D. Pennington - Lindon Oldham) - 2L27
5.) Can't Find No Happiness (Charles Chalmers - Paul Selph Jr.) - 2:35
6.) Come On & Get It (Allen Orange - Joe Simon - Bob Wilson) - 2:15