Greatest Hits: The Spring Years, 1970-1977

Personnel: Joe Simon (vocals).
Liner Note Authors: Malcolm Crowthers; Ady Croasdell.
Director: Jerry Weaver.
Arrangers: Jerry Weaver; Andrew Smith ; Mike Lewis ; Teddy Randazzo; Thom Bell; Bert DeCoteaux; Brad Shapiro.
Of all the soul singers who got their first hits during the 1960s, Joe Simon proved to be one of the most adaptable to the sweeter and slicker sounds of the 1970s. This 23-track compilation, covering his output at the Spring label, is not necessarily the best Simon anthology, omitting as it does his less elaborately produced work of the 1960s, which some find preferable to his Philly soul outings. It does, however, feature all his major pop hits of the era -- "Drowning in the Sea of Love," "Power of Love," "Your Time to Cry," "Get Down, Get Down," and "Theme From Cleopatra Jones" -- as well as a number of singles that only made a strong impression on R&B audiences, like his cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through the Night." As usual with this sort of overview, the music gets more tedious the further you get into the disco era, but it's certainly a good pickup for those who like their soul with a bow tie on it. ~ Richie Unterberger