Lookin' Back: The Best of Joe Simon

• Artist: Joe Simon
• Rating:
• Release Date: April 07, 1994
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Rhythm & Blues

Review

There is a certain weary, desperate edge to Joe Simon's voice that makes every song he sings feel like a plea for personal redemption, and no singer better bridges the thematic connections between soul and country than this man, who managed to bring Memphis to Nashville, then trucked both off to Philadelphia. Lookin' Back collects his biggest hits from the 1960s with some earlier sides and some later disco-era tracks to form a decent introduction to this underrated singer. Highlights include the early hit "Nine Pound Steel," the perfect merging of both soul and country concerns (and they really hardly differ) on "(You Keep Me) Hangin' On," the definitive version of Harlan Howard's "The Chokin' Kind," and the ominous and gorgeous "Drowning in the Sea of Love," which was produced in Philadelphia by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Even the excursion into disco found here, "Get Down, Get Down (Get on the Floor)," is as much country gospel as it is an urban dance track. Throughout Simon sounds sad, weary, desperate, beaten up by love, yet resolute and oddly hopeful, like the man you meet at the bar who has been through hell but is sure brighter days are coming, even if there is little evidence for it. The Rhino anthology Music in My Bones is still probably the place to start with Simon, but Lookin' Back makes a competent substitute. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Let's Do It Over	Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham	Joe Simon	(2:19)
My Adorable One	Ida Irral Berger	Joe Simon	(2:42)
Teenager's Prayer	Leonard Allen, Ira Allen	Joe Simon	(2:29)
My Special Prayer	Wini Scott	Joe Simon	(2:45)
Nine Pound Steel	Dan Penn, D. Thompson	Joe Simon	(2:49)
No Sad Songs	Darryl Carter	Joe Simon	(2:18)
(You Keep Me) Hangin' On	Ira Allen, Buddy Mize	Joe Simon	(2:46)
Message from Maria	Wini Scott	Joe Simon	(3:22)
The Chokin' Kind	Harlan Howard	Joe Simon	(2:41)
Baby, Don't Be Looking in My Mind	Harlan Howard	Joe Simon	(2:45)
Moon Walk, Pt. 1		Joe Simon	(5:52)
Farther on Down the Road (Lyrics)	Taj Mahal, Jesse Ed Davis	Joe Simon	(3:08)
Yours Love	Harlan Howard	Joe Simon	(3:03)
Misty Blue	Bobby Montgomery	Joe Simon	(3:12)
Drowning in the Sea of Love	Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff	Joe Simon	(3:11)
Power of Love (Lyrics)	Joe Simon, Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff	Joe Simon	(2:55)
Get Down, Get Down (Get on the Floor)	Joe Simon, Raeford Gerald	Joe Simon	(2:57)

Credits

Joe Simon (Vocals), Joe Simon (Main Performer), Marshall Sehorn (Reissue Producer), Marion Carter (Reissue Producer), Pete Smolen (Reissue Producer)