Joe Simon - Love Vibrations 1978

 Released in 1978, Love Vibrations is an often-perfect merge between the hard-driving version of the Philly sound and the folksy yet not ingratiating style of Joe Simon. Of course, Simon was no stranger to the production style. In the early '70s he got his biggest singles from the Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff productions of "Drowning in the Sea of Love" and "Power of Love." The songs, while good, did have Simon coming off like a cornpone Jerry Butler. Love Vibrations, mostly produced by Norman Harris, does a better job at capturing Simon's quirkiness. Only the title track and "Going Through These Changes" flop outright. The remaining songs more than make good on the synthesis of the participants involved, which also include Ron Tyson, Ron "Have Mercy" Kersey, and Lester Snell. Simon effortlessly nails the album's lone ballad, the hooky gem "Can We Come and Share in Love," a song originally done by the Temptations in 1977. The hilarious "I Can't Stand a Liar" has Simon unabashedly peeved, with a sedulous guitar and sneaky horns driving the point home. The album's best song, "If You Got the Time (I've Got the Place)," like the best tracks here, slides the equation more toward Philly, as the arrangement is a perfect fit for Simon's voice. "It Must Love" possesses a great bridge and is almost as good. While a few tracks do take the wind out of the sails of this effort, Love Vibrations is an absolute necessity for fans of the late-'70s Philly sound and Simon.