Baltimore (album)

Baltimore is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter and pianist Nina Simone, released in January 1978 by CTI Records. Due to a lack of promotion, and Simone's dissatisfaction with the record, It became a commercial failure, failed to chart, and also received mixed reviews from critics. It would also become her first and only album released under her contract with CTI Records. The title track was originally written and recorded by Randy Newman in 1977.

Baltimore
Studio album by
Nina Simone
ReleasedJanuary 1978
RecordedJanuary 1978
StudioStudio Katy, Brussels
Genre
Length36:49
Label
ProducerCreed Taylor
Nina Simone chronology
The Great Show Live in Paris
(1974)		 Baltimore
(1978)		 Fodder on My Wings
(1982)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
All About JazzPositive[2]
Christgau's Record GuideB−[3]
Rolling Stonefavorable[4]

History

Nina Simone was signed to CTI Records after the veteran jazz producer Creed Taylor saw her perform live in 1977 at Drury Lane, and together they would record "Baltimore," Simone's first album since 1974's It Is Finished.[5]

However, sessions for the album were very tense: Simone disagreed with Taylor's production choices—particularly his interest in a reggae sound, which first caused Simone to ask "What is this corny stuff?"[6] Simone's dissatisfaction delayed production, but she would eventually record her vocals for the album in a single hour-long sitting.[7] Simone would later recall of the historic barn where Baltimore was recorded "a basement in Belgium where I was forced to sing songs in order to get out of there."[8]

Simone would later say of the album, "The material was not my personal choice, and I had no say whatsoever in the selection of songs. It was all done before I could make any decisions," leaving it unclear whether Simone—who had notably insisted on creative control in her contracts with previous labels—is referring to the final selection of tracks included on the album or the entire selection of songs ever recorded for it. While Simone may not have had full control over the song selection, she had previously chosen to perform several of the album's songs live, including "Music for Lovers" as early as 1966 (suggesting that she had some say in the songs recorded for Baltimore, as it is unlikely that Taylor would have chosen this song on his own.) [9]

Several of the songs on Baltimore were performed for Simone during the concert Taylor attended before signing her to record Baltimore, including "Balm in Gilead," "Rich Girl," "Everything Must Change," and "That's All I Want from You." Additionally, Simone would rerecord "If You Pray Right," retitled "Heaven Belongs to You," on her album Fodder on My Wings and performed "If You Pray Right" and "Baltimore" for her live 1987 album Let It Be Me.

The album failed to do well commercially, although it received substantial press attention. Critical reception for Baltimore was mixed.

The title track was released as a single in the UK, US, and Australia in 1978, and "The Family" was released as a single in the US in 1979.

Track listing

Side 1
  1. "Baltimore" (Randy Newman) – 4:37
  2. "Everything Must Change" (Benard Ighner) – 3:57
  3. "The Family" (John Hurley, Ronnie Wilkins) – 4:57
  4. "My Father" (Judy Collins) – 4:54

Side 2
  1. "Music for Lovers" (Bart Howard) – 3:40
  2. "Rich Girl" (Daryl Hall) – 3:11
  3. "That's All I Want from You" (Fritz Rotter) – 2:53
  4. "Forget" (Ralph Colucci, David Matthews) – 2:54
  5. "Balm in Gilead" (Traditional) – 2:24
  6. "If You Pray Right" (Traditional) – 3:17

Personnel

Musicians
  • Nina Simone – vocals, piano
  • Eric Gale – guitar
  • Gary King – bass
  • Chuck Israels, Homer Mensch, John Beal - double bass
  • Jimmy Madison – drums
  • Nicky Marrero – percussion
  • Al Schackman – musical director, piano on "Baltimore"
  • Jerry Friedman – guitar on "The Family" and "Rich Girl"
  • Will Lee – bass on "Rich Girl"
  • Andy Newmark – drums on "Rich Girl"
  • David Matthews – string arrangements, piano on "The Family" and "Forget"
  • String section:
  • Barry Finclair, Charles Libove, David Nadien, Harry Glickman, Harry Lookofsky, Herbert Sorkin, Marvin Morgenstern, Max Ellen, Richard Sortomme – violin
  • Alfred Brown, Emanuel Vardi, LaMar Alsop – viola
  • Alan Shulman, Charles McCracken, Jonathan Abramowitz – cello
  • Albertine Robinson, Babi Floyd, Deborah McDuffie, Frank Floyd, Jo Armstead, Maeretha Stewart, Milt Grayson, Ray Simpson – backing vocals

Production

Notes
  1. Allmusic Review
  2. Review of Baltimore and Fodder on My Wings on Allaboutjazz.com
  3. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. "Baltimore". Rolling Stone. 10 August 1978.
  5. Creed Taylor's liner notes for Baltimore
  6. Cohodas, Nadine (2012). Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone. University of North Carolina Press. p. 291. ISBN 9780807882740.
  7. Princess Noire, p. 292
  8. Princess Noire, p. 294
  9. Princess Noire, p. 188


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