Maps of Music

Baltimore (1978)

Where the lyrics of Baltimore take you, and where it was really made.

Nina Simone's only album on CTI Records became a commercial failure, and she later said she had no say in its song selection.

Key places

Recording at Studio Katy, Brussels (1978)

Recording site Brussels — Baltimore was recorded at Studio Katy in Brussels in January 1978. The point is placed at the city centre, not the exact studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Baltimore: fourteenth studio album by Nina Simone
• Released January 1978 by CTI Records
• Her first and only album under her CTI contract
• Title track originally written and recorded by Randy Newman in 1977
• Commercial failure that did not chart, with mixed critical reception

Background

• Creed Taylor signed Simone after seeing her perform live at Drury Lane in 1977
• First Simone album since 1974's It Is Finished
• Taylor's production drew Simone's objection, especially his interest in a reggae sound
• Simone's dissatisfaction delayed production
• Simone later said she had no say whatsoever in the selection of songs

Recording

• Recorded at Studio Katy in Brussels in January 1978
• Simone recorded her vocals in a single hour-long sitting
• Producer Creed Taylor; engineer David Palmer
• Rich Girl, a cover of Daryl Hall's song, has Will Lee and Andy Newmark on its rhythm section

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina; the sixth of eight children.
• Began playing piano at age three or four and gave a classical debut recital at age 12.
• Failed to gain admission to the Curtis Institute of Music, which she attributed to racism.
• Played piano at a nightclub in Atlantic City and adopted the stage name "Nina Simone" in 1954, after which she began singing as well.

Career

• Debut album Little Girl Blue (1958) included "I Loves You, Porgy", her only Billboard top 20 single in the US.
• Recorded more than 40 albums up to 1974; her 1960s protest songs such as "Mississippi Goddam" tied her to the civil rights movement.
• Left the US in 1970 and settled in Europe, later living in Liberia, Barbados, the Netherlands, and France.
• Autobiography I Put a Spell on You was published in 1991; she continued performing until her death on April 21, 2003.
• Known as the "High Priestess of Soul"; Rolling Stone ranked her No. 21 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Members

• Solo artist; she was accompanied by percussionist Leopoldo Fleming and guitarist Al Schackman throughout most of her career.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone's Stephen Holden praised the record as a comeback by one of the greatest singers, apart from a routine cover of Hall & Oates' Rich Girl
• AllMusic's Joseph McCombs gave it 2.5 out of 5, saying her voice stayed strong but arranger David Matthews was a mismatch for her
• The New York Times noted Simone's deep, mannish voice and her aloofness
• Critical reception at release was mixed

Reappraisal

• In a 2 April 2011 column for The Independent, Dylan Jones wrote that even though Simone did not enjoy recording it, Baltimore is one of her most powerful albums

Records

• Ranked number 12 on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart
• Failed to chart overall and became a commercial failure
• Title track released as a single in the UK, US, and Australia in 1978
• The Family released as a single in the US in 1979

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Creed Taylor saw Simone perform at Drury Lane in 1977, and several songs from that concert later appeared on the album, including Balm in Gilead and Rich Girl.
• Simone later recalled the recording place as a basement in Belgium where she was forced to sing songs to get out of there.
• Simone rerecorded If You Pray Right under the title Heaven Belongs to You on her album Fodder on My Wings.
• In early 2025, Dr. Samuel Waymon, Simone's brother, released a new arrangement titled Baltimore (In Four Movements).
• Simone had performed Music for Lovers live as early as 1966, which suggests she had some say in at least part of the song selection.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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