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.

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.^[1]

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?"^[2] Simone's dissatisfaction delayed production, but she would eventually record her vocals for the album in a single hour-long sitting.^[3] 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."^[4]

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.) ^[5]

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.

More information Review scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
All About Jazz	positive[6]
AllMusic	[7]
Christgau's Record Guide	B−[8]
Rolling Stone	favorable[9]

Close

The New York Times noted Simone's "deep, mannish voice and her aloofness."^[10]