The Lady from Baltimore

The Lady from Baltimore was singer/songwriter Cliff Aungier's sole full-length contribution to the '60s British folk movement. Despite making a name for himself in the pub/folk/blues scene, his popularity never reached the heights of fellow scenesters like Bert Jansch and Ralph McTell. Castle's reissue of this long out of print debut begins with the Tim Hardin-penned title track, a rich slice of sunshine pop disguised as a lament, then proceeds to steer the listener through a lush vista of serpentine string arrangements and flawless fingerpicking. Aungier's (and/or the record label's) cover choices are obviously geared toward breaking him into the orchestral pop movement. "Words" and "Morning of My Life," written by the Bee Gees (the then undisputed kings of the scene) and the inclusion of two Bob Dylan songs — "Down Along the Cove" and "One Too Many Mornings" — contain all of the flowery pomp one would expect from a Pye release. The revelation here is Aungier's remarkable voice and consistently mesmerizing abilities on the six-string. Like a British version of Tompall Glaser, he treats the covers with respect and the originals with an outlaw intensity that makes one wish he had just packed everything in a valise and relocated himself to Memphis. You can almost here the "train a comin'," barreling through a night thick with string sections on the raucous "Back on the Road" — Aungier may be along for the ride, but he's gonna rob it halfway through. It's this battle between pop and back-porch blues that makes the record such a great listen. From the blistering folk/blues of "Good Good," a non-LP 45 that features the sultry crooning of Anita Harris, Madeline Bell, and Dusty Springfield, to an intricate spin on a holiday classic, "Bluesleeves," The Lady From Baltimore is that rarest of reissues — absolutely necessary.