Search - Eartha Kitt :: Four Classic Albums

Purr-fect music, purr-fect price

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 07/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Recorded for RCA during the period 1953 to 1957, the 53 tracks featured here contain all of the famous tracks from that period. Some of the famous tracks didn't appear on any of the featured albums, but are included anyway as bonus tracks. The oldest featured album is That bad Eartha, which is here released as it was available in America. The original UK release was different, but the five UK-only tracks are not featured, as the compiler understandably preferred to include five more famous tracks instead. Not having heard the other tracks, I don't know how good they are. It is possible that they were originally released in America on the Songs LP, which isn't one of the featured albums here and which pre-dates all of them, but I'm only guessing.



Here you'll find plenty of great songs such as Just an old-fashioned girl, I want to be evil, Under the bridges of Paris, Somebody bad stole de wedding bell, Annie doesn't live here anymore and Put more wood on the fire, as well as Eartha's interpretations of classic songs such as Let's do it let's fall in love, Lilac wine (subsequently a UK hit in the seventies for Elkie Brooks), My heart belongs to Daddy, Smoke gets in your eyes, Lullaby of Birdland and St Louis blues. Those who enjoy listening to long-forgotten obscurities that may be new to them will find some of those too. I found plenty of wonderful songs that I don't remember hearing before including Oh John!



Eartha's first two American hits were both recorded in different foreign languages, these being Uska Dara (sung mostly in Turkish) and C'est si bon (recorded in French), both of which are included here. Although there are a few other foreign language tracks here, most of the songs are recorded in English.



Perhaps Eartha's most famous song is Santa baby, which I only used to come across rarely on Christmas albums, but which now seems to turn up more frequently. A sequel, This year's Santa baby, closes the compilation, but you have to listen to the words to appreciate it. Playing in the background, it just sounds like the original.



Since these early recordings, Eartha has continued to record great music and has occasionally been controversial. Her comments about Vietnam caused a backlash in America, so she focused on Europe for a decade before returning to her homeland in triumph. Eartha continued performing until a couple of months before her death on Christmas Day 2008.



This would be a great compilation anyway, but the tempting price should convince the doubters."