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    Four Classic Albums

    Eartha Kitt - Four Classic Albums

    02/19/2009

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    All Music Guide Review

    Eartha Kitt recorded for RCA Victor Records from 1953 to 1957, an association that produced five albums and assorted singles. The bulk of this material is contained on this two-CD set from the British reissue label Avid, which takes advantage of the 50-year copyright limit on recordings in Europe to assemble the collection, mastered from old records, without having to take the trouble to get permission or pay a licensing fee. (Sony BMG continues to claim copyright on the material in the U.S.). The first of the four "classic" albums to be included is what is referred to the as the "American version" of That Bad Eartha. It might be more accurate to describe it as the 12" LP version of That Bad Eartha, which differed considerably from the initial ten-inch LP version. Back in the early 1950s, the ten-inch LP, containing eight tracks, was the industry standard, and RCA released two Kitt albums in that format, RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt and That Bad Eartha, in 1953. By the middle of the decade, however, the 12-inch LP supplanted its shorter cousin, and RCA released an album called That Bad Eartha in 1955 in that format. Confusingly, it actually contained the eight tracks from RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt plus only four of the eight tracks from the ten-inch version of That Bad Eartha. That is the "American version" found here. Next come the 12 tracks that made up Kitt's 1955 album, Down to Eartha. After a couple of non-LP singles tracks end the first disc, the second begins with Kitt's biggest hit, "Santa Baby," followed by her 1956 album Thursday's Child and her 1958 album St. Louis Blues, then a couple of more non-LP singles tracks bring the collection to an end. In the material, Kitt establishes herself as an exotic, sophisticated chanteuse, capable of singing in many languages and styles. Several songs exploit her promiscuous gold-digger image. The St. Louis Blues tracks take a different tack, however. The album was recorded to commemorate Kitt's appearance in a film biography of W.C. Handy by the same name, and on it she sang mostly Handy-composed blues songs backed by a Dixieland jazz band. This material is not really her forte, but she handles it capably enough. Kitt did a lot more recording after this, but these are the tracks that established her persona, and her most commercially successful performances are here. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

    Four Classic Albums Track Listing

  • Track#
  • Title
  • time
  • lyrics
  • 1
  • I Want to Be Evil
  • 3:30

  • 2
  • C'est Si Bon
  • 2:56

  • 3
  • Angelitos Negros
  • 3:24

  • 4
  • Avril au Portugal (The Whisp'ring Serenade)
  • 2:51

  • 5
  • Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)
  • 3:02

  • 6
  • My Heart Belongs to Daddy
  • 3:00

  • 7
  • Uska Dara (A Turkish Tale)
  • 3:06

  • 8
  • African Lullaby
  • 2:52

  • 9
  • Mountain High, Valley Low
  • 2:34

  • 10
  • Lilac Wine
  • 3:42

  • 11
  • Under the Bridges of Paris
  • 2:41

  • 12
  • Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
  • 3:02

  • 13
  • I Wantcha Around
  • 2:30

  • 14
  • Do You Remember?
  • 3:32

  • 15
  • Looking for a Boy
  • 3:00

  • 16
  • I've Got That Lovin' Bug Itch
  • 2:23

  • 17
  • Oh John! (Please Don't Kiss Me)
  • 2:46

  • 18
  • Strangers in the Starlight
  • 2:23

  • 19
  • The Day the Circus Left Town
  • 3:16

  • 20
  • Après Moi
  • 2:45

  • 21
  • The Heel
  • 2:45

  • 22
  • Mambo de Paree
  • 2:52

  • 23
  • My Heart's Delight
  • 2:16

  • 24
  • Hey Jacque
  • 2:37

  • 25
  • Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore
  • 2:49

  • 26
  • Somebody Bad Stole de Wedding Bell (Who's Got de Ding Dong?)
  • 2:45

  • 27 (2)
  • Santa Baby
  • 3:25

  • 28 (2)
  • Fascinating Man
  • 2:24

  • 29 (2)
  • Mademoiselle Kitt
  • 2:29

  • 30 (2)
  • Oggere
  • 3:19

  • 31 (2)
  • No Importa Si Menti
  • 2:48

  • 32 (2)
  • Lisbon Antigua (In Old Lisbon)
  • 2:12

  • 33 (2)
  • Just an Old-Fashioned Girl
  • 2:52

  • 34 (2)
  • Le Danseur de Charleston
  • 2:33

  • 35 (2)
  • Lazy Afternoon
  • 2:20

  • 36 (2)
  • Jonny
  • 2:51

  • 37 (2)
  • If I Can't Take It with Me When I Go
  • 2:29

  • 38 (2)
  • Thursday's Child
  • 3:58

  • 39 (2)
  • Lullaby of Birdland
  • 2:52

  • 40 (2)
  • St. Louis Blues
  • 2:44

  • 41 (2)
  • Beale Street Blues
  • 3:11

  • 42 (2)
  • Chantez Les Bas (Sing 'Em Low)
  • 2:51

  • 43 (2)
  • Hesitating Blues
  • 3:27

  • 44 (2)
  • Steal Away
  • 2:35

  • 45 (2)
  • Careless Love
  • 3:13

  • 46 (2)
  • Atlanta Blues (Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor)
  • 2:39

  • 47 (2)
  • Long Gone (From Bowling Green)
  • 3:44

  • 48 (2)
  • Hist the Window, Noah
  • 1:57

  • 49 (2)
  • Yellow Dog Blues
  • 2:23

  • 50 (2)
  • Friendless Blues
  • 2:48

  • 51 (2)
  • The Memphis Blues
  • 3:25

  • 52 (2)
  • Put More Wood on the Fire
  • 2:00

  • 53 (2)
  • This Year's Santa Baby
  • 3:16

    • Credits of Four Classic Albums



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