Miss Kitt

Product Description:

Personnel: Eartha Kitt (vocals); Henri Rene & His Orchestra; Shorty Rogers & His Orchestra; Joe Reisman & His Orchestra; Shinbone Alley Orchestra & Chorus.

Producers: Henri Rene, Gordon Jenkins, Dennis Farnon, Hugo Winterhalter, Joe Carlton.

Compilation producer: Douglas Leland.

Includes liner notes by Bonnie Halper.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Considering the string of hits Eartha Kitt enjoyed early in her career on RCA, it's frustrating that this modest compilation--which leaves off Kitt classics like "I Want To Be Evil" and "Santa Baby"--is just about the only domestic opportunity we have to hear her in her prime. Fortunately, MISS KITT, TO YOU stresses the singerly side of this flamboyant '50s icon. While Kitt had her limitations as a vocalist, she could be surprisingly nuanced in her musical approach, her reedy yet appealing vibrato fluttering lightly around familiar melodies of the decade like "Lazy Afternoon" and "Avril Au Portugal." She also gets to explore her "roots" on W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues" and "Beale St. Blues" as well as Cole Porter's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and "Let's Do It," standout performances all. And lest we forget, Kitt's kittenish gold digger persona pops up for a minute or two on signature tunes "Just an Old Fashioned Girl" and the brilliant "C'est Si Bon," one hit they couldn't pass up.