AMG Review of Platinum & Gold Collection

Tim Sendra
All Music Guide

Eartha Kitt's entry in RCA/BMG Heritage's Platinum & Gold series presents songs from Kitt's five albums and numerous singles she recorded for RCA between 1952 and 1957. Three songs, including the sultry "I Want to Be Evil," are taken from 1953's That Bad Eartha, three are from 1955's Down to Eartha, including the quite nasty "The Heel," one is from 1956's Thursday's Child, three are from her 1957 album of W.C. Handy tunes called St. Louis Blues, and there are two singles: "Dinner for One, James" and the incredibly cool "Santa Baby," which hit number four on the charts and is a contender for the best Christmas song ever. Kitt doesn't possess one of the world's best voices, but what she does have is style -- miles and miles of ferocity and sly style. There are other collections of her work from this period that are more comprehensive (1999's Purr-Fect: Greatest Hits) or only slightly different (RCA's Heavenly Eartha from 2002, which shares many tracks), and there is even a two-fer of That Bad Eartha and Down to Eartha. Any of them would be a worthwhile addition to your collection.