🎚️ Eartha Kitt Three Original Albums – Review of the 12” Vinyl Edition
Eartha Kitt Three Original Albums on Vinyl with original artwork
My Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆ 4.8 / 5
The holiday season has its signature tunes, yet few survive the decades with the sly, velvet charm of Santa Baby. This vinyl collection, Eartha Kitt Three Original Albums, gathers the performances that defined her singular place in American music. It feels like a curated time capsule built around the persona that shaped mid-century cabaret and pop. The set offers a window into the voice that could purr, whisper, tease, and command in equal measure. Although the compilation spans multiple sessions and styles, it is the presence of Santa Baby that gives this set its gravity and its season-spanning relevance.
About Eartha Kitt Three Original Albums
Overview:
This collection brings together three significant recordings from Eartha Kitt’s early career. Revisited (1960) returns to songs she first perfected between 1953 and 1958, including her iconic Santa Baby. Bad But Beautiful (1962) shows Kitt leaning into a swinging, polished glamour shaped by legendary arranger Billy May. The Romantic Eartha (1962) reveals a softer, orchestral glow with Tony Osborne. Across all three, her tone remains unmistakable: crisp, feline, and theatrical, always giving even familiar standards her own winking sense of dramatic timing.
The Santa Baby Controversy:
When “Santa Baby” first appeared in 1953, it caused more commotion than most holiday songs of its era. Some radio stations refused to play it, claiming its flirtatious tone was unsuitable for seasonal programming, while others viewed its blend of humor and sensuality as too bold for mid-century sensibilities. Yet this very tension helped the song endure. Its playful mix of satire, wish-list extravagance, and theatrical charm challenged expectations of what a Christmas recording could be, and Eartha Kitt delivered it with such precision that the controversy only deepened the track’s mystique. Over time, the once-criticized performance grew into a perennial classic, one that remains inseparable from Kitt’s image and continues to spark conversation every December.
Artist & Lineup:
• Vocals: Eartha Kitt
• Conducted by Maurice Levine (Revisited)
• Arranged by Billy May (Bad But Beautiful)
• Arranged by Tony Osborne (The Romantic Eartha)
• Backed by full studio orchestras throughout
Waiting for rehearsal session from Kitt’s early studio years
🎚️ Sound & Sonic Impact on Vinyl
In this pressing, the recordings arrive with a pleasing analog richness that complements Kitt’s theatrical delivery. Her voice sits forward in the mix, bright and lightly sharpened, while the orchestral beds keep a warm halo beneath her phrasing. Older master tapes sometimes struggle with sibilants, but here the transients are managed with care. “C’est Si Bon” has a charming crispness, while “I Want to Be Evil” carries a low-end body that feels more substantial on vinyl than on digital transfers.
Meanwhile, Santa Baby remains the crown jewel. The song relies on subtlety and suggestion, so the softness of the vinyl medium enhances its effect. The brushed percussion lands like falling powder, the celeste glimmers without becoming brittle, and Eartha Kitt’s sly enunciation hovers with perfect restraint. Audiophiles will notice how the room tone breathes gently around her voice, giving the track a presence that suits repeated winter spins.
The pressing is not aggressively modernized. Instead, it preserves the charm of its era: a little texture in the high end, a glowing midrange, and a sense of depth that suits collectors who appreciate archival warmth. The consistency across different recording dates is handled smoothly, creating the illusion of a continuous narrative shaped by her persona. The song Santa Baby benefits especially from this approach, revealing nuances that often flatten in digital remasters.
💽 Vinyl Aesthetic, Packaging & Production
Visually, this release honors its mid-century origins with tasteful reproduction of artwork and typography. The jackets use clean scans that retain a period charm without feeling worn. The fonts remain faithful to the era’s promotional style, giving the package a gallery-ready quality. The inner sleeves contain liner notes summarizing each album’s historical moment, along with concise commentary about the enduring popularity of Santa Baby.
The vinyl itself is a standard-weight black pressing, smooth to the touch with evenly cut edges. Labels follow a simple retro palette that echoes the originals. There are no gimmicks, no colored wax, only a respectful presentation that suits the music. The subtle paper texture of the inserts and the sharp imagery on the sleeve make the set feel more like a curated archive than a generic compilation.
🔍 Track Breakdown & Highlights
🎵 C’est Si Bon – Kitt’s effortless phrasing makes this an essential showcase of her nightclub energy.
🎵 I Want to Be Evil – Playful, crisp, and theatrical; the vinyl cut enhances the rhythmic bounce.
🎵 Santa Baby – Still unmatched in tone and attitude, the definitive recording of the song.
Eartha Kitt Three Original Albums Official Vinyl Preview
Official Music Video
✅ Includes remastered analog audio
✅ Bonus inserts: archival notes, photographic reproduction
✅ Perfect for fans of cabaret, jazz vocals, and classic pop
The pressing offers a surprisingly quiet noise floor for archival material. The grooves track cleanly throughout, with minimal distortion during dynamic peaks. Side transitions are smooth, and the stereo imaging remains wide but controlled. On tracks like “Just an Old Fashioned Girl,” the vinyl medium brings out a soft glow in the midrange that modern mastering often flattens. The highlight, unsurprisingly, is Santa Baby, which gains a silkier contour on vinyl compared to most streaming versions. The soft percussive accents feel almost tangible.
🎯 Who Should Spin This Album?
This set fits collectors who appreciate early cabaret singers with sharp personality. Fans of vintage holiday music will gravitate toward Santa Baby, but the broader compilation also appeals to listeners who enjoy theatrical interpretation across genres. Jazz-curious buyers will appreciate the tasteful arrangements, while vinyl enthusiasts will enjoy hearing Kitt’s voice freed from the compression of modern remasters. Her multilingual repertoire, sly humor, and emotional control lend the collection a lasting magnetism.
🕰️ Why It Still Resonates
Eartha Kitt’s legacy endures because she shaped a performance style that blended sophistication with wit. The presence of Santa Baby anchors the set in cultural memory, while the surrounding tracks reveal her versatility and depth. Her phrasing influenced later generations of jazz vocalists, Broadway performers, and pop stylists. In truth, few holiday songs inspire as much annual conversation as Santa Baby, whose playful mix of social satire and flirtation continues to intrigue new listeners. On vinyl, that intrigue becomes a tactile experience, reminding audiences why these recordings remain treasured.
Even in the digital era, vinyl editions like this remind listeners what physical sound feels like warmth, depth, and a tangible sense of history.
Final Verdict: A beautifully curated set whose standout track, Santa Baby, shines brighter than ever on vinyl.
Kitt’s earliest recording sessions blended Broadway-caliber theatricality with the precision of seasoned studio players. Maurice Levine’s direction helped channel her dramatic instincts into crisp, radio-friendly performances. Many of the arrangements were tailored to showcase the tonal intrigue she could summon with a single syllable. The session for Santa Baby in particular became a defining moment: a meeting of playful lyricism, subdued orchestration, and Kitt’s unmistakable wink-in-the-voice style. These sessions have become essential chapters in the history of mid-century pop.
💿 Collector’s Notes
For collectors, this pressing brings together material often scattered across earlier releases. The jacket reproductions maintain sharp imagery with minimal grain, while the label art stays close to the original mid-century aesthetic. Inside, the liner notes add contextual charm without overwhelming the listener. While the set appeals broadly, dedicated fans of Santa Baby will appreciate having its most authentic mastering housed among other defining Kitt recordings. Sleeves are sturdy and smooth, and the spindle holes are properly centered to reduce wow and flutter.
📦 Preservation & Collectors’ Care
Preservation Tip: Keep records vertically in anti-static sleeves away from heat and sunlight. Handle by the edges and clean gently with a microfiber cloth before playback.
Vinyl can last for generations when properly stored. The Eartha Kitt Three Original Albums LP, housed in its original jacket and poly-lined sleeve, will maintain audio clarity and visual beauty over decades. Many collectors catalog pressings digitally to track condition and provenance, preserving the art and craftsmanship of analog sound.
Each record becomes more than music it is a piece of history, an artifact that digital formats can never replace.
💬 “A lush, elegant pressing that showcases her voice in the best possible light.” – Vinyl Enthusiast
💬 “The definitive way to experience her early classics, especially the irresistible Santa Baby.” – Music Historian
💬 “A beautifully assembled set that preserves the atmosphere of the original studio sessions.” – Longtime Collector
ML Lamp is the owner of Kilroy Was Here. After his 20 years of working in Las Vegas in the entertainment promotions field, Mr. Lamp retired in 2002 from his job to pursue his passion for collectibles. Now as a guest speaker and author he’s living the dream, and sharing his warmth with You.
