retro week! - santa baby & album review

so, i love christmas music. i mean, really love it. like, build playlists and listen to them exclusively from the moment i finish with thanksgiving dinner to nearly new year's eve. i'm always on the lookout for great christmas tunes (sorry, mariah carey, you don't count) - so when i got hold of this swinging fun version of santa baby, i knew right away that it was going on my updated playlists for 2010, as will the entire album!

for those of you who haven't heard of them, the puppini sisters are a trio who meld jazz and 40's style influences. they are, to put it shortly, absolutely impossible to resist. fun, sultry and swinging with their melodious voices, they make me want to throw on a full skirt and head on down to a great retro club to dance the night away to live music.

their new album, christmas with the puppini sisters, is pretty awesome. the first song, step into christmas gives you an idea of what to expect - hopping beats, perfect harmonizations, and a portal back in time. they cover a number of standards, including jazzy versions of let is snow and winter wonderland, and their version of mele kalikimaka is so pitch perfect that you literally can imagine yourself in hawaii, surrounded by GI's in WWII. i also particularly love here comes santa claus - it sounds just like it would from a pre-tv, radio-was-king society.

i know everyone seems to think that madonna set the standard for santa baby (which i take offense to - hello! eartha kitt, anyone?!) - but the puppini sisters give madge a run for her money. this version is absolutely what you'd think it should be: sassy and teasing. where's my martini?

santa baby,
slip a sable under the tree,
for me
been an awful good girl
santa baby,
so hurry down the chimney tonight

santa baby,
a '54 convertible too,
light blue
i'll wait up for you dear
santa baby,
so hurry down the chimney tonight

think of all the fun i've missed
think of all the fellas that i haven't kissed
next year i could be just as good
if you'd check off my christmas list

santa baby,
i wanna yacht
and really that's not a lot
been an angel all year
santa baby,
so hurry down the chimney tonight

santa baby,
there's one thing i really do need,
the deed to a platinum mine
santa baby,
so hurry down the chimney tonight

come and trim my christmas tree
with some decorations bought from tiffany's
i really do believe in you
so let's see if you believe in me

santa baby,
fill my stocking with a duplex,
and checks
sign your 'x' on the line
santa baby,
so hurry down the chimney tonight

santa baby,
forgot to mention one little thing,
a ring
i don't mean on a phone
santa baby,
and hurry down the chimney tonight

(mp3) santa baby by the puppini sisters

buy christmas with the puppini sisters HERE or HERE.