BEN E. KING Seven Letters FROM 64-IMPASSIONED SOUL MUSIC & VERY PERSONAL POP

A MINT MINUS LP ON ATCO 33-174

FROM 1965 IN MONO AND STILL WITH SHRINK WRAP OVER COVER!

FRONT COVER IS LACQUERED GLOSSY TYPE

PRODUCED BY AHMET ERTEGUN, JERRY WEXLER AND BERT BERNS AND RECORDED BY TOM DOWD

WITH THE ORIGINAL ATCO INNER SLEEVE AS SHOWN

TRACKS AS SHOWN ON THE LABEL PHOTOS

BACKGROUND INFO FROM ALLMUSIC.COM WEBSITE:
The original notes to the Seven Letters album indicate that it is the most diverse album of material that Ben E. King had ever recorded, and they're right. The range of material here, cut over a period of more than two years, included some impassioned soul music -- "River of Tears," "I'm Standing By," "It's All Over," "In the Middle of the Night," and the title track -- as well as some very personal pop ("Jamaica") and novelty ("Si Senor") tunes, and towering performances throughout. The requisite string-laden orchestral backings are present, courtesy of producers Leiber & Stoller, Jerry Wexler, Ahmet Ertegun, and the various arrangers, but there are also some nicely stripped down, more basic soul numbers. Interestingly, "Jamaica" was written by King in the wake of his 1961 tour of the island (soon to be island-nation), an event that helped spark a boom in local ska and reggae performers who were inspired by the presence of American soul stars like King on tour -- the song practically chronicles the spawning of the seed that led to the ska and reggae booms (which Atlantic would grab a piece of, not only by signing Byron Lee and securing a distribution agreement with him for the Cayman Islands, but also through Eric Clapton's efforts on Bob Marley's behalf less than a decade later). The album has not a single weak spot, and boasts some strong contributions by several outside songwriters including Carole King and Gerry Goffin, whose gorgeous "Down Home" provided the vehicle for King's best singing on the entire record. Not that it did much for him at the time of its release -- it had no weak spots, but also no major hits (even "I'm Standing By" was a failed follow-up to "Stand By Me," and this was the last of four Ben E. King albums issued by Atlantic in the United States. Like two of its predecessors, it disappeared without reaching any but King's hardcore audience, thus making it a choice collector's item. It lacked the hook of a massive hit single like a "Stand By Me" or a "Spanish Harlem" for a wider audience to grab onto.

COVER STOCK STILL WITH WHAT APPEARS TO BE THE ORIGINAL SHRINK WRAP INTACT. CORNERS WITH SMALL ROUGH SPOTS AND OUTER LAYER LOSSES ON POINT. NOTWITHSTANDING, A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS, SO PLEASE DO LOOK AT THE COVER PHOTOS TO ASCERTAIN COVER CONDITION.

VIRGIN SPINDLE HOLE. THE HIGH LUSTER VINYL BLANK AT FIRST GLANCE OUT OF THE SLEEVE APPEARS UNUSUALLY PRISTINE AND TO HAVE NOT BEEN PLAYED, MUCH LESS TOUCHED, BEFORE NOW. UNDER BRIGHT ANGLED LIGHT AND ASSIDUOUS EXAMINATION A FEW LIGHT SURFACE RUB MARKS AND OR PAPER SLEEVE STORAGE IMPRESSIONS.

FROM A NOTED JAZZ REVIEWER'S PRIVATE COLLECTION
RARELY SEEN LP WHICH NOW FETCHES 100 PLUS WHEN SEEING THE LIGHT OF DAY

⁂PLEASE NOTE THE VINYL DESCRIPTION IS ONLY A VISUAL INSPECTION UNLESS OTHERWISE MENTIONED. HERE IS A FEW WORDS ABOUT OUR GRADING SYSTEM AND SUPERSEDES ANY OTHER GRADING SYSTEM, INCLUDING GOLDMINE: ALL RECORDS ARE VISUALLY GRADED AND THE RED GRADE ABOVE REFERS ONLY TO THE APPEARANCE OF THE VINYL BLANK. COVER CONDITION IS NOTED SEPARATELY. ANYTHING BESIDES MINT OR MINT MINUS IS USUALLY TEST PLAYED AND THE RESULTS ARE FOUND IN THE LISTING. MINT INDICATES PRISTINE VINYL WITHOUT ANY MARKS ON THE VINYL BLANK. MINT MINUS MAY CONTAIN A FEW VERY LIGHT SURFACE RUB MARKS FROM HANDLING & SLEEVE WEAR OR A FEW PLAYS. IF YOU ARE A REAL VINYL AFICIONADO AND COLLECTOR YOU'LL KNOW THAT EVEN A FACTORY SEALED LP OCCASIONALLY HAS SOME LIGHT RUB OR SLEEVE MARKS FROM TRANSPORT AND SHELVING. ANYTHING IN THE VG CATEGORY WOULD CONTAIN SOME LIGHT AND FINE SURFACE PLAY LINES AND EVIDENCE OF PLAY WEAR THAT IS EASILY SEEN. SELDOM IS ANYTHING OFFERED IN THE "G" STATE.
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