CHINESE ADVENTURES IN CHINA Delerue NZ 1966 Pressing

$

101

Wow ...this is one of the rarest soundtrack albums ever! This is an ORIGINAL 60's New Zealand pressing of Georges Delerue's score to Philip de Broca's CHINESE ADVENTURES IN CHINA (aka Up to His Ears) based on the novel by Jules Verne. Great sexy shot of Ursula Andress reclining in bra and panties on back cover - lucky Jean Paul Belmondo! This LP was originally only issued down here in little ol' New Zealand - not even in Delerue's native France (it only received an EP release there). It has been reissued twice - once illegally as a bootleg on POO records, and once legitimately through Australia's Discontinued Records who licensed the UA album and issued it using the 70's colourful United Artists label. The Australian reissue (which was actually pressed at the EMI record plant in Kiwiland) was actually mastered from an original 60's NZ pressing as the master tapes were long-lost. 

This album is mono and was never issued in stereo. The catalogue number is United Artists UAL4136. As the pics show ... this is the original 60's black United artists label.

Condition: The LP record is unfortunately far from mint and has a number of surface scuffs and small scratches which cause intermittent clicks and pops during playing ... they do not, however, cause any skips. The jacket is in Very Good order however, and while exhibiting some ringwear and light soiling is in much better condition than the vinyl. This cover is a nice example of those produced by Cello-Kraft Ltd and has a cellophane-type coating which gives a lovely glossy finish.

 A friend of mine who owned a local cinema from the mid 60s onwards advised me that when he did some work for the NZ World record club they were given the task of trying to sell copies off to members as the film was a boxoffice disappointment and the record did not move, he said he would have been surprised if any more than a few hundred copies were originally pressed. I have had this LP in my collection for over a decade and am reluctantly selling it.

Side One:

1. Main Title Music 1-42

2. Theme of the Family 1-50

3. The Chinese Street 1-22

4. The Menace of Mr Goh 1-09

5. Alexandrine's Strip Tease  2-17

6. Alexandrine's Theme (Instrumental) 1-47

7. Promenade in Delhi 2-25

8. March in the Mountain Snow 2-18

Side Two:

1. Theme - Chinese Adventures 2-08

2. Pursuit of the Balloon 2-29

3. Arrival in Hong Kong 1-15

4. Arthur is Spied Upon 2-21

5. Suzie and Cornelius 1-36

6. Arthur's Strip Tease 1-00

7. Alexandrine's Theme (vocal) 1-29

8. The Rout of the Elephants 1-43

9. Closing Music 1-55

So there you have it ... the story of one of the rarest soundtrack LPs ever ... and if you're waiting for a Mint/Mint copy ... you'll be doing so until the cow's come home (and sorry to tell you ... that truck they left on was probaly bound for the abattoir's).  I've come across this LP about 4 times since I started collecting soundtracks in 1982,and as there is virtually no local marketplace here for used vinyl anymore, I suspect this is the last one I'm gonna see (but hey, I've gotta pay off my new car and buy airtickets to Europe ... so hopefully it's going to end up in a collection where it'll be loved).

Payment accepted by cash, check or Paypal only ... sorry NO money orders. Buyer pays worldwide airmail postage and packaging of $15US ... if registered/ track and trace is required there will be an additional cost ... you can check out the nzpost.com website to get an idea of how much (select the option called "international express"). Any questions will be gladly answered and thanks for reading this far!