Description
Offered for sale is a red vinyl copy of the 1964 Japan-only LP The Hits of Frank Sinatra, including the ultra-rare “hankake” obi, also known as a “half-obi.”
About this copy: This copy of The Hits of Frank Sinatra is an original 1964 Japanese pressing on the Capitol label, pressed on “Everclean” red vinyl.
The cover is M-, with a couple of tiny corner dents.
The ultra-rare obi is M-. The insert is M-. The original “envelope-style” inner sleeve is M-.
No insert is included. We don’t know if it was originally issued with one or not.
The red vinyl disc is M- with a couple of faint scuffs from the original paper inner sleeve and appears to have only been played once or twice.
The disc does have a very minor dish warp; we almost missed it. It does not affect the play of either side of the disc in any way.
A gorgeous copy of an ultra-rare Sinatra LP. It’s the only complete copy we’ve ever seen, and we don’t expect to see one again.
Background: Released in 1964, The Hits of Frank Sinatra was a collection of songs from Sinatra’s Capitol years that was prepared especially for the Japanese market.
The album was only in print for a short time, and as far as we know has never been reissued.
What makes this copy very unusual is that it includes the ultra-rare “hankake obi”, also known as a “half obi” or a “three quarter obi.”
Most Japanese albums issued since the late 1950s have included an obi, or sash, a paper strip that ran vertically around the cover, offering information for the Japanese buyer that was not included on the LP cover itself.
Many buyers discarded the obi when they got home from the record store, and as a result, many albums from the 1950s through the 1970s are quite hard to find with the obi intact.
For a brief time, from late 1963 through early 1964, Toshiba Records, who pressed albums for Liberty, Capitol, Warner Brothers and a few other labels, used what is known as a “hankake obi”. Instead of wrapping around the cover, this obi was a single strip of paper about nine inches long that simply hooked over the top of the cover via a 1/4″ fold of paper.
Usually, these were glued to the cover at the factory, but most of the time, they were quickly lost. It is also possible that retailers removed them at the point of sale so that they could use it to order another copy from the record company.
How rare is it to find an album from this period with a hankake obi intact? In 40 years of buying and selling records, we’ve seen fewer than ten albums, irrespective of artist, offered for sale that included an obi of this style. Most collectors simply don’t bother trying to find them; they know that they’re just not likely to turn up.
Tracks on The Hits of Frank Sinatra are:
- All The Way
- Isle Of Capri
- Around The World
- Chicago
- Brazil
- I Love Paris
- Blue Hawaii
- September Song
- Autumn Leaves
- Witchcraft
- Blue Moon
- Sentimental Journey
- My Blue Heaven
- High Hopes
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| Country of origin: | Japan |
| Size: | 12″ |
| Record Label: | Capitol |
| Catalog Number: |
CP-7037 |
| Year of Release: | 1964 |
| Format: | Stereo |
| Share: |       |
