To recount the key point of what makes soundtrack LPs collectibles, it’s primarily the film composer and one of the most admired is BERNARD HERRMANN. When we started this business over 30 years ago, one of the most sought soundtracks was HERRMANN’s 1958 score for ‘The 7th Voyage of Sinbad’ released on Colpix (the picture on the right above). The picture on the left is a limited ‘reissue’ (we’ll discuss them at length in a future column) released in the 1970s in Britain and Japan which included a brand new cover design. Not only is its score a masterful one, but it is also collected by followers of the sci-fi/fantasy genre. Its special effects were created by the legendary Ray Harryhausen in a stop-action process he deemed ‘Dynamation’. The adventure starred Kerwin Matthews and Kathryn Grant (the future Mrs. Bing Crosby). In our second year of business, we came across a factory sealed copy of this soundtrack which quickly sold for $375 (over $1,000 in today’s dollars!). We had to have the client sign a release that absolved us of any responsibility if the incorrect record was inside if he wanted the factory seal left undisturbed. This leads us into the area of prime consideration when evaluating any collectible—CONDITION.

We’ve always been hesitant in labeling any recordings we offer as being FACTORY SEALED. In the 1950s and 1960s when records were ‘Factory Sealed’, you could tell because most of them used a very heavy plastic to seal the LPs. In the 1970s, however, due to economics, the factory seal was in a much thinner plastic that could easily be torn. In addition, most enterprising distributors could ‘reseal’ the LPs without much detection. So for that reason, unless we find the older heavy sealed LPs, we don’t describe our offerings as ‘Factory Sealed’ since we’re not certain they are. So the next description is MINT, which means the record has NEVER BEEN PLAYED. The record’s value is the highest for its collectibility except for one that can be verified as ‘Factory Sealed’. The next grade is ALMOST MINT or NEAR MINT condition. This would be an LP which has been played just a few times, retains what we describe as most of its original sheen or shine, has no scratches, and the spindle hole shows nearly no sign of wear. Surprisingly, after some experience, you can determine if a record has been played much by examining the spindle hole as there will be little lines around it or some paper separation there. As a rule, the dropoff of value from pristine MINT is anywhere from 15% to 25%. Following that is VG (Very Good) condition which will have a value dropoff anywhere from 25% to 50%. This is a record which has seen quite a bit of play, with some light scratches (very slight audibility, but not a lot) and no DEEP scratches (which are audible). Below that is GOOD with a falloff of anywhere from 50% to 75%. Here there are DEEP SCRATCHES (audible) and the number of them determines how much falloff in value, but we don’t include STICKS (where the record keeps replaying the same spot over and over). We also include BUBBLES in this grading area which are from the manufacturing process when the hot vinyl is being pressed and the LP ‘boils’ and some bubbles are created. Bubbles cause one or more things to occur–depending how big they are, you may hear a ‘thumping’ sound for several revolutions; it may cause the needle to jump over the bubble; or it may sometimes ’stick’. At the bottom of the grading system is POOR which is a record that you may want only because it is so rare and a better copy isn’t available or affordable. It may be as much a purchase for the album cover due to its artistic value. One word about the cover is that it too is important to a record’s value. Even if the LP is in MINT condition, if the cover is damaged in some way with water damage, writing desecration, bends, frayed edges or corners, this will have a detrimental effect on the value of the record. The falloff could be anywhere from 10% to 25%. This includes what we call ‘Cutouts’. This is a procedure utilized when a record was discontinued and dealers returned them to the distributor. The manufacturer or a ‘Cutout’ distributor would use one of several processes to indicate the record was no longer in print: small to large punch holes in the cover located wherever they would not damage the LP including the center label area; corner diagnol saw cuts where a triangular piece of the cover has been removed; or a edge clip which is a fine piece of the cover has been removed that was approximately 1/2″ in length–this process was the least damaging to the cover.

This is an area that we’re now finding is developing considerably—the cover as art and collectibility by itself. First, a value can be put upon a soundtrack cover that has no record or one is poor condition, because there may be someone who has the same soundtrack LP in collectible condition but no cover. His record’s value would be enhanced considerably if he could find the cover for it. A rare record without the cover would drop in value by 50% or more or viceversa if he could find the cover would double its value or more. The next area of cover collectibility is when the cover art is highly coveted, which is what we see occurring more and more today. There are many collectors who want to frame and display LP covers on their walls; they may not even care about the music! There are numerous examples of soundtrack LP covers highly coveted, and they include Brigitte Bardot’s ‘Girl In The Bikini’, Audrey Hepburn’s ‘Nun’s Story’, Grace Kelly’s ‘The Swan’, various 1950s Rock & Roll films, James Dean ‘James Dean Story’, and especially covers depicting sci-fi/horror/fantasy genres, and probably the most collectible are the various Elvis Presley covers. When some of the covers are the rarer ‘Mono Knipper’ versions (which displays the RCA logo of the dog with gramophone) we’ve been offered over $100 for these covers alone in good condition.

Again, if you would like to see what various soundtracks, original casts, imports, 45s are valued at (with over 8,000 listings), please order our RTS PRICE GUIDE, 11th edition, which also includes credits for film composer, record numbers plus collecting guidelines. Price is $10 postpaid USA to RTS, Box 93897, Las Vegas, NV 89193. Or you can check out our Ebay store at ‘RTS Rarities’ for our current offerings in soundtracks, original casts, nostalgia/pop, classical, jazz, radio recordings in LPs/CDs/cassettes along with videos, books and other collectibles!

Look for Part 3 in this series soon! Hope you’re enjoying these Soundtrack LP collecting guides!