Decca launched its much-loved World Of Series in 1968. The first album set out the series' stall perfectly, looking at one of the label' s biggest selling artists - yet hardly one that chimed with the counter culture in 1968. The World Of Mantovani - SPA 1, (or PA 1 in mono) - was a 14 track collection, each track a different selection from his sizeable Decca album catalogue. Released in the autumn of the year, it acted as a perfect primer, and its price, 17s, put it shy of the 37s 6d of the full price albums. Its whole raison d' etre was to drive sales of the artist' s deeper repertoire - dip in here and then indulge further - the rear sleeve clearly offered the catalogue numbers of the parent albums.
The series would run throughout the 70s and become a ubiquitous feature of the label. It was taken so seriously, that David Bowie himself offered the track listing for his own addition to the series, (SPA/PA 58), which was released in March 1970 after the success of the Phillips-released single Space Oddity. It also showed how the World Ofs could be a veritable treasure trove for rarities and one-offs, as it contained the first official release of "Let Me Sleep Beside You", "Karma Man" and In "The Heat Of The Morning". According to Kevin Cann' s invaluable book on Bowie' s early years, Any Day Now, Bowie bought a copy of the original himself from a record shop on Beckenham High Street. It became a big seller - indeed, Decca repackaged it - when Bowie finally became a big star. Imagine the shock people had thinking they had "The Jean Genie" when all they had was "Uncle Arthur" and "Little Bombardier".
Condition: BRAND NEW - SEALED Cover shows a small light dent on front bottom left corner.