Rankin Bass The Hobbit 1977 The Complete Soundtrack 33 1/3 Vinyl Records

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Rankin Bass ~ The Hobbit 1977 The Complete Soundtrack 33 1/3 Vinyl Records
The Hobbit is perhaps one of the most well-known and widely read children's books ever to be published.  Considered to be the prequel to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the story follows Bilbo Baggins, a gentle hobbit of Hobbiton who finds himself drawn up into an adventure that would change his entire life.  The story was perfect for children...as Gandalf, the Grey Wizard himself says at the beginning, "...when Man shared his days with Elves, Dwarves, Wizards, Goblins, Dragons and...Hobbits."  It was a story of adventure, battles, scary creatures and magic as seen from the eyes of a gentle Hobbit.
Written by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit tells of the finding of the One Ring of Sauron as Bilbo Baggins makes his way on his adventure.  Although he never knew it at the time, and though it was never mentioned in the story, the finding of this magic ring would be the beginning of the end of the Third Age of Middle Earth, where another Hobbit, Frodo Baggins, Bilbo's nephew, would take the One Ring of Sauron to Mount Doom in the Lands of Mordor, there to destroy it and end the threat of Sauron and his forces from the lands of Middle-Earth.  That part of the story would be told in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy:  The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.
In the mid-to-late 1970's, the group of Rankin Bass, known previously for their Christmas specials like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town, would release an animated version of The Hobbit.  In those days, it was a made-for-television special, lastly under 90-minutes in length, but featuring some of the most visually stunning animation of it's time.  Along with songs specially made for the television special, it became a stunning feature for children of all ages.  Shortly thereafter, it would be released as a special two-record Deluxe Edition by Buena Vista Records, part of Disney at the time.  It came out as a boxed set with beautiful cover art including many of the characters in the movie including Bilbo, Gandalf, Bard the Guardsman, Gollum, the Goblin King and the dragon Smaug.  It included a 16-page full-color book for children to follow along as the records would play.  The entire special was recorded on two 33 1/3 vinyl records, four sides, and included the complete dialogue and music from the special.  It truly was a unique and special item for any child to have.
My parents purchased this Deluxe 2-record set for my brother and I when we were kids, and we would listen to it for hours until we could recite the entire dialogue from memory, even sing the songs.  My personal favorite part was the "Riddles in the Dark" part where Bilbo and Gollum exchange riddles.  The depiction of Gollum for this special was extraordinarily done.
So what are you getting?

• Okay, so I DO have another set of this Original Soundtrack posted which is complete...sadly, this is not it.
• What I'm offering here is the vinyl 2-record set from the original boxed set.  When my brother and I were growing up, we loved this soundtrack so much that we each got one, but we played THIS version and left the other one in a drawer to be later found.
• THIS set is the 2-record set, Sides I and IV on one record, and Sides II and III on the other.  Both come in their original dust covers.
• The records are in good condition and are playable.  However, due to the amount of playing we did over the years, it has wear on the surface as well as some light scratches.  Not enough to damage or stop the ability to listen to it, but it is noticeable.
• Sadly, over time we lost the box and full-color book for THIS version, but the records are still intact and playable.

• Shipping will be via US Media Mail and will be adequately packed and protected to ensure safe arrival to their destination.  To better protect these records in shipping, I will be sending them in another record's sleeve:  Walt Disney's Treasure Island.  The record and sleeve are in good condition and is an added bonus at no additional charge.  However, shipping the two records inside the slip cover will better protect them in transit.