“Point-of-purchase materials are those created specifically to engage the consumer at the point of sale. Point-of-purchase is an advertising method in itself. It has its own means of expression, its own restrictions, and an unlimited potential for growth and expression.
“The expansion of self-service stores and the resulting change in consumer buying habits have contributed to the development of point-of-purchase materials. Their importance have increased with the growth of retailing and the needs of mass marketing. More often than not, unplanned buying decisions are made in the store, and the effective display of merchandise is the deciding factor in the consumer’s choice.
“It is in the retail store, away from the mass media, that the consumer and advertiser confront each other — the advertiser with product, the consumer with money. The results are immediately discernible.”
– Harvey Offenhartz, “Point-Of-Purchase Design” (1968)
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Believe it or not, actual squads of people — people much more qualified to rave about this album than I am — literally comb the country, hunting for records like this. They’ll buy up as many copies as they can find, and like a Johnny Appleseed of vanity pressings, they’ll redistribute them into the appropriate hands. Perhaps they’re more like a Robin Hood of vanity pressings, since anyone who pays thrift store prices for music this good is certainly getting it for a steal.
The Links put out four records that I know of, but this one is my favorite. It conforms to my perverse standards of pop cheesiness without even breaking a sweat. A cheerful trip though early 70s M.O.R, this album features two Tony Orlando and Dawn covers, a Carpenters cover, a Mac Davis cover and a Wayne Newton cover. And that’s just for starters. The trio’s chipper gospel style is irresistible. The backing band provides obtuse performances of organ dominated arrangements typical of the type that proponents of the vanity aesthetic have grown so comfortable with. And once you hear them bounce through “Vehicle” by Ides Of March, you’ll be hooked.
A record like this one will earn a place in my collection if it has only one good track. Two good tracks is a cause for celebration. But for an album this good, even I would be tempted to leave home in search of extra copies.
DOWNLOAD: Multiupload | Mediafire
