GILBERT O'SULLIVAN/BACK TO FRONT MAM-SS.503 (-72) UK EXPORT

In earlier posts I have confessed my love for his first LP "Himself", but also personal doubts about the third "I'm A Writer, Not A Fighter". Luckily for me this second album is a lot more like the debute. No semi-funk or songs larded with prominent electric pianos as on "I'm A Writer...". Instead I hear friendly and romantic, some in a twenties or thirties style garnished by welcoming orchestrations. Playing it now as I write I'm getting many heartwarming moments, making me wanna return and listen again. Favorite tracks - "Alone Again (Naturally)", "What Could Be Nicer (Mum The Kettle's Boiling)", "The Golden Rule" and "Who Was It" - all having the same kind of idiom and atmosphere that made the debute so great. Issued and reissued all over the world on vinyl and CD, also 8-track and cassette in many countries. US vinyl as "MAM-5". Japan 2012 CD on Victor (VICP-75087) came with three bonus tracks. Initial UK came in two versions - this export and a domestic (SS-502). Only difference I can detect is this has "Alone Again (Naturally)" instead of "Clair", both world-wide block busters at the time. Why they went to so much trouble in releasing two separate versions instead of just including both tracks on one I don't know. If anyone reading this does I'd appreciate a hint. In any case both versions had label design as shown here in a matt cover with fold-out lyric insert, poster and blue block stereo inner. (ÖXÄP*)