Vinyl plays nicely (play-graded). Cover looks great; a few creases near edges; light-scuffing, slight discoloration with darker discoloration spots, and surface impressions (front/back); back picture is peeling off near top-left on back. Inner-sleeve is original (plastic); one seam partially split. Spine is easy-to-read (printed off-center) with mild-wear. Minor shelf-wear along top/bottom-edge and corners. Opening is crisp with signs of light use and divots. (Not a cut-out.)
Up, Up and Away, by Johnny Mathis, was the first LP he recorded upon returning to his first record label, Columbia Records, where he then stayed for several decades after having just completed a four-year sojourn with Mercury Records. The title track starts the album on the contemporary end of the spectrum of material covered here, but Mathis also includes a standard from the 1940s (The More I See You), a hit that charted twice for the same artist in the 1950s (Morning Side of the Mountain), a trio of songs from Doctor Dolittle (At the Crossroads, When I Look in Your Eyes, and Where Are the Words), and two songs that had lyrics added after originating as instrumentals: Drifting began as part of the score to the 1958 film Auntie Mame, and Far Above Cayuga's Waters was "a theme song of Cornell University before saxophonist Dave Pell retooled it and Sammy Cahn adapted the delightful fairytale-like lyrics." One song from the album, Misty Roses, spent two weeks at No. 40 on Billboard magazine's list of the 40 most popular Easy Listening songs in the US in September of that year. The album made its first appearance on their Top LPs chart in the issue dated December 23 of that year to begin a 20-week stay, during which time it got as high as No. 60, and began four weeks on their Best Selling Rhythm & Blues LPs chart in the following issue, dated December 30, which included a peak position at No. 19.