In December 1969, The Colonel entered into a contract with RCA Camden to release four Elvis Presley albums with the Camden label, three of which were to be released in 1970 and one in 1971. RCA Camden was a subsidiary of RCA Victor and produced budget LPs usually of 10 tracks and shorter running time. In keeping with the terms of the agreement, in 1970 and 1971, RCA Camden released Let’s Be Friends, Almost In Love, Elvis’ Christmas Album (a reissue of the 1957 album which was out of print by the 1960s), and You’ll Never Walk Alone. In April 1970 RCA Camden released Let’s Be Friends, a compilation album that was composed of mostly unreleased songs originally recorded for soundtracks. The album contained five tracks on side 1 and four on side 2. The shorter running time album was the second to be released on the budget Camden label and reached 105 on the Billboard charts and was certified gold by RIAA in June 1999. The album was re-issued in 1975 by Pickwick Camden Records with the original Camden catalog #CAS 2408 and a black border around the original cover art. Pickwick was a label that focused on relationships with major labels like RCA, or in this case RCA Camden, to reissue records that were no longer available. Offered is an extremely rare experimental gold vinyl pressing of this Pickwick/Camden release that was not made for distribution. The matrix number “CAS-2408” is hand-etched into the dead wax of side one, which corresponds to the 1975 Pickwick release of the album. However, the matrix number for the 1970 Camden release of the LP ALSO appear in the dead wax, albeit machine-stamped: “ZCRS-1059-33S / ZCRS-1060-33S.” The gold vinyl comes with the Pickwick paper sleeve and original outer sleeve. The disc measures 12 inches (30.48 cm) in diameter and is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Graceland Authenticated.

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