VOICE OF THE HEART is out of print!

[mr J.]

Universal has just deleted "Voice Of The Heart".2005-2006 has been the worst sales slump in K&R's career,with 6 albums being deleted in 18 months.At this point,all of K&R's 80's albums and late 70's albums are out-of-print.(except the Christmas albums).In all likelihood,"Ticket To Ride",as well as Richard's "Pianist Arranger",will be deleted in the near future.K&R's last sales slump occured in 1992,when A&M deleted 3 albums.(Those 3 albums were reissued in 1998-following the huge success of "Love Songs").

 

[Mike Blakesley]

You seem to think that deletion of albums causes a sales slump. Unfortunately, it's the other way around.

The way RC tinkers with his records, I expect everything to get deleted eventually and then the whole catalog will come out on SACD or some such thing.

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

SACD ain't happenin'. Sad but true. In fact, surround formats are generally failing. The only one doing much of anything is DualDisc and that's because Sony/BMG is force-feeding it to us (i.e. making some albums available only as DualDiscs).

I hate to be a sourpuss but these albums have been in print for quite a while. If we must let them go, I'm okay with that. I have my copies and, even if something does happen to anyone's CD copies, the market is so saturated with them that they won't be hard to track down - even in "new" or "sealed" condition.

Ed

 

[Mike Blakesley]

You're probably right about SACD. I still wouldn't completely rule out future re-issues of some of those albums....but the demand is probably pretty satisfied, for now at least.

 

[Harry]

Well, we did try to tell people to buy them while they were available. I suspect it won't be too long before some newbies float through here looking for these out-of-print titles.

We should periodically check to see if Japan still has them in print, I suppose.

Harry

 

[davidgra]

Boy, y'all are SO 20th-century.

If you check iTunes, you'll notice that VOICE OF THE HEART, MADE IN AMERICA, PASSAGE, A KIND OF HUSH, etc., are all available for downloading -- both as complete albums and as individual tracks.

For better or for worse, this is the future of music. Titles that record companies don't want to keep in print on CD will most likely remain available for download for years to come. So it's unlikely that new Carpenters fans will be unable to purchase their music; they'll just be doing it by downloading it, rather than buying CDs.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of downloads being the only format in which I can buy something -- there's too much degradation of the sound quality -- but there are a few advantages. Dionne Warwick's DIONNE IN PARIS album, which has never been issued on CD, is available for downloading on iTunes. Better to have it in a downloadable form than not at all...

David

 

[Mike Blakesley]

For better or for worse, this is the future of music. Titles that record companies don't want to keep in print on CD will most likely remain available for download for years to come.

Funny how the better technology gets, the worse the experience gets.

In the LP days, you went to the store all excited to find the latest releases...you bought this giant 12x12" package (after thorougly studying the front and back covers, if you were like me)...then you went home and carefully removed the shrinkwrap and opened the package, maybe to find a special innersleeve, or a special label on the record, or maybe a booklet or some stickers or a poster, or maybe even a gatefold sleeve with multiple pages! Lyrics in nice big readable type, full credits, maybe special papers often with embossing, or an unusual package design. Best of all, everything was BIG. I remember opening the Santana LOTUS album for the first time -- I had to spread that cover out on my bed to see it all.

From that we've progressed to paying a buck a song (actually a higher price than the old "high CD price" that everyone was complaining about), in a compressed format that doesn't sound as good as CD, and getting NO package. I know the economic realities of the business and why this has become the way of the future, but this is progress?

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

Boy, y'all are SO 20th-century.

If you check iTunes, you'll notice that VOICE OF THE HEART, MADE IN AMERICA, PASSAGE, A KIND OF HUSH, etc., are all available for downloading -- both as complete albums and as individual tracks.

For better or for worse, this is the future of music. Titles that record companies don't want to keep in print on CD will most likely remain available for download for years to come. So it's unlikely that new Carpenters fans will be unable to purchase their music; they'll just be doing it by downloading it, rather than buying CDs.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of downloads being the only format in which I can buy something -- there's too much degradation of the sound quality -- but there are a few advantages. Dionne Warwick's DIONNE IN PARIS album, which has never been issued on CD, is available for downloading on iTunes. Better to have it in a downloadable form than not at all...

David

You've kind stated the problem with the solution you posed. Downloading is not a reasonable solution because of the degradation in sound quality. Compressed audio does nothing for me. 'Course, I fully realize that we are in the minority where that's concerned. Welcome to "progress".

Ed

 

[Mike]

For me, there is more to music than just the sound waves. I want to look at my rack of LPs or CDs. I want to browse through my collection, look at the jewel case spines, hold the album covers and admire the art work. I want to pick up a CD and think to myself, I remember when I found this in that 2nd hand record shop in San Francisco… yeah, good memories.

I don’t think I’ll ever get into downloading music.

Fortunately, I have a fairly sizable collection of my favorite music on CDs and LPs that I’ve transferred onto CD-Rs. I’ve got 3 high quality CD players… that should last me ‘til I die. So, I’m all set, let iTunes be the wave of the future – I don’t care!

Regards,
The blast from the past,
Mike

 

[Dave]

Songs I like--Songs I don't like--Artists it's cool to listen to--Artists it's not cool to listen to--The space required to store this stuff--The having to wait for it on CD and being discontent with the packaging and inclusion/lack of liner notes, photos, credits, annotations, etc.--The time needed to hear it--Gettin' up--or really WAKIN' UP--to change the disc or turn the record over...Hours after I put it on and wanna do something else--Multi-Disc Sets VS. The time needed to hear and work, vacations and S-E-X--The money this costs me that I need for other things (I can't find it near me like I used to so everything is ordered and shipped from "St. Elsewhere, Online")...And saving everything from yet another Recent Disaster: Humidity...!--In-Print/Outta-Print/Deleted/Reissued Again--I just emptied Every Last Record and CD Outta My Room...!

C'mon--Bring on the Next Format, Already...!!!



Dave

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I have many versions of this excellent record. Perhaps one of my most favorite albums, it just says Karen written all over it.

I have the following "voice of the heart" versions:

*original CD 4954
*mini style japan CD POCM-9049 (bought from ebay from a split up boxset from the 30th anniversary box set from 1999)
*mini style japan CD UICY-9354 (I bought the complete 35th anniversary box set from 2003
*I also have this on 3 LP's, 1 unopened still, 1 is a purple see through vinyl and 1 is the original I bought from a record store when it first appeared which I played to bits and the cover is pealing at the seams cause I held it so much and played it so much.

 

[Chris_Sydney]

For me, there is more to music than just the sound waves. I want to look at my rack of LPs or CDs. I want to browse through my collection, look at the jewel case spines, hold the album covers and admire the art work. I want to pick up a CD and think to myself, I remember when I found this in that 2nd hand record shop in San Francisco… yeah, good memories.

Mike, I feel the same way. The digital era of music doesn't appeal to me. I love the whole package and it's a shame that seems to be falling by the wayside.

I'm sad to see these albums go out of print, but am glad that I rustled up copies of the remasters in the last six months or so!


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