📷 Gallery Carpenters Longboxes

[Cuyler]

I have a video from I think Black Friday one year… we bought a Blu-ray and it was in a plastic longbox, but we didn’t realize until we got home that the cashier didn’t take the longbox off the Blu-ray. So I recorded my dad using all the tools to try to take that plastic longbox off. Hammers, different wedge-type tools, I think even a crowbar was involved. We were laughing because it was hilarious seeing my dad struggle with a piece of plastic. 🤣

 

[Tom_P]

I used to see longboxes of US imports and cut-outs in Tower Records and wonder what the purpose of them was. I don't recall seeing them anywhere else in the UK.

 

[Cuyler]

Here's a "Singles: 1969-1973" longbox, if anyone is interested:

CARPENTERS - LONG BOX CD SET - SINGLES 1969-1973 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for CARPENTERS - LONG BOX CD SET - SINGLES 1969-1973 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[LyndaK]

I thought this was a longbox from afar, but it's actually a set of three albums. First time I've seen this one. I checked out what other items the seller has and they have a lot of Japanese CDs, some of which are pretty rare and sealed.

Carpenters Chronicles 3 classic albums OOP new and sealed Karen Carpenter | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Carpenters Chronicles 3 classic albums OOP new and sealed Karen Carpenter at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.ca

 

[Cuyler]

I thought this was a longbox from afar, but it's actually a set of three albums. First time I've seen this one. I checked out what other items the seller has and they have a lot of Japanese CDs, some of which are pretty rare and sealed.

Carpenters Chronicles 3 classic albums OOP new and sealed Karen Carpenter | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Carpenters Chronicles 3 classic albums OOP new and sealed Karen Carpenter at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.ca

I remember seeing that when it came out back in ~2006! I *believe* this was around the time when the Carpenters discography on "Remastered Classics" was going out of print, so their three most demanded albums--Close to You, Carpenters, and A Song for You--were kept in print but rather than selling them individually, Universal packaged them together, called it "Chronicles," and gave the consumer a little extra value for buying three CDs at once. I never got this set, though, since I already had the three CDs (bought individually) by that time.

 

[Cuyler]

I remember seeing that when it came out back in ~2006! I *believe* this was around the time when the Carpenters discography on "Remastered Classics" was going out of print, so their three most demanded albums--Close to You, Carpenters, and A Song for You--were kept in print but rather than selling them individually, Universal packaged them together, called it "Chronicles," and gave the consumer a little extra value for buying three CDs at once. I never got this set, though, since I already had the three CDs (bought individually) by that time.

How exquisite... this very forum came up in a Google search about the collection:

Carpenters "CHRONICLES" Official Information;

Some very exciting things on the horizon for Carpenters fans, both new and old alike! "CHRONICLES", which is a 3 album, 3-CD longbox set will be released in June of this year. It features "Close To You", "Carpenters" and "A Song For You" in mini-LP format with original artwork. There is a...

forum.amcorner.com

I *think* I remember seeing "Chronicles" in iTunes as well. This was at around the same time that iTunes was taking off as a digital music management software and beginning to take off as a digital music store. (Remember when songs purchased on iTunes were copyright-protected and had a bitrate of 128 kbps? haha!)

 

[Harry]

Yep. Cuyler's correct. This was an attempt to sell off some remaining Remastered Classics CDs. The disc faces still had the misprint on the tan album - "CAREPENTERS".

It wasn't a bad deal if you needed these albums, and they are arguably among the best albums.

Here are some scans of my copy.



The other "page" housed the other two albums. That fourth slot held the booklets for the three albums.

 

[Cuyler]

I don't want to venture too off topic, but I just remembered that Universal also did a "Chronicles" set for ABBA:

ABBA - Chronicles - 3 Classic Albums

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2006 CD release of "Chronicles - 3 Classic Albums" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

The three albums chosen for ABBA were their self-title album "ABBA" (1975), "Arrival" (1976), and "The Album" (1978). Similar to the Carpenters' three albums in the Carpenters' "Chronicles" set, these three are often considered ABBA's top three consecutive best-selling albums.

 

[LyndaK]

Yep. Cuyler's correct. This was an attempt to sell off some remaining Remastered Classics CDs. The disc faces still had the misprint on the tan album - "CAREPENTERS".

It wasn't a bad deal if you needed these albums, and they are arguably among the best albums.

Here are some scans of my copy.



The other "page" housed the other two albums. That fourth slot held the booklets for the three albums.

Interesting, I thought each CD was in a jewel case and then packaged together in the longbox!

 

[Song4uman]

So funny. I had completely forgotten about the long boxes..
Jonathan

 

[happymoogman]

I didn't see anyone comment about this, but the reason longboxes were 12" tall was because LPs had been 12" tall, and the bins in stores were designed for them. Rather than make retailers buy new bins, they just took the old LPs out of the bins and put the long boxes in there. When the long boxes were eventually discontinued, dealers were forced to buy shallower bins for the smaller CDs.
Another thing: right before CDs came out, the average price for LPs had been about $10 each. When CDs were first introduced, they cost roughly $16 each, which was a huge jump up in price. It was a BIG profit margin for dealers, since the cost of making a CD was about $2.
Both LPs and CDs were for sale in the same stores at first, but one day, all the LPs were GONE. One was forced to buy a CD player and cough up the 16 bucks for a CD. I did get the last laugh (sort of) when the component Panasonic CD player (1 disc player) that I originally purchased, lasted 24 years before it finally stopped working!

 

[Harry]

Welcome to the Forums, moogman!

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

I didn't see anyone comment about this, but the reason longboxes were 12" tall was because LPs had been 12" tall, and the bins in stores were designed for them. Rather than make retailers buy new bins, they just took the old LPs out of the bins and put the long boxes in there. When the long boxes were eventually discontinued, dealers were forced to buy shallower bins for the smaller CDs.
Another thing: right before CDs came out, the average price for LPs had been about $10 each. When CDs were first introduced, they cost roughly $16 each, which was a huge jump up in price. It was a BIG profit margin for dealers, since the cost of making a CD was about $2.
Both LPs and CDs were for sale in the same stores at first, but one day, all the LPs were GONE. One was forced to buy a CD player and cough up the 16 bucks for a CD. I did get the last laugh (sort of) when the component Panasonic CD player (1 disc player) that I originally purchased, lasted 24 years before it finally stopped working!

Yep. Retailers had to make record labels pick because of space concerns. "Either you want us to sell LPs and cassettes or CDs and cassettes. We won't do all three a moment longer."...and they essentially stopped. You could only find certain high-selling LPs but they were pressed for many albums at that point. I remember clearly when CDs were $16.99 a piece. The really sad thing is that just prior to Napster and for a long while after, they were being sold for $18.99. Record companies got extra greedy and the public made them pay for it. The digital cat was out of the bag and oh, what a time she had. So many were downloading illegally and it wasn't just about getting something for nothing; it was also a response to record company/retailer greed.

Ed

 

[Rudy]

The first three CDs I bought were $19.95 each, and that was about six months before I finally was able to import a grey market CD player from Japan in 1983. (Had an order in for months, and had to keep changing it due to availability. Sony's CDP-101 was too expensive at $1K and sounded nasty, so I avoided it.) Once 1985 rolled around, CDs at my favorite hangout were $14.99 or $15.99, and I was getting about two a week during my weekly visits.

The highest I ever saw LPs for was $8.98, even as CDs started to proliferate. Just prior to the CDs, the store I visited would occasionally sell new LP releases for $4.95 to get traffic into the store, not like they needed it since they were already popular. I bought Earth Wind & Fire's Powerlight for $4.95, and I also remember Synchronicity at that price for a week or two as well. I'd also wait for our regional chain's yearly Gran Prix sale, where I'd buy maybe a dozen at a shot--I think the entire store was 30% (?) off during those sales.

And I too well remember the longboxes fitting in the LP bins. Fitting existing store cabinetry and preventing theft were the two motivations for that, based on what I'd read at the time (probably in Billboard). That's one reason I didn't mind buying imports--they didn't have the wasteful longboxes.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I remember the 25th Anniversary Classics Vol 1 and 2 long box at the record stores, the back cover had a nice write up.
Hopefully more members can post there long boxes and we can see all the official ones that were released. I found these online.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

We are missing pics of these long boxes:

Carpenters (tan)
Now and Then
Horizon
Made in America
Voice of the Heart
An Old Fashioned Christmas
As Time Gies By

 

[Harry]

As I recall, the 25th Anniversary CLASSICS CD longbox had the opening paragraph or two of the regular liner notes that accompanied the set. So, while it seemed that there was something extra back there, it stated "Please see booklet inside" and then was just repeated in the liner notes.

 

[Ted Etheridge]

I still have the ones for Lovelines and Yesterday once More. I lost the rest in my mother's house in a fire, as it took more room to store in my house. My first Carpenters CD was Yesterday Once More and it was like lobby music at Heavens Gates hearing for the first time with no pops and cracks. That began my list of must have disc. Then I stumbled on Japan releases through Goldmine magazine and I ordered Live in Japan which turned out to be my first import from Japan. They really know how to make classy merchandise. There isn't many disc left until something new is released. I have so many I don't think I could lay them all out for a picture. Good to see the others again. Thanks for sharing

 

[Electroliner]

The first three CDs I bought were $19.95 each, and that was about six months before I finally was able to import a grey market CD player from Japan in 1983. (Had an order in for months, and had to keep changing it due to availability. Sony's CDP-101 was too expensive at $1K and sounded nasty, so I avoided it.) Once 1985 rolled around, CDs at my favorite hangout were $14.99 or $15.99, and I was getting about two a week during my weekly visits.

The highest I ever saw LPs for was $8.98, even as CDs started to proliferate. Just prior to the CDs, the store I visited would occasionally sell new LP releases for $4.95 to get traffic into the store, not like they needed it since they were already popular. I bought Earth Wind & Fire's Powerlight for $4.95, and I also remember Synchronicity at that price for a week or two as well. I'd also wait for our regional chain's yearly Gran Prix sale, where I'd buy maybe a dozen at a shot--I think the entire store was 30% (?) off during those sales.

And I too well remember the longboxes fitting in the LP bins. Fitting existing store cabinetry and preventing theft were the two motivations for that, based on what I'd read at the time (probably in Billboard). That's one reason I didn't mind buying imports--they didn't have the wasteful longboxes.

My first CD (Journey: Escape, CBS/SONY import) in March 1983 came from Capital Records in Boston, $27. Two weeks later I made the trek from college to the SONY Store on 8 Mile Rd. in Detroit to audition the CDP-101. I purchased Michael Jacksons "Off the Wall" and Billy Joels "The Nylon Curtain" (AKA the wrong EQ edition). Went with another Mfr's CD player later that summer. I remember A&M, WEA, and others used paper longboxes. CBS and Polygram used the polyvinyl blister packaging. Imports were cheaper briefly in 1985, That is until the Fed devalued the dollar. What was a $15 import was now $21. Yuck....

 

[Harry]

My first two CDs were the soundtrack to SOMEWHERE IN TIME and CARPENTERS SINGLES 1969-1973. It was in the middle of the year and I knew that Santa was bringing me a CD player, so during the balance of the year, I also picked up Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass GREATEST HITS, the soundtrack to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and an import from France Elton John HITS disc. I think YESTERDAY ONCE MORE arrived sometime before that Christmas too.

 

[Rudy]

Two weeks later I made the trek from college to the SONY Store on 8 Mile Rd. in Detroit to audition the CDP-101.

I bought a rear projection TV from that store in the late 80s. I may have seen the 101 there (I ended up buying a Hitachi brought over from Japan--same player sold under Denon's badge), and a couple years later I tried to buy a D-5 portable there but they had sold out. It was a cool store--too bad it didn't last.

 

[Harry]

My first player was a Sony and it was built like a tank. It had (has) the fastest seek-time I've ever experienced with a player. When you skip to the next track or select one on the remote, it gets there in a mere fraction of a second. This picture is from 2012 when someone asked me about it. All I had at the time was my bad phone camera.

This unit is still around and still works, the last I checked, but the drawer must be sticky and has a lot of force preventing it from opening. You have to start it moving out and then grab the drawer to pull it out to get a disc in there.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Saw this on ebay, had to adjust pic so it was flat and brightened it a tad, it says this is the 1st press. So did the very first long boxes come in plastic and later changed to paper? This one just looks like the CD with the jewel case closed but the inner jacket taken out. I guess this all had to be done by hand instead of a machine generated?

 

[Harry]

While one "might" consider it a first press, it really couldn't be. Notice the "Made In U.S.A." at the bottom of the disc.

When CDs first appeared, there were no US pressing plants in operation. Everything came from Germany or Japan. My first press of CLOSE TO YOU is made in West Germany by Polygram.

Now, as to that "longbox", that was one of those blister-pack CD containers made to fit in with the longboxes that were in existence, It was a multiple-level attack from environmentalists aimed at the record industry and record stores. The records stores needed to sell CDs and just putting a jewelcase out there was an invitation for thieves. Remember, these this were going for near $20 when brand new. So the industry came up with the longbox that served two purposes: It made the CD just as tall as a record, and at half the width, two rows of CDs could fit in the old record rack. It also made the product less easy to steal.

Then the environmentalists were upset at all the tree-killing to make the cardboard outer longbox that was just going to be tossed away. (Not to mention the outer shrink wrap of cellophane.) So the industry took to making those generic clear clam-shell blister packs. The jewel case fit in the lower section, and the CD booklet fit in the top compartment. They were a devil to open and people cut themselves on the sharp plastic. And once again here came the environmentalists complaining about the plastic packaging.

By this time, actual CD racks had been made and stores (in the US) just put out shrink-wrapped CDs, with the added devilment of those title strips on the top that were supposed to aid in browsing, and were impossible to peel off if you didn't get them started correctly. I still see used CDs with title-strip glue residue on the jewel case.