CARPENTERS SINGLES RE-ISSUES

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PJ

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Since 1983 there have been many tracks on Carpenters Albums that could be Singles and have been overlooked / ignored by Record Companies , Radio , Retail etc.

Which Singles should be re-issued for 2003 to mark this anniversary with music rather than sad or inappropriate alternatives ?

Still believe "Ticket To Ride" re-issued would be a huge Chart success with the right promotion , marketing of Video or live performance film and potentially #1 in key markets.

Since few Commerical /Retail Singles are released in USA , Promo releases could be promoted.....how many Radio Stations are required to ensure Top 100 entry .....?

Perhaps a Film or Advertising tie-in is necessary....?

If UK / Europe / Japan success ignites Singles success, Universal would actually promote worldwide ....which would be a change and a shock....

Other re-issues could include "I Need to Be in Love " , "Calling Occupants" (radical remix?) and "Trying to Get the Feeling Again" .....

Any other Forum favourites and ideas to back successful re-issues ?


Peter...Singles Releases Dream Work.... :) :) :)
 
Personally, I'd like to see a push behind "Tryin' To Get The Feelin' Again." When released on INTERPRETATIONS, there were some promo singles issued, and even commercial singles abroad. Still, there was no real promotional push behind the record to get it played on the radio. Movie tie-ins are a great way to get a song noticed -- and if it's a hit film, even better.

"Tryin' To Get The Feelin' Again", I believe, went largely unheard by the masses, and that's a shame. I'd be willing to bet that even some casual Carpenters fans took a look at the track listing, said "Another compilation -- no thanks!" and went about their business, never hearing this 'lost' track.

As for actually re-issuing other old hits, I don't see that happening here in the US. It's pretty rare for an old track to once again climb the charts. It's not like it used to be back in the 60s and 70s, when there weren't really very many 'oldies' stations. Today, older tracks get played ad nauseum on these stations. True, most don't play Carpenters, but then there's that old 'tune-out' factor. Like it or not, Carpenters still have high negative ratings, indicating that a listener who otherwise liked your station, would instantly tune out if a Carpenters record were to show up.

If I were to pick another track that should've been a single all those years ago, I'd go with "Let Me Be The One."

Harry
...watching another thunderstorm brewing outside, online...
 
Harry said:
If I were to pick another track that should've been a single all those years ago, I'd go with "Let Me Be The One."

I'd second that, but . . . I.I.N.M., it was a minor single for Anne Murray after her breakout hit "Snowbird." I remember hearing Ms. Murray's version "ad nauseam" on Lite-FM here in New York about a decade ago.
 
Strange that while this is being discussed,Elvis Presley comes back from the grave and tops the U.K. singles chart with a 1968 throwaway song. Yes,the push behind this is two-pronged:it is a remix(the first sanctioned by the Presley estate) and it is featured in the ad Nike is running during the World Cup. And though this will all quiet down real quick(at least till the 25th anniversary of his death this August), it is amazing that both sales and airplay made this a legitimate hit. Hard to imagine a possible song that Richard Carpenter would allow another producer to monkey with and a possible platform to exploit it(luxury car or jewelry commercial?),but it is a way to go.Mac
 
Mac: one thing you'll notice about the fluke Presley hit is that it's in the U.K., not here. Harry will agree--radio in the U.S. is brutal. Everything's programmed by consultants who put it on their playlists if it "test well" for that particular week. :rolleyes: Carpenters don't play on "oldies" stations here, and they don't fit on the "soft rock" or "AC" stations either. Top 40 or "Hits"? Forget it...you won't get any Carpenters record, new or old, anywhere near our stations. Around Detroit, the only place you'd hear a Carpenters track is on a nostalgia station...and we don't even have one. There's a sad excuse for a nostalgia station that comes across the water from Canada, but unless you're in the right area of Detroit, you can't even tune it in.

Fortunately, Canadian programming is a little more adventurous and not as tightly structured as it is here in the U.S. "89X" (CIMX, 89.1 FM) was the first alternative rock station in our area. Another was sort of an "adult alternative" station that played music no other station would touch...and it had a small but loyal following. It's now an "AC" station, albeit with a bit wider programming spectrum than the US competitors. These stations are both stationed in Canada (Windsor), but it's blindingly obvious their programming is aimed at Detroit, since the majority of advertisements are for Detroit businesses. These Canadian stations do make for a bit of uniqueness in Detroit's otherwise doldrum programming.

-= N =-
 
Understand Elvis Remix Single due for commerical Single release 25/6 in USA .

Later in the year as per Beatles set from 2000 , Elvis #1's Album is due for release plus a Disney Film / Elvis Soundtrack tie-in.

Should be interesting to see the Chart success plus the sales figures over the next year given Elvis death 25 years ago.More success for Classic or so called Catalog Artists should move even the more blinkered Record Giants....?

Feel sure some similar Film , Television Specials , Adverts etc for Carpenters could regenerate Key Singles ....without reliance on or bypassing USA negative Radio playlist policies.....

Peter....Ever Hopeful....... :) :)
 
It's hard to get any chart success here in the U.S. based on a single. Singles are nearly extinct, if the local mall record stores and "big box" stores are any indication. So that relies more on airplay. I'd be surprised if that Elvis single was anything more than a curiosity at best. The only stations that play Elvis here are the "oldies" stations, and they usually don't play anything new. He's too old and 'unhip' for Top 40 radio in the U.S. And the rock stations wouldn't even consider playing it. It's like most music here: it's music without an "outlet." (And for that matter, hardly anyone I know locally even likes Elvis, let alone want to purchase any of his music.)

Soundtrack tie-ins are something that don't generate single sales here, unless it's a newly recorded song by a "hot" artist. The "oldies" on a soundtrack are usually treated as filler. (And to be honest, the "new" music is so bad, it's not worth buying the soundtrack for.)

What's amusing is how fans in Japan find songs that are decades old and manage to turn them into hits. Even the TJB's "Bittersweet Samba" had some success over there. The U.S. didn't even blink. :wink:

-= N =-
 
To sharpen my point a bit-Yes,radio is a completely worthless medium for music nowadays. Granted,radio, for decades,(maybe forever)existed to sell,sell,sell. But radio despises music with each passing year and wishes that another Howard or Rushwould arrive to keep a little less music available. The Top 40 Clear Channel mistake in this area plays music that appeals to women 25-45,so there is lots of Enrique,that horrible Grease megamix,Train and Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" -music that has no connection to each other but is harmless enough from someone from changing the station. Sure enough,that electronic-sounding dance tune by Dirty Vegas is getting airplay because of the accompaning Mitsubishi commercial-not whether the track is any good or not(it isn't bad,just derivative and years behind what is playing in clubs today-it's safe). Elvis as #1 in the U.K. is primarily because of the Nike ad during the World Cup,not any other media. If soccer was a major spectator sport here,it would have a chance and radio would just follow the lead,not the other way around. To get something as off the wall as a new generation interested in Karen & Richard,you have to go through the back door. They do not fare well in surverys(70's stigma,Mom & Dad's music,not camp enough "awful it's good" like Barry White,etc.)so I would suspect no commercial or film producer would chance it. It is a shame... Oh,and the reason why singles don't sell is because singles are not made. No matter where you try to buy them,if they aren't made,you can't buy them-plain & simple. The manufacturers chased single buyers away so long ago that the occasional blip on the screen goes by unnoticed. And they wonder why the internet is such a popular medium for music for free. If I was 16(and thank God I'm not) radio would be of no consequence in my life and I'd be streaming and burning music for free,not posting rants on a forum. Mac
 
Elvis Part II-Besides the release of the Elvis remix single 6/25 and a remastered #1s in the fall,BMG is also releasing(6/25,too) a four disc,100 track anthology of alternate takes,almost all of which have never been officially available. BMG relgiously has been able to bring out something for Elvis' birthday and deathday each year. How do they find this stuff? How does he break away from all of the mall openings,peanut butter &bacon sandwiches and trips to Mars to still record? Mac
 
The myth is that Elvis is dead. Hardly--he pulled a Jim Morrison and dropped out of sight. Elvis is always being spotted here in Michigan, at a Burger King in Kalamazoo.

I still think Jim Morrison up and disappeared. :confused:

-= N =-
 
Now I'll complete the rest of my thought process. :wink:

What's interesting is that Mac says RCA never fails to find new material to bring out whenever there's an Elvis anniversary of any kind.

I'm thinking of two other artists who had very short careers, but still have a lot of popularity today.

Jimi Hendrix: recorded only three studio albums, and yet there are very many live recordings and compilations that far outnumber his original recordings. (I own 1/3 of his studio recordings, BTW. :wink: ) It just makes you wonder when the tap will run dry.

Stevie Ray Vaughan: not far behind Jimi. He had a slightly longer career, and managed to record four studio albums under his own name, and a fifth with his brother Jimmie called Family Style. The rest are either outtakes or live performances. I recently had to do some research, since I wanted to get all of his studio recordings but none of the later ones (at least for now). Currently in print, like Hendrix, there are more post-career recordings (compilations, outtakes and live recordings) than studio recordings.

I guess I'm wondering more about what's in the vaults for other artists. You have artists like Tito Puente who recorded somewhere in the neighborhood of 110 albums in his lifetime, or ones like Elvis who had a lot of singles and albums. And yet someone like Elvis gets a lot of the outtakes and compilations released, where Puente doesn't. Was the pop music world that much different, where an artist like Tito would use most of what was recorded from a session, vs. a pop artist needing more "takes" to get a decent rendition of a song? Did a label like RCA keep all of the Elvis masters with enough foresight to know that they'd be sought after in the distant future, but get rid of others that they thought would only take up space?

Using a formula as applied to Hendrix or Vaughan, you'd think someone like Tito Puente would have thousands of unreleased tracks somewhere. We know that's not the case. Even with Carpenters, really, would we expect them to have hundreds of unreleased tracks somewhere? (Fortunately, we know that Richard pretty much knows what he has accounted for, and there isn't really a lot left over.)

Just puzzling, I guess, why some artists seem to have a bottomless pit of extras to release for years (or even decades) after release, where others don't.

-= N =-
 
I think with Elvis it's just that RCA "knew what they had" and therefore, they scrupulously kept every scrap of tape he ever recorded. Also, his manager Col. Parker was known for his cheapness and he probably figured that "someday" all those unreleased performances would be worth bucks. He was basically a crook, but he was smart.

I have often wondered exactly how many Elvis album issues there have been. It's gotta be in the high hundreds. Wonder if there are any Elvis completionists out there?
 
Mike Blakesley said:
I have often wondered exactly how many Elvis album issues there have been. It's gotta be in the high hundreds. Wonder if there are any Elvis completionists out there?

Scary thought. I think I own one Elvis CD. Came as part of a Time/Life set, and I was too lazy to send it back. Half that CD once in one lifetime was enough for me.
barf.gif


-= N =-
...who likes music real, not manufactured...
 
Rudy said:
The myth is that Elvis is dead. Hardly--he pulled a Jim Morrison and dropped out of sight. Elvis is always being spotted here in Michigan, at a Burger King in Kalamazoo.

I still think Jim Morrison up and disappeared. :confused:

Ironically, the leather suit Mr. Presley (as The New York Times doubtlessly referred to him) wore in his 1968 "comeback special" was influenced and inspired by the garb Mr. Morrison was wearing then. . . .
 
An interesting story about RCA's holdings has urban legend elements. The following is based on memory so if anyone has the real story,please add the truth to it. There was an auction for material stored in an RCA studio(Webster Hall?) which involved mikes,techno stuff,etc. and lots of blank tape. Someone won a bid on a bunch of tape and found Elvis material on it. Evidently,these masters either came from a transfer of bulk material from another studio closing in Nashville or were in the studio for possible "sweetening". RCA(possibly pre-BMG days)cried foul but the high bidder legally owned the tapes. I believe that RCA had to license this material if they wanted it out on their label like anyone else who would have gone to them for same. But,yeah,RCA usually knew what they had with this guy virtually from Day One and kept controls on it. In some ways,it actually destroyed RCA's future because of this obsession. They didn't look much past Elvis in the rock 'n roll era(they didn't have to), they were blind to the British Invasion completely and only dabbled in the psychedelic era(Jefferson Airplane). Take out Elvis from RCA and there ain't that much since 1957. Mac
 
The only other artist/band I know that made a splash at RCA was Hall & Oates. Aside from that and the Dirty Dancing soundtrack (wife has it :rolleyes: ), I honestly can think of little else in rock or pop at RCA off the top of my head.

-= N =-
 
Rudy said:
The only other artist/band I know that made a splash at RCA was Hall & Oates. Aside from that and the Dirty Dancing soundtrack (wife has it :rolleyes: ), I honestly can think of little else in rock or pop at RCA off the top of my head.

That depends on how you define John Denver and Sam Cooke. :)

But RCA's steadiest seller, from the days of Jimmie Rodgers the Singing Brakeman, has been country & western music. From Eddy Arnold to Jim Reeves to Porter Wagoner to Charley Pride to Dolly Parton all the way to Clint Black and most of today's lite-country (Lonestar et al.), RCA is there.

Pre-Elvis, RCA did a lot of "pop" stuff, most notably Perry Como. And it still makes money from 60-year-old Glenn Miller recordings today.

But you're basically correct. Once it had Elvis, RCA didn't really go too far out of its way to build a rock 'n' roll or rock catalog. RCA was the only major label that never hopped on the British Invasion bandwagon, for example.
 
PJ said:
Any other Forum favourites and ideas to back successful re-issues ?

Television. Cheesy late-night commercials.

The biggest left-field CD hit of 2002 so far has been BMG's compilation Ultimate Manilow. This compilation debuted at some outrageously high position (either #2 or #3, I can't recall which) on the Billboard chart when it was issued earlier this year, and it's still in the top half of the album charts. And much of that initial push was because of TV ads. Even if people didn't call the toll-free number to buy it at the outrageous TV price, they somehow figured out they'd be able to find it in their local Wal-Mart.

If Univer$al (UTV) put together a well-selected single-CD collection of Carpenters hits, using the original 1970s masters, and sold it via TV ads, they could re-ignite interest in Karen and Richard as surely as BMG did with Barry Manilow.
 
But there is a difference between Barry Manilow and Carpenters:
Manilow ist still very much alive; for months now he is on a worldwide tour promoting both ULTIMATE MANILOW and his new album HERE AT THE MAYFLOWER; he has a large fanclub with members all over the world and a very good homepage (www.barrynet.com).

So, even if ULTIMATE MANILOW is considered as a comeback, it's not quite right, because Manilow was never gone. It's not only the chart position that makes a good artist, you see.

By the way, ULTIMATE MANILOW debuted at 3 in the Billboard Charts.

Bruno :)
 
Rudy said:
The only other artist/band I know that made a splash at RCA was Hall & Oates. Aside from that and the Dirty Dancing soundtrack (wife has it :rolleyes: ), I honestly can think of little else in rock or pop at RCA off the top of my head.

How about Jefferson Airplane/Starship? They did pretty well for RCA.

Harry
...go ask Alice, online... :wink:
 
I wasn't a Jefferson Airplane fan--did they stick with RCA for awhile?

-= N =-
...dyed-in-the-wool Genesis fan today...
 
Strange that while RCA hardly pursued other West Coast bands of the era,the Airplane hung on to RCA no matter what the band title or lineup. Jefferson Airplane,Jefferson Starship,Starship,Hot Tuna,solo projects-granted, much of this was through a boutique label deal,Grunt Records(and even the KBC band went through Arista)-but much came through RCA. Why? Mac
 
I certainly can't explain any of it. Look at how solid RCA was, for all those years, for dozens of other non-rock artists. Did the rock era (other than Elvis) and the British invasion and psychedelia (other than Jefferson Whatever) just go over the A&R departments' heads? RCA was the kind of label where, for many artists, they nearly made it their permanent homes.

Other than back catalog today, though, what else does RCA even offer beside classical anymore?

-= N =-
 
Just thought of another '60s/'70s pop artist on RCA. Wasn't Jose Feliciano on RCA? And if that's the case, did his duet track with Lani Hall ("Un Amor Asi") ever appear on the RCA label? Should this thread be headed for Nipper's Place?

Harry
...with answers...and questions, online...
 
Bruno said:
But there is a difference between Barry Manilow and Carpenters:
Manilow ist still very much alive; for months now he is on a worldwide tour promoting both ULTIMATE MANILOW and his new album HERE AT THE MAYFLOWER; he has a large fanclub with members all over the world and a very good homepage (www.barrynet.com).

So, even if ULTIMATE MANILOW is considered as a comeback, it's not quite right, because Manilow was never gone. It's not only the chart position that makes a good artist, you see.

True, but its high debut was a definite surprise.

And not being alive (at least according to conventional wisdom) hasn't stopped Jim Morrison's periodic comebacks... or Jimi Hendrix's ...
 
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