Future CD reissues?

[friedchicken]

Any word on whether the Carpenters' albums will be reissued on CD again anytime soon? It seems they are all out of print and increasingly harder to find. I had thought that perhaps a CD box set of their albums would have been released, using the remastered versions from the 2018 vinyl collection?

 

[GDBY2LV]

Unfortunately the cd market has shrunk so much that it wouldn’t make sense now. I would love that too, but with the original mixes, not the vinyl box versions. They put the single mix of TGOD on MIA, and too many pops, crackles, poor tight fitting, off center punched holes,with sharp outer edges on the majority of them…..
I think EBay or Discogs would be the best places to buy the old ones. The prices of most CDs on Amazon have dropped considerably on the majority of titles that are still in print.

 

[Mark-T]

Maybe I'm a pessimist, but I think there's nothing new on the horizon. Even that "RPO Treatment" Christmas Portrait seemed stalled. 😞

 

[friedchicken]

Thanks for your responses I seem to remember some discussion on this forum about a potential CD box set of their albums, back when the 2018 vinyl collection came out, but I think it was nothing more than 'pockets full of good intentions'!

Yes, it does indeed seem that overall CD sales have slowed significantly. Although strangely enough, there still does seem to be ongoing interest in the release of CD box sets, as artists like ABBA and The Staple Singers have had their albums released in recently years in this format. Labels like Cherry Red are also continuing to release these types of 'complete albums' CD box sets as well. Although in ABBA's case, they've benefitted from renewed interest due to the Mamma Mia franchise and their Voyage reunion projects.

I still hope that maybe we will see such a release for the Carpenters. It's sad to see that the RPO Christmas project has fell off the radar at this time. As a fan who lives in Canada, I've also found it increasingly difficult to find their older CD reissues, and even more so now, with the ever rising international shipping costs, which seem to exceed the price of the used CD in many cases (ie. $20-$30 to ship a CD is ridiculous). Thankfully I have all of their albums on vinyl, owning both vintage copies and the recent box set, for which I was lucky enough to get an almost flawless pressing, for a discounted price of $40, a few years ago. I'm still missing a handful of their albums on CD, so I may just need to bite the bullet and pick up the rest from CD Japan. Thankfully, they still seem to have a bunch of the 2012 reissues in stock, despite having to pay a bunch for shipping, as their cheaper airmail services are suspended at the moment. Phew!

 

[A&M Retro]

Honestly, I doubt that the Christmas project has fallen off the radar. I just think things have been a little quiet lately. We've been through periods like this before and have been pleasantly surprised with new projects. Keep the faith!

 

[Someday]

Honestly, I doubt that the Christmas project has fallen off the radar. I just think things have been a little quiet lately. We've been through periods like this before and have been pleasantly surprised with new projects. Keep the faith!

There's one man who would 'probably' know ... calling Chris M

 

[CarpentersToYou]

I think their original catalogue has been released so many times in Japan and never really with any bonus content (though the last CD box set with the Gold DVD and CD of a few bonuses was nice). The ABBA reissues sort of rewrote the book on reissues.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I suppose it's possible that Carpenters are in a bit of a conundrum when it comes to reissues. They are still popular enough (and hits packages still sell well enough) that Universal doesn't want to off-load their masters to some reissue label. But at the same time they're not the Beatles; they might not be expected to pull enough sales to make a full-scale catalog reissue pay off. It might be a bit of a risk to those bean counters in the upper, decision-making offices.

And, with "things" being the way they are... any project that's underway may well have been delayed or derailed by lack of support staff in any number of places.

Or maybe Richard decided to take this year off.

In short.... who knows, eh?

 

[Nick]

I think for reissues to appeal, they'd need to either have the "RPO"-type treatment or include alternate versions, single/mono mixes or unreleased tracks. The ABBA, Queen and other CD reissues have included new material to make re-purchasing appealing. Not really something I think that Richard would agree to.

 

[Rudy]

Unfortunately the cd market has shrunk so much that it wouldn’t make sense now. I would love that too, but with the original mixes, not the vinyl box versions.

True--CDs just don't sell like they used to, so unless it were marketed in deluxe packaging to appeal to collectors, I don't see any fiscal reason why UMe would even bother. A mass-market "budget" reissue lately would go straight to download/streaming, in other words.

Sure, I'd like higher-resolution versions of the original album versions, and even all-analog (or DSD-sourced from original analog tapes, like Mobile Fidelity uses) vinyl pressings, but pressed by a competent facility this time, by a boutique label who would license them and have them done correctly.

But UMe can't ever do the right thing, so... 🤷‍♂️ The bean counters always win. I'll stick to the Remastered Classics and original LPs and I'm done with it all, quite honestly.

 

[CarpentersToYou]

Never say never. In the last several years we have gotten some things I never thought we would - the Christmas DVD, both singles sets, RPO. Hope springs eternal.

 

[friedchicken]

I like your optimism, CarpentersToYou I'm curious what you meant by "both singles sets"? I have the 3 CD set that was released by PBS/Treasury Collection. Is there another version that perhaps I don't know about?

 

[John Tkacik]

I like your optimism, CarpentersToYou I'm curious what you meant by "both singles sets"? I have the 3 CD set that was released by PBS/Treasury Collection. Is there another version that perhaps I don't know about?

There is also a "Japanese Released Singles" box set as well.

 

[Harry]

Not to mention the multiple compilations all called SINGLES.

 

[Martin Medrano]

If there ever is a reissue i think that the quad mixes of the original albums would be interesting to see on cd. If at all possible.

 

[friedchicken]

There is also a "Japanese Released Singles" box set as well.

Thank you for clarifying, John. I was a bit confused since the original reference was made to releases from the past several years. That Japanese singles box came out in 2006, I believe. I thought that perhaps there was something else more recent, other than the PBS Singles set, that I had completely missed. Thanks

 

[Chris May]

Thank you for clarifying, John. I was a bit confused since the original reference was made to releases from the past several years. That Japanese singles box came out in 2006, I believe. I thought that perhaps there was something else more recent, other than the PBS Singles set, that I had completely missed. Thanks

Unless UMG decides to repackage the catalog in a massive box set like the 30th, 35th and 40th sets in Japan, I don’t foresee a rerelease on CD given the cost effectiveness of digital downloads. I’m sure there will be more Carpenters merchandise in the future.

I’d recommend getting your hands on one of the sets I mentioned and hanging on to it. I’ve got all three and keep them tucked away.

 

[GDBY2LV]

I agree. Especially because each set is uniquely different. The first one has an exclusive cd single and Live At The Palladium cd as bonus discs, the second one has cardboard mini album styled covers, Offering cover instead of Ticket To Ride cover here. TTR was issued separately so I bought that and added to my box. Try to find that disc now. The 3rd are the SHM versions, with supposedly best audio sound. My opinion on that is it depends on what sound system you play them on. All sets worth having for most fans. The singles box is nice too. Each single is a 3” disc, with its own cardboard picture sleeve. That set it expensive now. There are new and used copies on EBay quite often. Check Discogs too.

 

[CarpentersToYou]

If there ever is a reissue i think that the quad mixes of the original albums would be interesting to see on cd. If at all possible.

I asked this question on the official website, when it was a thing, and Richard responded that he'd never release them as he wasn't happy with them as they weren't created by him himself.

 

[Chris May]

I asked this question on the official website, when it was a thing, and Richard responded that he'd never release them as he wasn't happy with them as they weren't created by him himself.

Agreed. He personally will never sign off them, and anything UMG puts out requires mutual authorization.

 

[Lynda]

If there ever is a reissue i think that the quad mixes of the original albums would be interesting to see on cd. If at all possible.

I've read that Richard was not involved with the quad mixes, so I don't think he would want to reissue them on CD.

 

[Lynda]

Honestly, I doubt that the Christmas project has fallen off the radar. I just think things have been a little quiet lately. We've been through periods like this before and have been pleasantly surprised with new projects. Keep the faith!

It has probably been quiet because Richard is working. 🙂

 

[Mark-T]

It has probably been quiet because Richard is working. 🙂

I hope you are right.

 

[tomswift2002]

If there ever is a reissue i think that the quad mixes of the original albums would be interesting to see on cd. If at all possible.

Those would probably be a posthumous release when Richard is no longer around and the estate would probably authorize it. Or not until the Carpenters catalog falls into the public domain (which at this point wouldn’t be until the 2090’s/2100’s to 2140’s/2150’s if Richard were to die in 2022, according to the US’s life plus 70 to 120 years when it comes to audio recording copyright, unless someone, besides Universal and Richard have their hand in the copyright which could extend it further; audio and video copyright is so very complex because you could have the copyright on different things. As an example, the 1966’s Batman TV series, had a shared copyright between DC Comics, Fox and Greenway Productions, but then they allowed the designer of the Batmobile to have his own copyright on the Batmobile. Then the theme song composers had their own copyrights on the composition, along with the recording itself).

 

[GDBY2LV]

Universal Japan is reissuing Carpenters Christmas Portrait, original version, like the German disc, and Old Fashioned Christmas as well on November 11th. Available for preorder on Amazon.
No information given, but you can see the titles on the C.P. cover are the same as the original album. I’m still hoping for the RPO set this year too.