New John Klemmer Reissue & A Pricing Gripe

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Rudy

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Little did I know it, but I did a search on John Klemmer this morning and noticed that someone is finally reissuing his first album, Involvement, on CD this coming Tuesday, labeled as a Verve/Cadet release. Klemmer recorded his first five albums for the Cadet/Concept label (part of the Chess label), and in many Klemmer fans' opinions, these were his best recordings. I can say that Involvement is one of his finest recordings ever--pretty much straight-ahead jazz in the style popular back in 1967. If you want to hear how Klemmer can really play with serious jazz chops, this is a good one to get. One can hope that the other four Cadet/Concept titles see light of day soon...especially All The Children Cried, when the "spiritual" thing really kicked in with him. Amazon does have sound samples of this one...check 'em out.

One thing that bothered me was the price of this reissue: $11.98. 40 minutes of great music, reissued at last, and it's only $11.98. So where does Univer$al get off charging $18.98 for A&M-related reissues??? I have nothing against Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66, but where does the label get off gouging for Equinox and Look Around, but release Klemmer's at a more sane reissue price? I'm sure we're talking of your typical cheap reissue packaging, so that's not the issue. (I wonder what the price difference is at the wholesale level...)

I see it as greed, plain and simple. What's the point of $7 extra when there's only a half hour of music on a CD in cheap, flimsy packaging. They know we'll fall all over ourselves to get the Mendes titles. The Klemmer won't be as popular (although IMHO this one deserves a lot more recognition compared to his others), so what is this, an inducement to buy it due to the lower price, or are these other $18.98 titles just an attempt to grab more money from us?

And they wonder why "music sharing" is a problem...
 
Neil-Packaging IS the difference-that and an idea of what the market will bear. I suspect that the mini-LP idea has been a mixed effort for Universal for all of the ideas that have been discussed before(hard to physically place in brick 'n mortar stores,no extra music for the premium price,no extra photos or notes,etc.). As for actual cost,I do not have current numbers,but I would guess that new mid-lines(11.98-12.98) cost about 7.50 and 18.98 in the 12.00 range. There is a new wrinke in the mix-one that benefits operations like Best Buy-there are sometimes identical versions of the same album(different UPC)that are available either as returnable or non-returnable,with a dramatic price difference for items that cannot be returned. Mike B. may be seing some of this through his wholesalers,if they are offering the choice to retailers. This is one way that Best Buy can offer some mid-line product(e.g.-Universal's "Best of Clapton") at 5.99 when a wholesaler is offering it at 7.99 cost(11.98 list price) and even then at a special price. Other factors include dating(when the bill is due),percentage off incentives,ad dollars,buying box lots and free freight. More ways to get rid of the little guy. Mac
 
I can't even count all the albums this guy has made. I have had a few Klemmer LP's on Cadet, ABC/Impulse and MCA at one time. Never considered looking into CD reissues of anything he's made. Then again, like ALL JAZZ, it was born HERE and released THERE, as in Europe and Asia! :sad:

Figured just one gripe on one item, is just the tip of the iceberg. :rolleyes:

Dave

...or to put it as John, himself did on one album he made for ABC/Impulse:

HOW CUM YA GOTTA RIP OFF YOUR BROTHERS????!!!!... :mad:
 
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