Perfectly stated. We are not hallucinating and none of us should be made to feel guilty for questioning the unethical nature of such bait and switch practices. Bear Family need to address this issue to avoid any potential damage to their reputation. It's at the point where I'm fearful of buying any older releases either 1CD or box sets, out of fear they could now be manufactured as CD-R. Buyers and retailers have a right to know which titles are CD-R. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Look here,more information about rockabilly by The Jordanaires: Jordanaires (RCS Artist Discography) » Discography Of The Legendary Jordanaires »
Sorry to say that I haven't been able to keep up with this fast moving thread. Life has been moving fast for me lately. I have been spinning my Sonny Burns CDs from Bear Family and they're just great. He's a sadly underrated Honky Tonk artist. I just found a reciew that said that he just never found the right song to really break through and that just about sums it up.
Recent acquisitions for me include their earliest Tex Ritter, Floyd Tillman, Uncle Dave Macon and Grandpa Jones boxes, which are all very nicely done. They've been on my want list for a couple of years, it's nice to have those gaps filled in.
Yeah, put it through babelfish, you'll get something like... [name of artist] was a real fried egg who rode the bus of refrigerator all the while playing his memory lane on a cheese grater from swimming pool to car showroom.
There's a telephone number and E-mail address on every Bear Family release. Tell them if you're not satisfied with their products. If more people complained (and returned the offending product) it would surely make an impression.
Amazing coincidence, because the last lady that I invited over called me "Fried Egg" when I pulled out some Japanese liner notes to translate.
We don't want to use potentially negative actions to "make an impression" and would never want to intentionally harm their reputation with retailers by complaining or returning items. Most of us here are Bear Family devotees. For example, I often daydream and think about Bear Family products throughout the day. Bear Family is so much more than just a record label; it's an attitude of preservation and a lifestyle which aligns with those qualities. Instead of waiting for problems to arise from angry customers/retailers who feel they've been mislead from unsuspectingly ordering titles which they later discover are now being shipped as CD-R, Bear Family need to address these issues and rectify the situation before there is any significant or permanent damage to their reputation. The long-term consequences of this could be devastating to all of us. All we're asking for is: A) Full transparency and disclosure in product descriptions to properly inform retailers and customers God bless Mychael, the great Richard Weize, Bear Family, all of its employees (current and former) and all of the customers, fans and music lovers around the world. "Change before you have to." —Jack Welch
So how do you hope to elicit a reaction from them unless you and others make them aware of your concerns? Comments, speculation and rumours on this forum are highly unlikely to provoke a response.
Been thinking about picking up those Sonny Burns CDs, especially the 50's one. Wonder if his career trajectory would have changed had he showed up to record "Why Baby Why" as he'd been scheduled to instead of leaving George Jones to do it solo.
Comments, yes. Speculation, no. Unless you're actually the one who is burning CD-Rs of Bear Family titles and shipping them to retailers, which I seriously doubt. You're correct, we should be calling Bear Family by phone and flooding their business Facebook page with complaints. Of course, it would be nice if Bear Family would be proactive and take steps to implement changes before it gets to a point where they're shunned by retailers and customers.
Look what Larry Jordan has done with Patsy Cline recordings: PATSY CLINE: THE NEW RECORDINGS » Wonder why Universal lets someone dub on new music on original Patsy Cline recorcings? Something is wrong!
The Sinatra estate decided to shut down Jordan's release of Frank, but other estates/license holders don't always go after minor, two-bit bootleggers. Bear Family wants to be legit.
Bear Family's website is now listing quite a few items which have been deleted for years, along with prices. They're still out of stock, but it's interesting they'd relist them. Wonder if it could mean anything for the future. A few examples: Tennessee Jive, 1945-1955 8-CD-Box &276-BOOK | Bear Family Records » Drums Of Passion 4-CD & Book-Buch | Bear Family Records » 1961-1966 5-CD-Box & 72-Page Book | Bear Family Records »
The King Of Country Music, The Foundation Recordings Complete 1936-51 (9-CD & 1-DVD) | Bear Family Records »
Update on my Carter Family set: A few replacement discs arrived in the mail today. They look a lot different from the ones that came with my box. The printing is clearer and brighter, not glossy like the others. They don't look like CD-Rs, and I can't see through them like the others. Also, the "compact disc" logo is not on these, but otherwise the label designs are the same. Also, and most importantly, they work! I only wish I had replacement discs for the rest of the set, as the first two discs won't import into iTunes.
My copy of Darrell McCall "The Real McCall" came today. I got it from Ernie B's brand new. The only complaint I have is that Windows Media Player's song list is totally wrong for ALL the Cd's and I have to type everything in by hand before I rip anything.
Darrell is excellent. When you get a chance, try to take some pictures of the front and back of one or two discs and post them. We're dying to know if your copy is CD-R just like my recent copy.
It looks like people that has got CDrs has not bought them directctly from Bear Family records on Germany. Bear Family Records » I believe that some people that does not needs the books/boxes makes copies of the original factory made CDs made CDrs copies at home put them in the box and then sell them as used CDs at E Bay,Amazon or other shops on internet. I do not believe that Bear Family Records has someone sitting making CDrs drinking beer in their underwear at night. Bear Family replaces these CDrs because they do not want theyre good name dragged into the mud . Keep buying CDs directly from Bear Family in Germany or a dealer you can trust.Do you want a bad copy of a great release like this?
That most certainly isn't the case. My Andy Starr CD-R came brand new from Ernie B's, one of the most reputable online shops out there.
I looked at ErnieBs site.It look like they buy used cdboxes From bear family records.It is easy to get plastic around boxes so they look new. Do you believe they open every box and check every cd?
Ernie B's marks used items as such on their site. They aren't the kind of operation that would reseal used merchandise. This is way too prevalent an issue to be caused by a couple people burning CD-Rs.