What's up with Funkytowngrooves, BBR and Robinsongs? Other than a couple of special projects, Soulmusic Records hasn't been doin' much either. One day I'd love to see Donna Washington's (not the storyteller, the singer) 1st and 3rd make it to CD format and the last three Bar Kays albums (Bangin' The Wall, Contagious and Animal) TOO! Good STUFF! Hope all r well and washin' their hands often! Much luv! <3

You know what I would really like? How about a Cameo box set? All of their albums remastered and including bonus tracks.Also,a Commodores box set too.

Edsel is getting ready to release an Average White Band box set in June.Can't wait for that

whitechocolatebrotha said:

One day I'd love to see Donna Washington's (not the storyteller, the singer) 1st and 3rd make it to CD format and the last three Bar Kays albums (Bangin' The Wall, Contagious and Animal) TOO! Good STUFF!

I'd like to see the Madame X album on reissued CD.Released in 1987 and produced by Bernadette Cooper,it's one of the coolest,edgiest R&B albums from that era.Very underrated.

I think FTG no longer does reissues. I think they're just selling off their catalogue. The only emails I get from them are sale promotions.

BBR I believe no longer exists. It's now folded into soulmusic.com. I believe these both fall under the Cherry Red umbrella.

It's a shame we are not getting more R&B reissues. And, yes, I notice, too, not many Japanese remasters either. After this lockdown, things may look grim for awhile.

There was the Arista-era box set for Dionne Warwick.

I agree it would have been nice if Chaka Khan's reissue series had continued.

I think the reissue market has peaked. I don't think it's over but I think it has cooled because reissues in general don't seem to be as frequent. I remember there was a time I was buying reissues at least twice a month and now it seems every few months.

torontodj said:

I think FTG no longer does reissues. I think they're just selling off their catalogue. The only emails I get from them are sale promotions.

BBR I believe no longer exists. It's now folded into soulmusic.com. I believe these both fall under the Cherry Red umbrella.

It's a shame we are not getting more R&B reissues. And, yes, I notice, too, not many Japanese remasters either. After this lockdown, things may look grim for awhile.

There was the Arista-era box set for Dionne Warwick.

I agree it would have been nice if Chaka Khan's reissue series had continued.

I think the reissue market has peaked. I don't think it's over but I think it has cooled because reissues in general don't seem to be as frequent. I remember there was a time I was buying reissues at least twice a month and now it seems every few months.

Too bad all of the bonus material didnt make it onto Dionne's Arista box set. The remaining albums were orignally scheduled for reissue via FTG and the label was making it sound like the albums, particularly "Heart Breaker" would be packed with unreleased bonus tracks. When I looked at the Cherry Red box set, I believe there was only one bonus track on "Heart Breaker" and not much else on the other albums that haven't been released already. I know FTG typically had more access to unreleased vault material because they were based in the United States for a while. Cherry Red is based in the Europe and, from what I can tell, their reissues rarely included previously unreleased material. Someone from FTG once explained to me why they had access to vault material while BBR did not. Something to do with licensing.

Sadly, I think the days of R&B reissues are pretty much over. That is, until CD's make a comeback like vinyl did many years from now.

[Edited 4/23/20 8:00am]

Does that big fire that destroyed a lot of masters have anything to do with that?

I used to buy a lot of BBR stuff back in the early 2010s... it was a fun way of discovering a lot of '70s/'80s R&B (speaking as someone who didn't grow up in that era), at a time when I barely even knew what Spotify was (and when it wasn't exactly full of lesser-spotted old soul music anyway). I now tend to spend the kind of money I used to spend on that, on vinyl pressings of those albums. Maybe those reissue labels were a bit too good at introducing me to the magic of a bygone era, lol.

I was hoping that one of those labels would at least put out Jermaine Jackson's Motown catalogue. Got bored of waiting, so went to the 'original source' (the vinyl copies) instead. With the CD market now plummeting, it looks like that'll never happen, either.

kitbradley said:

torontodj said:

I think FTG no longer does reissues. I think they're just selling off their catalogue. The only emails I get from them are sale promotions.

BBR I believe no longer exists. It's now folded into soulmusic.com. I believe these both fall under the Cherry Red umbrella.

It's a shame we are not getting more R&B reissues. And, yes, I notice, too, not many Japanese remasters either. After this lockdown, things may look grim for awhile.

There was the Arista-era box set for Dionne Warwick.

I agree it would have been nice if Chaka Khan's reissue series had continued.

I think the reissue market has peaked. I don't think it's over but I think it has cooled because reissues in general don't seem to be as frequent. I remember there was a time I was buying reissues at least twice a month and now it seems every few months.

Too bad all of the bonus material didnt make it onto Dionne's Arista box set. The remaining albums were orignally scheduled for reissue via FTG and the label was making it sound like the albums, particularly "Heart Breaker" would be packed with unreleased bonus tracks. When I looked at the Cherry Red box set, I believe there was only one bonus track on "Heart Breaker" and not much else on the other albums that haven't been released already. I know FTG typically had more access to unreleased vault material because they were based in the United States for a while. Cherry Red is based in the Europe and, from what I can tell, their reissues rarely included previously unreleased material. Someone from FTG once explained to me why they had access to vault material while BBR did not. Something to do with licensing.

Sadly, I think the days of R&B reissues are pretty much over. That is, until CD's make a comeback like vinyl did many years from now.

[Edited 4/23/20 8:00am]

You're right. I completely forgot that FTG was in the midst of reissuing Dionne's Arista catalogue - with bonus/unreleased material. I never realized why BBR didn't issue unreleased stuff - but what you said makes sense in regards to terriitory. FTG was able to get some gems from the vaults. That's the sad thing about FTG. When it seemingly stopped making reissues, they were issuing some MAJOR stuff. They had done a terrific job with reissuing Diana Ross' '80s material. Yes, there wasn't much unreleased stuff (except for an unreleased song on Red Hot Rhythm & Blues) but they were nicely done, had great sound and Ross was a huge name for them to get. They also did a fantastic job of reiussing Gladys Knight's solo material and '70/'80s albums with the Pips. I bought a number of those reissues and they were excellent. They did Toni Braxton's first two albums and they were supposed to reissue SWV's first album but it didn't happen and then FTG seemingly folded. And, like you said, they were in the midst of issuing Dionne's catalogue.

It's also sad that it looks like the reissues of Diana Ross and the Supremes' material has come to a halt. It's been a long time since the last reissue. And we got most of Diana's Motown albums reissued but there is still so much in the vaults. Universal had moved to reissuing her material digital-only with Baby It's Me and the Wiz album of Diana-only recordings. I can never say this enough - I really miss Hip-O-Select. What a label. Those Motown reissues were stunning.

[Edited 4/23/20 17:08pm]

torontodj said:

kitbradley said:

Too bad all of the bonus material didnt make it onto Dionne's Arista box set. The remaining albums were orignally scheduled for reissue via FTG and the label was making it sound like the albums, particularly "Heart Breaker" would be packed with unreleased bonus tracks. When I looked at the Cherry Red box set, I believe there was only one bonus track on "Heart Breaker" and not much else on the other albums that haven't been released already. I know FTG typically had more access to unreleased vault material because they were based in the United States for a while. Cherry Red is based in the Europe and, from what I can tell, their reissues rarely included previously unreleased material. Someone from FTG once explained to me why they had access to vault material while BBR did not. Something to do with licensing.

Sadly, I think the days of R&B reissues are pretty much over. That is, until CD's make a comeback like vinyl did many years from now.

[Edited 4/23/20 8:00am]

You're right. I completely forgot that FTG was in the midst of reissuing Dionne's Arista catalogue - with bonus/unreleased material. I never realized why BBR didn't issue unreleased stuff - but what you said makes sense in regards to terriitory. FTG was able to get some gems from the vaults. That's the sad thing about FTG. When it seemingly stopped making reissues, they were issuing some MAJOR stuff. They had done a terrific job with reissuing Diana Ross' '80s material. Yes, there wasn't much unreleased stuff (except for an unreleased song on Red Hot Rhythm & Blues) but they were nicely done, had great sound and Ross was a huge name for them to get. They also did a fantastic job of reiussing Gladys Knight's solo material and '70/'80s albums with the Pips. I bought a number of those reissues and they were excellent. They did Toni Braxton's first two albums and they were supposed to reissue SWV's first album but it didn't happen and then FTG seemingly folded. And, like you said, they were in the midst of issuing Dionne's catalogue.

It's also sad that it looks like the reissues of Diana Ross and the Supremes' material has come to a halt. It's been a long time since the last reissue. And we got most of Diana's Motown albums reissued but there is still so much in the vaults. Universal had moved to reissuing her material digital-only with Baby It's Me and the Wiz album of Diana-only recordings. I can never say this enough - I really miss Hip-O-Select. What a label. Those Motown reissues were stunning.

[Edited 4/23/20 17:08pm]

FTG's Gladys Knight/Pips reissues were excellent! The Sony albums were filled with Vault material. I was never much of a Gladys fan. I started to really get more familiar with her music shortly before the FTG releases, which came right on time. Great demos for "More, More, More", which ended up being recorded by Atlantic Star and "Kiss Away the Pain", which, of course, ended up with Patti Labelle a few years later.

My only complaint with FTG was the mastering tended to be on the lower end, which was fine because at least their releases sounded cleaner than many BBR reissues. BBR tended to be more bass heavy which made some tracks sound distorted. FTG also tended to do a better job with sound than BBR when vinyl was the only source available for bonus material.

kitbradley said:

torontodj said:

You're right. I completely forgot that FTG was in the midst of reissuing Dionne's Arista catalogue - with bonus/unreleased material. I never realized why BBR didn't issue unreleased stuff - but what you said makes sense in regards to terriitory. FTG was able to get some gems from the vaults. That's the sad thing about FTG. When it seemingly stopped making reissues, they were issuing some MAJOR stuff. They had done a terrific job with reissuing Diana Ross' '80s material. Yes, there wasn't much unreleased stuff (except for an unreleased song on Red Hot Rhythm & Blues) but they were nicely done, had great sound and Ross was a huge name for them to get. They also did a fantastic job of reiussing Gladys Knight's solo material and '70/'80s albums with the Pips. I bought a number of those reissues and they were excellent. They did Toni Braxton's first two albums and they were supposed to reissue SWV's first album but it didn't happen and then FTG seemingly folded. And, like you said, they were in the midst of issuing Dionne's catalogue.

It's also sad that it looks like the reissues of Diana Ross and the Supremes' material has come to a halt. It's been a long time since the last reissue. And we got most of Diana's Motown albums reissued but there is still so much in the vaults. Universal had moved to reissuing her material digital-only with Baby It's Me and the Wiz album of Diana-only recordings. I can never say this enough - I really miss Hip-O-Select. What a label. Those Motown reissues were stunning.

[Edited 4/23/20 17:08pm]

FTG's Gladys Knight/Pips reissues were excellent! The Sony albums were filled with Vault material. I was never much of a Gladys fan. I started to really get more familiar with her music shortly before the FTG releases, which came right on time. Great demos for "More, More, More", which ended up being recorded by Atlantic Star and "Kiss Away the Pain", which, of course, ended up with Patti Labelle a few years later.

My only complaint with FTG was the mastering tended to be on the lower end, which was fine because at least their releases sounded cleaner than many BBR reissues. BBR tended to be more bass heavy which made some tracks sound distorted. FTG also tended to do a better job with sound than BBR when vinyl was the only source available for bonus material.

Yes, both labels had imperfections but I am glad they were able to reissue so many great albums. FTG also seemed to lack flair for presentation. Sometimes the presentation of the album cover and liner notes wasn't always visually pleasing. The covers sometimes looked Xeroxed lol or the font for the text looked like it was from Microsoft Word. It did improve. And yes, BBR did have some sound issues. I know some reissues had harsh sound. I did love the jewel cases for BBR. It gave them a distinct look. I think between FTG and BBR I got a lot of Gladys Knight CDs. I think BBR's reissue of About Love was one of my first reissues and I really enjoyed it.

Wow! I wasn't expecting this much of a response and am so glad y'all hit me back! I agree with the FTG presentation which HAS improved over time as well as some of BBR's sound issues. Sad that there are still titles out there that SHOULD BE in CD format, but that never made it, but hey...that's okay. I'm excited that David Nathan at Soulmusic Records listened 2 my pleas 2 check out Donna Washington's "Going For The Glow" album from 1981. He liked her that much that he remastered and reissued it for the first time on CD. Sadly, it didn't sell well as he reported 2 me and therefore, he wouldn't remaster her 1st and 3rd albums. Ralph Tee at Expansion told me that he "wasn't convinced that Donna would sell." Apparently, he was correct. Sad. Anyway, we'll keep our ears and eyes open 4 what greatness may come and hope everyone's safe, healthy and keepin' their distance 4 a little while longer 'til we beat Covid-19. I work in a hospital, so I'm masked and gloved and goggled all week long. SAFE tho. They take very good care of us! Much luv 2 my purple fam! <3

SoulAlive said:

You know what I would really like? How about a Cameo box set? All of their albums remastered and including bonus tracks.Also,a Commodores box set too.

Edsel is getting ready to release an Average White Band box set in June.Can't wait for that

Ooooo! NICE!!!! Cameo would be AWESOME! LOVE their "Alligator Woman" album! <3

kitbradley said:

torontodj said:

I think FTG no longer does reissues. I think they're just selling off their catalogue. The only emails I get from them are sale promotions.

BBR I believe no longer exists. It's now folded into soulmusic.com. I believe these both fall under the Cherry Red umbrella.

It's a shame we are not getting more R&B reissues. And, yes, I notice, too, not many Japanese remasters either. After this lockdown, things may look grim for awhile.

There was the Arista-era box set for Dionne Warwick.

I agree it would have been nice if Chaka Khan's reissue series had continued.

I think the reissue market has peaked. I don't think it's over but I think it has cooled because reissues in general don't seem to be as frequent. I remember there was a time I was buying reissues at least twice a month and now it seems every few months.

Too bad all of the bonus material didnt make it onto Dionne's Arista box set. The remaining albums were orignally scheduled for reissue via FTG and the label was making it sound like the albums, particularly "Heart Breaker" would be packed with unreleased bonus tracks. When I looked at the Cherry Red box set, I believe there was only one bonus track on "Heart Breaker" and not much else on the other albums that haven't been released already. I know FTG typically had more access to unreleased vault material because they were based in the United States for a while. Cherry Red is based in the Europe and, from what I can tell, their reissues rarely included previously unreleased material. Someone from FTG once explained to me why they had access to vault material while BBR did not. Something to do with licensing.

Sadly, I think the days of R&B reissues are pretty much over. That is, until CD's make a comeback like vinyl did many years from now.

[Edited 4/23/20 8:00am]

Hi, kit! I think you're right! Just gotta celebrate the fact that FTG really DID put out some CRAZY OBSCURE shit that would NEVER HAVE SEEN the light of day on CD (e.g. Smoke City "I Really Want You." Y'know...??? Stuff like THAT! We'll see what the future holds. I msg'd Tony about a year ago and he did say there was new stuff 2 come, so maybe NEXT year! Much luv 2u ALWAYS! <3

namepeace said:

Does that big fire that destroyed a lot of masters have anything to do with that?

No, that fire was back in 2008 and these labels were very active in the 2010's.

My biggest disappointment with reissuing labels is seeing SWV It's About Time deluxe expanded edition get shelved. (funkytowngrooves)

When the record industry goes on holidays, even major releases go silent. I would say quiet reissue labels has a lot to do with everyone isolating.

Even Amazon said they are not taking any new releases while their warehouses make room for essential goods.

Cinny said:

When the record industry goes on holidays, even major releases go silent. I would say quiet reissue labels has a lot to do with everyone isolating.

Even Amazon said they are not taking any new releases while their warehouses make room for essential goods.

FTG went quiet in 2017. They released a couple of Betty Wright solo albums in 2017, nothing much after that. Same with BBR. Their releases slowed down significantly starting in 2017.