The Miracles-Four Classic Albums on 2CDs [4/19/2024-Cherry Red UK]

[Motown Eddie]

Info from Cherry Red UK-

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: What Love Has Joined Together/A Pocket Full of Miracles/One Dozen Roses/Flying High Together, 2CD

Definitive 2CD remastered edition from SoulMusic Records/The Second Disc comprising four rare 1970-1972 albums and bonus tracks from Motown legends Smokey Robinson And The Miracles!
Two bonus tracks, ‘[You’ve Got Me] Looking Through the Eyes of Love’ and ‘Paper People’ also make their CD debut.


DISC ONE
WHAT LOVE HAS JOINED TOGETHER [Expanded Edition]
A POCKET FULL OF MIRACLES
1 What Love Has Joined Together
2 My Cherie Amour
3 If This World Were Mine
4 You’ve Made Me So Very Happy
5 This Guy’s In Love With You
6 And I Love Her
7 [You’ve Got Me] Looking Through The Eyes Of Love
8 Paper People
9 Flower Girl
10 Who’s Gonna Take The Blame
11 Darling Dear
12 You’ve Got The Love I Need
13 Get Ready
14 Bridge Over Troubled Water
15 Something/Something You Got
16 Point It Out
17 Don’t Take It So Hard
18 Backfire
19 The Reel Of Time
20 Wishful Thinking
DISC TWO
ONE DOZEN ROSES/ FLYING HIGH TOGETHER
1 When Sundown Comes
2 No Wonder Love’s A Wonder
3 The Tears Of A Clown
4 Satisfaction
5 Crazy About The La La La
6 Cecilia
7 I Don’t Blame You At All
8 That Girl
9 Faces
10 I Love You Dear
11 Oh Baby Baby I Love You
12 The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game
13 I Can’t Stand To See You Cry
14 Theme From Love Story
15 We’ve Come Too Far To End It Now
16 Flying High Together
17 With Your Love Came
18 It Will Be Alright
19 Oh Girl [Album Version]
20 You Ain’t Livin’ Till You’re Lovin’

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SMCR5219D_SmokeyRobinson1-555x550.jpg

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: What Love Has Joined Together/A Pocket Full of Miracles/One Dozen Roses/Flying High Together, 2CD - Cherry Red Records [[https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/smokey-robinson-the-miracles-what-love-has-joined-together-a-pocket-full-of-miracles-one-dozen-roses-flying-high-together-2cd/)

[woodward]

It totally baffles me why a company like Cherryred.co.uk is able to release a CD such as this.

Here is the $64,000 question of the past several years. Why oh why can't Cherryred get approval to release the Supremes Expanded Edition that we have been waiting for forever and it appears that it will never be released. Why can't Cherryred accomplish this?

[reese]

It is great that this set is coming out. I ignored Miracles cds when Motown released them in the 90s and when I got around to wanting some, the prices on eBay were ridiculous.

[blkfrost]

This is great news. I purchased the last three albums from iTunes several years ago, but I would like to have the physical format in my collection. Also, I find that I enjoy listening to music in physical formats than on my digital device [[iPhone).

[SatansBlues]

Have all of Smokey R & The Miracles albums now made it onto CD with this release?

[Motown Eddie]

Have all of Smokey R & The Miracles albums now made it onto CD with this release?

Yes; all of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles albums will have been released on CD with release of this set. In fact, this collection is the first time that these albums are making it to CD [except for What Love Has Joined Together which been had released on CD in the early '90s].

[carlo]

Great news! Looking forward to this.

[mysterysinger]

Well what a turn up for the books - and very welcome at that. Some cracking songs included [[and some mundane?) but this will be a must for me. Hope it sells well - quite often these things get sold out and then the price gougers step in. Great news for a Friday.

[kenneth]

What fantastic news! I think Smokey’s songwriting and vocals were at their peak during their last years together as a group. And the prices on “What Love Has” from its long ago CD release are ridiculous! Can’t wait to hear all these again! I love Cherry Red releases.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

Oh goodie! I already have "What Love Has Joined Together" on CD. The other 3, I bought as downloads and burnt them to CD. Now I get to buy them all over again.

[nabob]

Does anyone have an idea of shipping charges to the US from the UK? A friend sent a book from Germany last year that cost 47 Euros to ship and then sat in US customs at JFK for four weeks. Maybe the package will become available through US Amazon.

[Motown Eddie]

Does anyone have an idea of shipping charges to the US from the UK? A friend sent a book from Germany last year that cost 47 Euros to ship and then sat in US customs at JFK for four weeks. Maybe the package will become available through US Amazon.

Cherry Red makes all of their releases available through Amazon.com and other music vendors in the USA so there's no need to order from them directly. Amazon should be posting pre-orders for this collection in the coming weeks.

[Stax_of_Motown]

Great News. Always yearned for "Pocketful..." on CD. Great price £14.99 and my being in UK, no extortionate postage /tax/duty to make it unaffordable.

[tjl]

I'm still waiting for the yet to be released "Greatest Hits From The Beginning" stereo and mono versions!

[kenneth]

I'm still waiting for the yet to be released "Greatest Hits From The Beginning" stereo and mono versions!

I know most of Motown is true stereo, but I thought I had read that this album had some fake stereo cuts on it. I haven’t played them side-by-side to compare them. Do you happen to know?


I believe I read that in the liner notes for their lost and found disc, I forget the name of it at the moment. I know it included several of the tracks from the “from the beginning“ album which had become hard to find.

[kenneth]

Does anyone have an idea of shipping charges to the US from the UK? A friend sent a book from Germany last year that cost 47 Euros to ship and then sat in US customs at JFK for four weeks. Maybe the package will become available through US Amazon.

Rarewaves-US often offers free shipping to the US but their Record is spotty and I’ve had bad experiences with their packages going missing. They also don’t give any refund or a replacement for anything if things get lost or misdirected, as does Zoverstocks which to me is a much more reliable seller Who has quickly sent a replacement disk for anything which was lost on route to me in the past. But as someone else reported, you should be able to buy this set directly in the US.

[carlo]

Kenneth, I'm surprised to read that you've had bad experiences with Rarewaves. I've ordered from them a handful of times and haven't had any issues. In the future, I would recommend paying PayPal, as you can easily file a claim and get your money back, if something goes missing/undelivered. ImportCDs.com is another great merchant that I have used a lot over the years.

[Motown Eddie]

I know most of Motown is true stereo, but I thought I had read that this album had some fake stereo cuts on it. I haven’t played them side-by-side to compare them. Do you happen to know?


I believe I read that in the liner notes for their lost and found disc, I forget the name of it at the moment. I know it included several of the tracks from the “from the beginning“ album which had become hard to find.

I have that Lost And Found CD from Smokey & Co, it's called Along Came Love. Released in 1999, the collection has several of those early Miracles recordings [some of them pre-dating Motown] along with a few previously unrelased cuts. I used to have a copy of the From The Beginning LP [in stereo] but I don't remember any of the tracks having 'fake stereo' [I do recall the stereo LP having an alternate mix of "I Have To Dance To Keep From Crying" & and a different take of "I Like It Like That"].

And I agree with tji that it would be very nice to have the From The Beginning collection reissued in Mono & Stereo.

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Along Came Love [1958-1964] | Releases | Discogs [[https://www.discogs.com/master/508436-Smokey-Robinson-The-Miracles-Along-Came-Love-1958-1964)

[grapevine]

...unless I'm mistaken ...they've missed 3 tracks off the Flying High Together album:



Betcha By Golly, Wow


Got To Be There


We Had A Love So Strong

https://www.discogs.com/release/2331455-Smokey-Robinson-And-The-Miracles-Flying-High-Together

Grape :)

[carlo]

Good eye, Grape. It certainly does appear that those tracks are missing. I will check with Cherry Red to see if this is indeed the case.

[mysterysinger]

CLUNK! Down to earth with a bump!

[carlo]

Cherry Red got back to me very quickly and confirmed that those 3 tracks will be included on this release and they were an accidental omission from the tracklisting that was published on their website. They are going to make the update shortly. :) Thanks for pointing that out, Grape!

[Motown Eddie]

Cherry Red got back to me very quickly and confirmed that those 3 tracks will be included on this release and they were an accidental omission from the tracklisting that was published on their website. They are going to make the update shortly. :) Thanks for pointing that out, Grape!

Just checked with the Cherry Red site and they've already made the corrections to the trackisting. Thanks to Grape & Carlo.

[mysterysinger]

Phew, as you were Corporal Jones.

[pj1]

Just checked with the Cherry Red site and they've already made the corrections to the trackisting. Thanks to Grape & Carlo.


They made the correction in the description tab but the tracklisting tab still does not include the full listing. Rather than yet another person contacting them, would Carlo be willing to alert them about the 3rd tab?

[carlo]

I've let them know, PJ...thanks!

[grapevine]

...many thanks Carlo for sorting it out...!

Grape :)

[Motown Eddie]

I've let them know, PJ...thanks!

And while we're at it, there's another error in the tracklisting for The Miracles Collection. For Disc One they have track #18 listed as "Backfire The Reel Of Time" however "Backfire" & "The Reel Of Time" are two different songs. Cherry Red should correct that on their site as well.

[carlo]

And while we're at it, there's another error in the tracklisting for The Miracles Collection. For Disc One they have track #18 listed as "Backfire The Reel Of Time" however "Backfire" & "The Reel Of Time" are two different songs. Cherry Red should correct that on their site as well.


Gosh, time for Cherry Red to add us to their payroll :)

[kenneth]

I've let them know, PJ...thanks!

They better know who they’re dealing with!


Thanks as well for the other information Carlo!

[kenneth]

I have that Lost And Found CD from Smokey & Co, it's called Along Came Love. Released in 1999, the collection has several of those early Miracles recordings [some of them pre-dating Motown] along with a few previously unrelased cuts. I used to have a copy of the From The Beginning LP [in stereo] but I don't remember any of the tracks having 'fake stereo' [I do recall the stereo LP having an alternate mix of "I Have To Dance To Keep From Crying" & and a different take of "I Like It Like That"].

And I agree with tji that it would be very nice to have the From The Beginning collection reissued in Mono & Stereo.

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Along Came Love [1958-1964] | Releases | Discogs [[https://www.discogs.com/master/508436-Smokey-Robinson-The-Miracles-Along-Came-Love-1958-1964)

It is a great set. I love that early, unvarnished, innocent sound on the earliest of the Motown albums. Most of the major groups very first albums were like that, but in the Miracles case several of their early releases had that pre-Motown, almost doo-wop sound.

[kenneth]

Gosh, time for Cherry Red to add us to their payroll :)

One of you could be the next Billie Jean Brown!

[tjl]

Is "Happy Landing" in stereo somewhere? I should know - but drawing a blank this morning....

[Motown Eddie]

Is "Happy Landing" in stereo somewhere? I should know - but drawing a blank this morning....

Nope; According to the Don't Forget The Motorcity site, The Miralces' "Happy Landing" hasn't been released in stereo anywhere. I don't know if Motown has a stereo master for the song in it's vaults [or a multi-track master for it that can be mixed to stereo].

[nabob]

Amazon US has this offering for $ 21 as a pre-order to be released around April 22nd.
Soulmusic.com has it for $ 19 on pre-order, available April 19th.

[SatansBlues]

Amazon US has this offering for $ 21 as a pre-order to be released around April 22nd.
Soulmusic.com has it for $ 19 on pre-order, available April 19th.

That's a great price!

[paul_nixon]

Nope; According to the Don't Forget The Motorcity site, The Miralces' "Happy Landing" hasn't been released in stereo anywhere. I don't know if Motown has a stereo master for the song in it's vaults [or a multi-track master for it that can be mixed to stereo].


There are multis for both V1 and V2 of Happy Landing but neither have been mixed to stereo according to paperwork

[Motown Eddie]

There are multis for both V1 and V2 of Happy Landing but neither have been mixed to stereo according to paperwork

Thanks Paul for the info about The Miracles' "Happy Landing". I don't think we'll ever get to hear that song in full stereo unless UME/Motown does another collection for the group's early work [which isn't likely].

[Starguard4]

Does anyone know if this is still on track for release April 19 ?

[Motown Eddie]

Does anyone know if this is still on track for release April 19 ?

According to the Cherry Red website, The Miracles Collection is still on track to be released on April 19th. Also both Amazon USA & Amazon UK have the set being released on April 19th as well.

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - A Pocket Full Of Miracles / One Dozen Roses / Flying High Together / What Love Has Joined Together - Amazon.com Music [[https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Miracles-Flying-Together-Joined/dp/B0CV3HJHKY?crid=YXPYU5FIIUHV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.onNW3Z09ZkxoRWYNVTbFjpwAsMSq9I206 oX_wCe-lvCSUcgqRd1TiaD3waB2DHrb0mUw-51JuUmC91Ujo_qARTE_-XoKjnLhz18xhf4MqC_5xwGlSnP70AvP1RVVanhgC3RnCX3oV0s uXQUh2P487_7jm8d-5XM7q7R6BzRJS8m_3Y8taqgcvSNk4IxvECl-lMw0byopqNZkSDtwPG5L15gapHYFRLWpQ6sMVBmZuqM.ewnkc-XfBm2Oka2aHMd5S8YOqpV6FiukKnjrfMnPA3A&dib_tag=se&keywords=smokey+robinson+and+the+miracles&qid=1708258367&sprefix=SMOKEY+ROBINSON+,aps,294&sr=8-2&linkCode=sl1&tag=davidnathanso-20&linkId=7331018fda63ff1f53a8649e3fa1e813&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl)

A POCKET FULL OF MIRACLES/ONE DOZEN ROSES/FLYING HIGH TOGETHER/WHAT LOVE HAS JOINED TOGETHER: Amazon.co.uk: CDs & Vinyl [[https://www.amazon.co.uk/POCKET-MIRACLES-FLYING-TOGETHER-JOINED/dp/B0CV3HJHKY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3LY8QF663RSY6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QDOiGE6MAPJ5zmk27mKkDg.R7UteSKVE0 MS3D1bKuResMNTP0DFXVZ22jO3xBeDZjw&dib_tag=se&keywords=A+Pocket+Full+Of+Miracles+%2F+One+Dozen+R oses+%2F+Flying+High+Together+%2F+What+Love+Has+Jo ined+Together&qid=1712781738&s=music&sprefix=a+pocket+full+of+miracles+%2F+one+dozen+ro ses+%2F+flying+high+together+%2F+what+love+has+joi ned+together%2Cpopular%2C199&sr=1-1)

[Motown Eddie]

And here's an article about the upcoming Miracles Collection from Adam White's West Grand Blog.

A Return Flight, with Love and Roses — Adam White [adampwhite.com [[https://www.adampwhite.com/westgrandblog/miracles)].

[Philles/Motown Gary]

I just received a message from Amazon, notifying me that delivery of the new Smokey Robinson & The Miracles CD 4-fer has been postponed until Monday, April 29. Drat the luck!

[johnjeb]

I received my CD on Wednesday the 17th from Soul Music Records & Second Disc.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

I received my CD on Wednesday the 17th from Soul Music Records & Second Disc.

Really? Wow! It must be strictly an Amazon thing. Well, glad to hear you got your copy, as scheduled. How is it? Are you pleased with the sound quality and presentation?

[blkfrost]

I preordered through Dusty Grove and received my copy early last week. Have not had the chance to play it yet.

[Motown Eddie]

I just received a message from Amazon, notifying me that delivery of the new Smokey Robinson & The Miracles CD 4-fer has been postponed until Monday, April 29. Drat the luck!

Same thing here. Oh well, I can wait. Also Amazon.com [US] is now showing that the collection is "temporarily out of stock". At least that shows this set is In Demand.

[grapevine]

...mine arrived today ...can't wait to play...! 👍🏻

Grape :)

[copley]

'temporarily out of stock' usually means that they never had any in stock in the first place!

[Philles/Motown Gary]

Same thing here. Oh well, I can wait. Also Amazon.com [US] is now showing that the collection is "temporarily out of stock". At least that shows this set is In Demand.

That's weird, as I pre-ordered my copy way back when the option to pre-order became available. How could they have since sold out before delivering my pre-ordered copy? [[And same with your pre-ordered copy, Eddie.)

[Philles/Motown Gary]

'temporarily out of stock' usually means that they never had any in stock in the first place!

Yeah, I believe you're right, Copley. It's been so long since we've had any Motown-related product to pre-order, I guess I forgot how it works!

[Motown Eddie]

That's weird, as I pre-ordered my copy way back when the option to pre-order became available. How could they have since sold out before delivering my pre-ordered copy? [[And same with your pre-ordered copy, Eddie.)

I think it means that Amazon didn't have that many copies of the set in stock thinking that it wouldn't sell that well. Anyway, I got an e-mail from them saying that my copy has shipped [and should be here by the 26th]. Hope they come through with your copy before the end of the month.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

I think it means that Amazon didn't have that many copies of the set in stock thinking that it wouldn't sell that well. Anyway, I got an e-mail from them saying that my copy has shipped [and should be here by the 26th]. Hope they come through with your copy before the end of the month.


Thanks, Eddie. I just got a message from. Amazon. My copy has shipped and will arrive Monday via Amazon delivery. Here's hoping your copy will arrive soon as well.

[BritishTony]

Mine arrived last week. Inevitably out of 43 tracks some, particularly non-Motown covers, are not to my taste but on the whole I’m delighted. Some very creative reinventions such as Hunter & Livin’ Till You’re Lovin’ + reminders of shimmering half-forgotten gems eg Who’s Gonna Take The Blame, Don’t Blame You At All. All without vinyl crackle & hiss, Smokey soars over his group’s flawless harmonies on crystal clear CD. Eternal thanks to SoulMusic + Second Disc. Keep ‘em comings guys – we’ll keep buying.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

Currently listening to my new CD copy of SoulMusic Records' presentation of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles' new 4-fer, 2-CD set of "What Love Has Joined Together", "A Pocketful Of Miracles", "One Dozen Roses", and "Flying High Together". I've gotta say, SoulMusic Records did an impressive job, as always. I'm listening through headphones, and the sound quality is outstanding. I take back my previous gripe that I had already invested money on the download versions of these albums which I then burned to CD, and would now have to reinvest in the CD version. One listen to the new SoulMusic CD reissue more than makes up for any duplication. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles final 4 Motown albums have never sounded so good! Now I'm wondering what SoulMusic's next Motown surprise CD will be. With any luck, the 4 remaining Motown albums by The Originals? Got my fingers crossed tight!

[Starguard4]

Soulmusic.com seriously need to get some of their CDs back into stock, particularly on Willie Hutch, Dynamic Superiors, Syreeta, G.C. Cameron and I'm sure others as well. Got my fingers crossed for this, before any new releases.

[Motown Eddie]

Thanks, Eddie. I just got a message from. Amazon. My copy has shipped and will arrive Monday via Amazon delivery. Here's hoping your copy will arrive soon as well.

I got lucky; my copy arrived yesterday. Haven't played it yet but the overall package is Great.

[snakepit]

Originals for me..please

[mysterysinger]

Originals for me..please

Must be next.

[kenneth]

As usual, Amazon doesn't seem to have the stock from its pre-orders. I ordered mine a couple months ago and they tell me I won't have it till at least May 9. You'd think a company with Amazon's clout would be able to at least fill all its pre-orders on the release date. I suppose I'll save some money as the preorder price was $21 which I think was lower than other outlets, but it's frustrating to have to wait more than 2 weeks after the release date for Amazon to fill a pre-order.

[mysterysinger]

In order to get free delivery from Amazon UK I had to order something else as well to make up a minimum order cost. As it turns out, I had to cancel the other item and naturally they then added postage to the cost of the CD set. Not only that they'd upped the price of it had I wanted to re-order. So I cancelled Amazon and ordered direct from Cherry Red - even with postage it turned out cheaper than the original Amazon CD only price - and arrived on the day of issue. Valuable lesson there for me. Amazon are a waste of time these days.

[carlo]

As usual, Amazon doesn't seem to have the stock from its pre-orders. I ordered mine a couple months ago and they tell me I won't have it till at least May 9. You'd think a company with Amazon's clout would be able to at least fill all its pre-orders on the release date. I suppose I'll save some money as the preorder price was $21 which I think was lower than other outlets, but it's frustrating to have to wait more than 2 weeks after the release date for Amazon to fill a pre-order.

It's usually not Amazon but rather the label's distributor who encounters delays with distributing the release to retailers. This seems to happen a lot these days, especially with import releases that come from overseas.

Furthermore, I've seen this even more so with Cherry Red's releases. They will usually sell-out an initial batch/run and then more copies will pop-up after a few weeks. I noticed they're currently sold out of this set on their website, so I wouldn't be surprised if they secure more stock in the coming weeks. A bunch of other UK retailers seem to have stock, so I'm sure the US and other territories will follow suit.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

In order to get free delivery from Amazon UK I had to order something else as well to make up a minimum order cost. As it turns out, I had to cancel the other item and naturally they then added postage to the cost of the CD set. Not only that they'd upped the price of it had I wanted to re-order. So I cancelled Amazon and ordered direct from Cherry Red - even with postage it turned out cheaper than the original Amazon CD only price - and arrived on the day of issue. Valuable lesson there for me. Amazon are a waste of time these days.

I understand your frustration, mystery, although I'm glad that, as an Amazon Prime member, I don't have to worry about minimum purchase orders nor anything else. My only beef regarding Amazon is that my annual Prime Membership fee just increased to $150.00. What an unexpected shock!

[kenneth]

It's usually not Amazon but rather the label's distributor who encounters delays with distributing the release to retailers. This seems to happen a lot these days, especially with import releases that come from overseas.

Furthermore, I've seen this even more so with Cherry Red's releases. They will usually sell-out an initial batch/run and then more copies will pop-up after a few weeks. I noticed they're currently sold out of this set on their website, so I wouldn't be surprised if they secure more stock in the coming weeks. A bunch of other UK retailers seem to have stock, so I'm sure the US and other territories will follow suit.

I’m trying to be patient, Carlo, but you know how it is!

[carlo]

I’m trying to be patient, Carlo, but you know how it is!

Oh yes! I definitely feel your pain, Kenneth. Being a Canadian Motown fan has not been easy in that sense, since I've almost always had to wait for both UK and US releases, well past their release dates. I've gotten used to it, including seeing other fans inevitably share spoilers on social media [ie. Pictures from booklets]. :rolleyes: For me, it is what it is. Lol.

Kenneth, I noticed that a UK merchant that I've used in the past called Rarewaves has this set in stock for a good price. In case you're interested, here is the link...

https://www.rarewaves.com/products/5013929091931-a-pocket-full-of-miraclesone-dozen-rosesflying-high-togeth

[kenneth]

Oh yes! I definitely feel your pain, Kenneth. Being a Canadian Motown fan has not been easy in that sense, since I've almost always had to wait for both UK and US releases, well past their release dates. I've gotten used to it, including seeing other fans inevitably share spoilers on social media [ie. Pictures from booklets]. :rolleyes: For me, it is what it is. Lol.

Kenneth, I noticed that a UK merchant that I've used in the past called Rarewaves has this set in stock for a good price. In case you're interested, here is the link...

https://www.rarewaves.com/products/5013929091931-a-pocket-full-of-miraclesone-dozen-rosesflying-high-togeth

Thanks Carlo. I don't buy from Rarewaves. The only overseas retailer I will generally buy from in the UK is Zoverstocks. They replace lost or missing packages promptly with hardly any questions asked. My experience with Rarewaves has not been good. I bought a Stephen King Soundtrack collection from them for [[I think it was) $60, it was 4 CDs I think. Right after I bought it they dropped the price to only $20. I'd bought so much from them in the past I tried hard to get a partial refund. They said I would have to return the set to get credit for it, then buy it again. Of course with return postage that would hardly be worth it. I felt they were being exacting as far as the process when they could have simply given me a partial refund, even if they didn't have to, for the sake of keeping a customer happy.

Thanks though for the suggestion. I'll wait [[albeit not patiently) for my copy from Amazon.

[mysterysinger]

I understand your frustration, mystery, although I'm glad that, as an Amazon Prime member, I don't have to worry about minimum purchase orders nor anything else. My only beef regarding Amazon is that my annual Prime Membership fee just increased to $150.00. What an unexpected shock!

That's a hefty fee. I'm sick of Amazon pushing Prime in your face every item you want to buy anything - which is less and less these days. Certainly wouldn't be worth my while paying that kind of money.

[carlo]

Thanks Carlo. I don't buy from Rarewaves. The only overseas retailer I will generally buy from in the UK is Zoverstocks. They replace lost or missing packages promptly with hardly any questions asked. My experience with Rarewaves has not been good. I bought a Stephen King Soundtrack collection from them for [[I think it was) $60, it was 4 CDs I think. Right after I bought it they dropped the price to only $20. I'd bought so much from them in the past I tried hard to get a partial refund. They said I would have to return the set to get credit for it, then buy it again. Of course with return postage that would hardly be worth it. I felt they were being exacting as far as the process when they could have simply given me a partial refund, even if they didn't have to, for the sake of keeping a customer happy.

Thanks though for the suggestion. I'll wait [[albeit not patiently) for my copy from Amazon.

No problem, Ken. Sorry to hear. I don't think many retailers will offer partial refunds on price reductions these days. I definitely understand your frustration though, as I've been through the same situation countless times. Amazon Canada used to be good with giving refunds on price decreases that occur within 30 days after the shipping date [ie. within the return window], but they have also stopped doing this. I usually have to re-order the item and then return the re-ordered item under the first order that has the higher price, to get the refund on the difference created by the price drop. At least with Amazon, the shipping is free, but it does put me in a tough spot, since I like to regularly support traditional independent stores as well, but their more restrictive return policies can make that difficult.

On a more related note, it seems that this Smokey & the Miracles set is back in stock on Cherry Red's website. Not sure what was going on, as the CD was showing as out of stock a minute ago, and now it is showing as in stock, after having refreshed the page. :confused:

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/smokey-robinson-the-miracles-what-love-has-joined-together-a-pocket-full-of-miracles-one-dozen-roses-flying-high-together-2cd

[Philles/Motown Gary]

That's a hefty fee. I'm sick of Amazon pushing Prime in your face every item you want to buy anything - which is less and less these days. Certainly wouldn't be worth my while paying that kind of money.

Well, that's the thing, Mystery. If you order CDs and other items regularly, the $150 Prime Membership renewal will pay for itself in practically no time at all. But if you don't order often, the $150 fee would be a redundant and unnecessary waste. Even for someone who does order often, however, Amazon's mountainous increase, along with everything else that's priced sky-high these days, hurts and is financially suffocating.

[carlo]

Sharon Davis wrote a nice piece on this release...

https://soulmusic.com/motown-spotlight-april-2024-smokey-robinson-the-miracles-cd-reissue/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2OxzjOyU7UnqmKjmW6nHEf 9N0qAabvMY8PuQxIO-0s97NByrd9CwO6sQw_aem_AdY1-TW5yUWkd1aydNG71XprtDIhQUOK-kosD4m6rLpyk4hsPDP-qUK4-hK_2pmJHVGim9sbriXq7GZ8TLcsvKqa

[danman869]

Disappointed that I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon [[Prime) a month ago and the release date [[via Amazon) has come and gone and there's been NO update on when it will be available and ship. I'd be three shades of purple by now if this were a Supremes Expanded Edition release I was waiting on! EEEEESH! Hopefully Amazon gets stock in soon--especially reading all the good feedback about this release.

[DWSheffer]

I ended up cancelling my Amazon order this evening and ordering one off Ebay. Seller has good feedback and appears the CD's are in stock and ready to ship.
Darin

Smokey Robinson & th - A Pocket Full Of Miracles / One Dozen Roses / Flying High | eBay [[https://www.ebay.com/itm/145742290029)

[danman869]

Disappointed that I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon [[Prime) a month ago and the release date [[via Amazon) has come and gone and there's been NO update on when it will be available and ship. I'd be three shades of purple by now if this were a Supremes Expanded Edition release I was waiting on! EEEEESH! Hopefully Amazon gets stock in soon--especially reading all the good feedback about this release.

Have to laugh because I posted this and about an hour later I got an email from Amazon telling me that my CD will come between May 13th and May 22nd. I guess I can wait. Fascinating that the CD is available from many sources around the world, but Amazon [the largest retailer in the world?] can’t get stock?! LOL

[carlo]

Hey Dan,

If you're willing to cancel your order with Amazon, I'd recommend re-ordering it from ImportCDs.com. Their product warehouse is based in the US and it looks like you'd probably have the CD delivered sometime within this coming week, or early next week at the latest.

https://www.importcds.com/a-pocket-full-of-miracles-one-dozen-roses-flying-high-together-what-love-has-joined-together/5013929091931

[kenneth]

I ended up cancelling my Amazon order this evening and ordering one off Ebay. Seller has good feedback and appears the CD's are in stock and ready to ship.
Darin

Smokey Robinson & th - A Pocket Full Of Miracles / One Dozen Roses / Flying High | eBay [[https://www.ebay.com/itm/145742290029)

Thanks for the info. I did the same. ImportCDs is a great seller. I should’ve ordered from them in the first place. If Amazon can’t fill its pre-orders, then they should expect this. Amazon wouldn’t let me cancel it online because it was part of a larger order which gave me free shipping, as I am not an Amazon prime member, but when I finally figured out how to reach them by phone they canceled it right away.

Thanks again for letting me know that it was available elsewhere for the same price.

[danman869]

Hey Dan,

If you're willing to cancel your order with Amazon, I'd recommend re-ordering it from ImportCDs.com. Their product warehouse is based in the US and it looks like you'd probably have the CD delivered sometime within this coming week, or early next week at the latest.

https://www.importcds.com/a-pocket-full-of-miracles-one-dozen-roses-flying-high-together-what-love-has-joined-together/5013929091931

Hey Carlo! Thanks for the tip! Even with having to pay for shipping through ImportCDs, it was still nearly US$2.00 cheaper. Plus, they are saying it will be here May 6-8.

I've ordered from ImportCDs several times over the years, but haven't always experienced any great savings over Amazon because of having to pay for shipping. Still, this is one of those times where I'm saving money AND getting the CD sooner. Win-win! Thanks!

[carlo]

No problem, Dan.

I didn't notice that Darin had also posted a link above to ImportCDs' eBay store in an earlier post [although it seems to be cheaper to order it via their webstore that I've linked to]. Either way, we got y'all covered. :)

[luckyluckyme]

My copy arrived in today's mail. I had pre-ordered it from Collector's Choice Music because they offered a 15% off coupon code and have recently instituted free shipping.
However, I have 2 questions:
When I placed cd 1 in the computer, my track-list for 'A Pocketful of Miracles reads 'Flower Child' instead of 'Flower Girl' for track 9. Do other copies list it that way.
But even worse, when I get to Track 19, it stops partway and an error message appears. It won't go any further. Has anyone else encountered this?
It looks like this copy will be returned for an exchange. I hope the next one is a good one.

[kenneth]

No problem, Dan.

I didn't notice that Darin had also posted a link above to ImportCDs' eBay store in an earlier post [although it seems to be cheaper to order it via their webstore that I've linked to]. Either way, we got y'all covered. :)

We’re counting on that!

[Philles/Motown Gary]

Kenny, did you ever get your copy of Smokey & The Miracles CD set?

[DWSheffer]

Kenneth, mine arrived today so I bet yours will soon. Can't wait to give it a listen as soon as I can!
Darin

[kenneth]

Kenny, did you ever get your copy of Smokey & The Miracles CD set?

Gar,

Yes, my copy arrived today from ImportCDs and I’m playing it right now. It’s still more than a week from the date Amazon said it’d be available! It’s a fabulous set. I’m loving it!

I always thought “Who’s Gonna Take the Blame” one of Smokey’s most heartbreaking songs. I also love the way they superimposed Claudette’s picture over the group photo on the cover. That was a nice touch. After all, like Mary Wilson for the Supremes, Claudette has largely carried forth the legacy of the Miracles.

Thanks Darin and Carlo and all you guys who reminded me we’re not stuck always buying from the Amazon juggernaut! They make it so easy that they trap you into thinking you don’t get anything by shopping around. Not so in this case.

K