I don't want to stir up anymore about this all I have been told be legit companies is that in Europe there are differnt copyright laws and red tape for releasing these shoundtracks I wish there would be someone to step up and explain the situation. FOr Klute and I am only going to type this out one but a few "print" issues ago and I know COMA will chew me out one for this cause I think he hates FSM but they printed a whole article on Michael Small and in it someone asked Mr Smalls widow about any type of release for Klute to paraphrase she stated that she and no one in her family has had a copy in their possesion, but it was originally to have been released that Warner Bros Records pressed many of them and never had a "official" release thus the infamous LP copies of the soundtrack. According to the Small estate no release. Thus they have NEVER been given any compsenation now WARNER Bros for this CD release. Anyone who notices the back cover artwork on this release and knows anything about art direction in the world of advertising knows this phone pic stuff etc is all stock pictures etc. It looks so generic and cheap. It has been said Harkit used to be completly legit but then they started doing complete rips of LPs and transferreing them to CD doesn't make it a real release they however are able to present it that way. We are only getting that a complete direct from LP soundtrack onto a good quality pressed CD that still contains adequate enough sound.

I am sure if you direct these questions to Harkit you will get a not so good answer back and they will avoid answering the question. Thus is your answer.

Thanks again, Jack


P.S. - This has been such a high angered topic here on Soundtrack collector for some time. We should look towards common sense for this .... If it is SO questioned time after time Harkits Legit intentions on their CD releases and has cause such a stir.. well I think you answer your own question. Yes some of their releases such as KLUTE is a bootleg.

No one goes around at Warner Bros or any other major label questioning the release. Or at Varese Sarabande. See the logic. If you have to Ask It IS


JackDVD78, June 13, 2006; 2:25 AM

I should apoligize I shouldn't be yelling to COMA about these things .. It isn't so much as an american thing it seems it got no studio backing at all is why I would consider it a bootleg. Yeah the design is lacking but I don't mind buying from the Euro companies I buy a lot from Prometheous lable and some others I can't name right now. If it is doen well I will pay a decent amount for them. As much as I hate what I consider the bootleg of KLUTE I will hold onto it and not get rid of it. It will hold me over till and if something better comes along.

JackDVD78, June 13, 2006; 3:38 AM

My comments here are not on the actual cd, but in part on the art work & the studio in question.

For a number of years I worked for WB & they are (or should I say were, long since retired) a wonderful company to work for. But due to the massive amount of product that we put out, trival things such as score to movies were often as not a by product that did not generate enough income to warrant the legal issues. Now also added to that 'oh heck why bother' attitude comes the point of art work. Often at the company licensed certain images & those were the only 1's allowed to be used in all 'other products' image use.
This partially happened due to negotiated image use at the time & in part to the fact that we kept so little publicity once the movies was done with, we often used to go to 'collector shops' when we need to obtain art work for 1 of our own films!! bizzare but true.

So the mere fact that the art work is the same old image it could be the only image allowed. Now I'm not saying it's the the case with Klute, but just a point of view based on some fact.

As for typos, European & Japanese translated sleeves/liner notes are notorious for typos. Not defending the release, just facts.

1 last point you may find amusing, in Europe when WB Home Video got the distribution deal for the Bond series, several sleeves went out with the wrong image on the back to the movie in question. When we pointed it out, we were told 'hell it's Sean Connery as Bond, they are all the same, no one will notice'. several 1000 fan letters later!!!!!! then 3 years later they did the same with the Steven Segal movies & the final act was to spell Sam Peckinpahs name wrong on The Wild Bunch director cut video re-issue? & all those releases were 100% legit!

So all this could be a case of limited access to art work at the studio's insistance & just bad translation.

1 closing note, check out the Prometheus Swarm copy, due to licences issues with Warners & Irwin Allen's estate, the cd has very little art work, except for the international 1-sheet. Even Promethus couldn't get any more. Studios can be a fun place to work, but very poitical & often unlessthe $$$$$ are not on the table, you'd be amazed how much can be stopped or started.

enjoy the music no matter what label it may be on

regards

Andrew

ajbjmdb, June 13, 2006; 3:40 AM

I remember the day in 1979 when my brother and I were going through the racks at Rose records in Chicago. He grabbed the original pressing of Klute (among some other items) I the recording of Birdman Of Alcatraz/Elmer Bernstein (among some other items).

The weather was nice as it were summer. The recordings acquired that day rode sweetly on the back seat (next to the old campainer who died in 1992 at the ripe old age of 17 canine years) during the trip back to Ohio.

The vinyl of the Michael Small score sat fine on the rubber mat of the turntable. The experience was grand given the fact much purple smoke swirled in the air as a bowl loaded with a sweet black Hawiian hashish (acquired several weeks prior from the propiator of a fruit stand in Topanga, California) lent effect both profound and effective whilst the peculiar sounds created to accompany the sordid tale of prostitution and serial killing overwhelmed the moment causing strange emotional sensibilities to be shaken loose like some sudden realization of a previously unknown outer realm beginning to form like a new multi-colored planet with wings and a tail.


victoravalentine, June 13, 2006; 7:07 PM

I would just like to point out that some people on here have made some very serious allegations that could possibly be regarded as being libellous.

I have no reason to believe that Harkit is not a legitimate record company. A bootleg is one of the definitions of piracy and if anyone suspects a British record company of issuing bootlegs then they should report it to the anti-piracy division of the BPI (British Phongraphic Idustry) providing full details so it can be investigated by one of their investigators. Reports of piracy should be sent by e.mail to:

antipiracy@bpi.co.uk

or write or telephone:

BPI
Riverside Building
County Hall
Westminster Bridge Road
London SE1 7JA

T: +44 (0)20 7803 1300

F: +44 (0)20 7803 1310

Further information is at the BPI's website at http://www.bpi.co.uk/index.asp just click on the antipiracy link on the BPI's homepage.

The UK has some very strict copyright legislation. I can assure you that piracy is taken very seriously in the UK. The UK is certainly not lax when it comes to law and order and CD piracy.

I am absolutely certain that one of Harkit's recent CDs (Foyle's War by Jim Parker) is 100% legitimate. It has the composer's endorsement. The CD sound quality is superb and the CD booklet very professional.

Harkit is distributed in the UK by Britain's largest independent long established distributor Pinnacle. I would be very surprised if Pinnacle would be involved in distributing a record company/label that is not legitimate



chrislandor, June 13, 2006; 10:08 PM

Thank you chrislandor... amen and hallelujah!
I hope your words will finally put an end to these ridiculous and speculative allegations which have no foundations whatsoever!


Aaah!... Those were the days killer knives, those were the days!
Such memories!...
Are you sure it was hashish and not LSD?

Nice authorship by the way!


P.S. I have in my possession six wonderful Harkit CD's and I'm awaiting for numero sept... and YES I do intend to buy every single one of their film music soundtrack CD releases in due time since I immensely enjoy the film music they release and since some of the soundtracks cannot be found anywhere else and since one day these soundtracks might be collectibles as well for being so insanely controversial with no reason!
Why not?!... That simple!...

Pee pee s: I had to once more get it out of my system... sorry!
Forums in general can be very cathartic... thanks again!


Merci!!

Sincerely...

serifiot, June 14, 2006; 12:08 AM

Looks like Harkit records does a pretty good job to me. The only one I have is the vinyl pressing of Cul-de-Sac lasting around 20 minutes in total. A nicely designed jacket with pretty good notes on the flip side. I like it. Bought it through a website out of Chicago.

I think some of the newly produced vinyl LP's from Harkit, Cinedelic and Dagored are great.

victoravalentine, June 14, 2006; 7:26 PM

The Harkit CD of Klute OST is excellent, got mine from Moviegrooves and I'm loving it.

What more could you want ;)

atabrett, July 7, 2006; 11:11 PM