Having dealt with BMG and Sony I am not optimistic that original master tapes were even located, let alone made available for these compilation CDs. Typically they just take vinyl -- and not even good copies -- and use that as source material, though labels often lie about that. Anyone who has listened to Jim for as long as I have can easily discern what sounds right and what is not.

On the other hand, there have been CDs I know were sourced from at least copies of the 3 track masters, because they have been so hideously remixed so that Jim's intimacy has been lost and the Anita Kerr singers sound like they are the stars -- or the instrumentation -- and Jim was just an afterthought.

The economics of the music business do NOT support cheap CDs of good quality. I see 4 CD sets or even larger sets going for a few dollars and I know when I see that that the releasing labels have NOT paid the licensing fees, so they truly ARE bootlegs in the literal, legal sense. Nor can you manufacture multiple CDs in one set, pay good mastering and restoration engineers, to say nothing of the other people that should be involved in such projects, release it, ship it, wholesale it, have the reseller make a profit, the online sales platform take their commission, and end up with anything decent.

It's a cynical marketing strategy that many labels are employing because they know they can sell product to the fans of big artists regardless of the quality. They don't care how rotten it is; they mass produce this stuff, don't pay the licensing fees, and rely on a CHEAP PRICE to make the sale.

And there are just enough suckers out there who are foolish enough to buy these products based solely on price.