A massive new box set is coming your way from new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Chicago - and this surprise release is one sure to delight longtime fans.
Chicago: Quadio arrives on June 17 from Rhino Records on nine Blu-ray Audio discs. This landmark release brings together nine albums from the legendary band in remastered high-resolution 192/24 DTS-HD Master Audio in both their original quadraphonic and stereo mixes. This lavish celebration of the Windy City's favorite band is housed in a rigid two-piece box, with every album presented in a replica sleeve promised to "replicate the original release down to the last detail, including mini-posters, and the iron-on that came with Chicago VIII."
Featuring the original line-up of guitarist Terry Kath, keyboardist Robert Lamm, bassist Peter Cetera, drummer Danny Seraphine and Chicago's longtime horn section of trumpeter Lee Loughnane, trombonist James Pankow and saxophonist Walt Parazaider, Chicago: Quadio spans the seven years in which the jazz-influenced "rock band with horns" took the charts and the airwaves by storm with such key recordings as "Make Me Smile," "Colour My World," "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?," "Saturday In The Park," "25 or 6 to 4," "Feelin' Stronger Every Day," "If You Leave Me Now," and many more. This deluxe set has every studio album between debut Chicago Transit Authority (1969) and Chicago X (1976) as well as Chicago IX: Chicago's Greatest Hits (1975).
Chicago, reuniting with founding drummer Danny Seraphine, stole the show at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Brooklyn on April 8. Now, June 17 will be another landmark day for the band with the release of this stunning new hi-rez collection. You can watch Chicago at the RRHOF induction on HBO on April 30, and you can watch this space for pre-order links for Quadio as soon as they become available!
Chicago, Quadio (Rhino, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Link TBD / Amazon Canada)
Albums Include:
- Chicago Transit Authority (1969)
- Chicago (1970)
- Chicago III (1971)
- Chicago V (1972)
- Chicago VI (1973)
- Chicago VII (1974)
- Chicago VIII (1975)
- Chicago IX: Chicago's Greatest Hits (1975)
- Chicago X (1976)
Patrick says
Jebus! Not sure everyone will be thrilled with BD-only, but still...nice effort here to please us quad nerds!! I am concerned what masters they'll be using for the stereo versions of the albums--the latest Rhino remasters are hardly optimal from a sound quality point of view.
Jeff says
Hearing "Wishing You Were Here" in Quad on VII is going to be worth the price of admission alone!
Luke says
Recently Steven Wilson posted a screenshot of Chicago (II) being remixed. Presumably this set will also include his remixes?
OD says
I would doubt that, i think most people will be more than happy with the originl quad mixwes.
Don't forget therewas those two previous remixes done some time ago, plus the (officially) unreleased remix of X, none of which were a patch on the original mixes.
Bill Freedman says
This is great news. I have the short-lived Rhino Handmade OOP quad version of CTA and it's terrific.
I just hope the price of the box won't be quad-tastic.
Philip Cohen says
Reportedly, it will be $159.95 list.
Dave Horn says
Yes I have that quad album too and it is really good, being ordered from Rhino on 1/4/10, though in addition to the Rhino price of $29.98 I had to pay $11.99 for postage and packing here to the UK which seemed ridiculous for such a small, light-weight item. By 2011 it was selling for $100+ on Amazon but seems to be currently unavailable.
For some reason, presumably as it was one of my favourite albums, I also bought the 2014 limited edition hybrid SACD issue of the album but that is stereo only if I remember correctly and, for that reason, is still sealed and sits next to the quadradisc. The SACD is still available from around $28 on Amazon.com (and £33 on Amazon.co.uk).
I'm ordering the Quadio box set today.
Galley says
I would have preferred Hybrid SACD.
Philip Cohen says
But Blu-Ray audio will sell better, since there are many more Blu-Ray players in consumers' homes than SACD players. I'm equipped for SACD, Blu-Ray Audio & DVD-Audio. All of these formats have excellent high resolution surround sound.
The Rang says
Agreed.
My audio and video systems are in separate rooms. Don't have, or particularly want, Blu-ray capability in my audio room. But this set may force the issue....
Philip Cohen says
As for hybrid SACD's, it would appear that Sony's Austrian pressing plant is now the only pressing plant that can still make hybrid SACD's. The long waiting list to get hybrid SACD's pressed is the reason why Analog Productions and Audio Fidelity SACD's are fraught with repeated release delays. It would be unfeasible to get a 9-disc SACD set pressed.
Blu-Ray's DTS Master HD audio is also high resolution lossless audio, and should sound every bit as good as SACD or DVD-Audio.
OD says
The Quadraphonic revival continues apace 🙂
Bob Romano says
This is the most exciting news in a long time.
Jimmy Arnett says
I wish they would have added 11. That would have given us the complete Terry Kath studio albums.
Philip Cohen says
But, the box ends at the point where the major labels dropped their support for Quadraphonic sound. Whether the multitrack tapes exist (for all of the 1970's albums) to permit new 5.1 remixes, is unknown. And if they do exist, whether Warner Music would be willing to spend the money for remixing.
Patrick says
There was a 5.1 mix completed for X by the incomparable Elliott Scheiner but it was not released officially. Unofficially, it's a fabulous mix and makes the album actually listenable for me 😉
Karl Koklich says
Great news!
I just wish there was more video available of the band with Terry Kath.
After that they were elevator music.
Rob Maurer says
Everyone complaining about BD...SACD, DVD-A, etc. never caught on in the mainstream. Blu-ray has, for all intents and purposes, replaced DVD and is widely accepted and available (and relatively inexpensive to boot). It totally makes sense to release this in that format, IMO.
Omar D says
"Happy Man'" off VII was edited when Rhino released the re-mastered albums a few years ago. I am just hoping COMPLETE ORIGINAL UNEDITED albums are included here. If not, not worth it, even if it is quad, mono, 8-track, cassette, or what you.
Michael Fortes says
The full version was quietly restored in later pressings of VII - I replaced my old CD with the restored version several years back. I expect these releases will follow suit with the full version.
Paul English says
Nice if they could include the Live in Japan album as well.
OD says
But as that wasn't mixed in quad it wouldn't fit in, which is why IV isn't included.
Rusty Bumper says
This is a dream come true for Chicago fans. I checked Rhino's website yesterday (4-29-16) and there is nothing mentioned anywhere about this release. I sure hope this isn't a rumor.
Joe Marchese says
It certainly isn't a rumor, Rusty! The Second Disc only reports news based on confirmed press releases from the issuing record labels, in this case, directly from Rhino. Looking forward to this one myself!
Charles Dyer says
Added to my want list and will purchase or not after I read reviews regarding sound quality.
Bill says
Amazon....
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EWGTEGS/?tag=thesecdis-20
notBob says
Why is the "best of" collection in there? Redundancy....
Joe Marchese says
I believe the unique edits on "Chicago IX" (a chart-topping album in its own right) warrant its inclusion here.
notBob says
I never bought IX cuz I had all the others. Not a big fan of edited versions. I bought & enjoyed the 5.1 version of Chicago II, & would like to hear some of the earlier ones in Quad, but doubt I'll spring for the whole box. Great band in their classic years!
Mark Paul says
that iron-on will be rather small compared to the original unless it's folded which would likely ruin the transfer. hmmm. i wonder if i'll fit in a XXS shirt...
peter chrisp says
This will be massive, Does anybody really know how much it is, looking forward to it so we get 2 mixes of each track. I wonder how many people already have a best of Chicago? Millions of people around the world, i remember their first one, can't recall how many they have actually released over the years. Looking forward to it immensely,
Charles Dyer says
So far "CTA" sounds superb in both stereo and quad. If anyone is waiting on reviews before they make the purchase, I think any Chicago fan will enjoy this set. I've been reading a lot of positive reviews and glad I purchased it.