Quadio is back!  After past releases in the series including, most recently, box sets from The Doobie Brothers and Chicago, Rhino is once again taking a deep dive into the Warner Music family of labels for four reissues presenting original quadraphonic mixes of classic albums on Blu-ray Audio.  This quartet of titles is shipping now exclusively from Rhino, and every release includes the original 4.0-channel quad mix and the 2.0-channel stereo mix in high resolution (192/24).

Black Sabbath's 1970 LP Paranoid was a key building block in the transition from "hard rock" to "heavy metal." Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward followed up their self-titled debut album of early 1970 with Paranoid, recording it in London in June.  Whereas Black Sabbath placed impressively at No. 8 on the U.K. chart and No. 23 in the U.S., its successor fared even better. Featuring such landmark tracks as "Iron Man," "War Pigs," and the U.K. Top 5 title track, Paranoid made it all the way to the top of the U.K. chart and No. 12 stateside. It sold more than four million copies in the United States, and has since been certified 4x platinum.  Warner Bros. first released it in quadraphonic sound in 1974; that mix was issued on DVD in DTS in 2009 and in 2020 as a stereo fold-down on CD.  The new Quadio presentation, like all of the titles in this new wave, is reissued in true high-resolution on Blu-ray.

Hot on the heels of the recent deluxe CD reissues of 1971's Killer and 1972's School's Out, Rhino returns to the Alice Cooper catalogue for 1973's Billion Dollar Babies.  A Platinum-certified record which went to No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic, Billion Dollar Babies captured the shock-rocker and his band (guitarist Glen Buxton, keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and drummer Neal Smith) in full flight with songs leaning into fear, horror, a visit to the dentist (ouch!), and even necrophilia.  The LP yielded four hit singles with "Hello Hooray," "Elected," "No More Mr. Nice Guy," and the title track.  The quadraphonic mix has numerous variations from the familiar stereo version, including alternate vocals, extended fades, and unique edits.  While Billion Dollar Babies was remixed into 5.1 surround for DVD-Audio release, this Blu-ray marks the digital premiere of the true quad mix.

1974 saw the release of the fifth album from Massachusetts' J. Geils Band.  Nightmares...And Other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle was produced by Bill Szymczyk (Eagles) and featured guitarist Geils alongside lead vocalist Peter Wolf, keyboardist Seth Justman, bassist Danny Klein, drummer Stephen Jo Bladd, and harmonica player Richard Salwitz, a.k.a. Magic Dick.  The funky rocker "Must of Got Lost" (penned, like most of the album, by Wolf and Justman) made it to No. 12 on the Hot 100, becoming one of the band's most famous tunes and one of just three top 40 hits the Band placed while on the Atlantic label.

Finally, Rhino offers up the original quadraphonic mix of Jefferson Starship's second LP, 1975's Red Octopus.  With its 2x Platinum certification, it remains the best-selling album by any iteration of the band (including Jefferson Airplane and just-plain Starship).  Red Octopus spent four non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200, largely on the strength of Marty Balin's epic "Miracles."  Balin, after contributing one track to 1974's Dragon Fly, was back as a full-time member of the group and wrote or co-wrote five of its ten tracks.  Joining Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Craig Chaquico, David Freiberg, Pete Sears, John Barbata, and Papa John Creach, Balin led the transition of Jefferson Starship from gutsy rockers to pop radio titans.  The soaring pop ballad "Miracles" (in an edited version) peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100, the highest placement for any Jefferson-related song until Starship's "We Built This City" ten years later.  Slick and Sears' "Play on Love," the second single, placed respectably within the top 50 of the chart.  Red Octopus set the stage for 1976's Spitfire, and another big Balin hit via "With Your Love."

All four Quadio titles are housed in Super Jewel Boxes and feature original label replicas.  They are all shipping now from Rhino.  You'll find the pre-order links below.  A bundle of all four releases is available now at a 20 percent discount.

Black Sabbath, Paranoid (Warner Bros. BS4 1887, 1974 - reissued Warner/Rhino, 2023)

1. War Pigs/Luke's Wall
2. Paranoid
3. Planet Caravan
4. Iron Man
5. Electric Funeral
6. Hand of Doom
7. Rat Salad
8. Jack the Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots

Alice Cooper, Billion Dollar Babies (Warner Bros. BS4 2685, 1974 - reissued Warner/Rhino, 2023)

1. Hello Hooray
2. Raped and Freezin'
3. Elected
4. Billion Dollar Babies
5. Unfinished Sweet
6. No More Mr. Nice Guy
7. Generation Landslide
8. Sick Things
9. Mary Ann
10. I Love the Dead

J. Geils Band, Nightmares...And Other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle (Atlantic QD-18107, 1975 - reissued Atlantic/Rhino, 2023)

1. Detroit Breakdown
2. Givin' It All Up
3. Must of Got Lost
4. Look Me in the Eye
5. Nightmares
6. Stoop Down # 39
7. I'll Be Coming Home
8. Funky Judge
9. Gettin' Out

Jefferson Starship, Red Octopus (Grunt BFD1-0999, 1975 - reissued Grunt/Rhino, 2023)

1. Fast Buck Freddie
2. Miracles
3. Git Fiddler
4. Ai Garimasu (There Is Love)
5. Sweeter Than Honey
6. Play on Love
7. Tumblin'
8. I Want to See Another World
9. Sandalphon
10. There Will Be Love