Earlier today, Rhino unveiled a new batch of Quadio reissues, reissuing vintage quadraphonic mixes on Blu-ray Audio.  This time, it's all classic rock, with three titles celebrating their 50th anniversaries and one just shy of that milestone: America's Hearts (1975), Hot Tuna's America's Choice (1975), WAR's Why Can't We Be Friends? (1975), and Jefferson Starship's Spitfire (1976).  The WAR mix is previously unreleased in any format.  All Blu-rays also include a high-resolution stereo mix, with both presentations sourced from the original analog tapes.

America's Hearts was reissued earlier this year in an expanded edition on CD by Omnivore Recordings, featuring six bonus tracks (five of which were previously unreleased) and liner notes from our very own Joe Marchese.  On Black Friday, Friday Music will unveil a limited vinyl edition with two bonus cuts.  Now, the four-channel surround mix is coming to Blu-ray Audio. With top-notch songwriting, soaring vocals, expansive orchestration, and widescreen production by George Martin (his second collaboration with the group), Hearts exemplified the band at its peak.  Three singles were released.  Dan Peek's funky "Woman Tonight" hit No. 44 and Gerry Beckley's hauntingly beautiful "Daisy Jane" climbed to No. 20.  But it would be one of Beckley's other contributions which would garner the most chart success.  "Sister Golden Hair," released in March 1975, made it to No. 1 and became America's first song to top the charts since 1972's "A Horse with No Name."  Hearts became an international success, peaking at No. 4 in the United States and achieving success in Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and throughout the world.  It remains one of America's most beloved albums today.

A splinter group of Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna - formed by Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen - moved on from a largely acoustic blues style with their third album, America's Choice.  Joined by new drummer Bob Steeler, Casady and Kaukonen embraced full-blown power-trio rock with the album which would open the band's "Rampage Trilogy," later rounded out by Yellow Fever and Hoppkorv.  Kaukonen penned most of America's Choice with Casady earning a co-writing credit on "Funky # 7;" a cover of Robert Johnson's "Walkin' Blues" was also included.  Despite its title, "Hit Single # 1" wasn't released on 45 RPM but became a setlist favorite.

WAR's seventh album, Why Can't We Be Friends? found the large musical collective - Lonnie Jordan, Howard Scott, B.B. Dickerson, Harold Brown, Papa Dee Allen, Charles Miller, and Lee Oskar - continuing on its path blending funk, soul, rock, and blues.  The album's infectious sing-along title track composed by the band and manager-producer Jerry Goldstein (co-writer of such classic hits as "My Boyfriend's Back" and "I Want Candy") shot to the top ten of both the U.S. Pop and R&B charts, while the second single "Low Rider," also co-written with Goldstein, topped the R&B chart and also went top ten Pop.  The album's material was considerably more compact than the epic psychedelic jams featured on numerous past albums, but WAR's eclectic adventurousness nonetheless manifested itself on the longer tracks such as "Heartbeat," the multi-part suite "Leroy's Latin Lament," and "Smile Happy" (a portion of which was later interpolated into reggae star Shaggy's 2000 hit "It Wasn't Me").  Why Can't We Be Friends? (reissued earlier this year as an expanded edition on CD and LP) reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and went to No. 1 on the R&B survey, earning a Gold sales certification.  This Quadio presentation marks the premiere of its original quadraphonic mix.

Finally, Jefferson Starship's 1976 Grunt Records release Spitfire comes to the Quadio series.  It followed the band's 1975 chart-topping Red Octopus and continued in the vein of its predecessor.  Though it featured another big Marty Balin ballad which climbed the charts, in this case "With Your Love," it also boasted rockers such as Grace Slick's "Hot Water" and the band-penned "Dance with the Dragon," led by Paul Kantner.  Balin, Slick, and Kantner were joined by lead guitarist Craig Chaquico, keyboardist David Freiberg, bassist Pete Sears, and drummer John Barbata for this album of arena- and stadium-sized rock (with a bit of balladry for good measure).

All four Quadio titles are available now exclusively through Rhino.com individually or as a bundle.  You'll find the track listings and order links below.

America, Hearts (Warner Bros. BS4 2852, 1975 - reissued Warner/Rhino, 2025)

1. "Daisy Jane"
2. "Half A Man"
3. "Midnight"
4. "Bell Tree
5. "Old Virginia"
6. "People in the Valley"
7. "Company"
8. "Woman Tonight"
9. "The Story of a Teenager"
10. "Sister Golden Hair"
11. "Tomorrow"
12. "Seasons"

Hot Tuna, America's Choice (Grunt BFD1-0820, 1975 - reissued Grunt/Rhino, 2025)

1. "Sleep Song"
2. "Funky #7"
3. "Walkin' Blues"
4. "Invitation"
5. "Hit Single #1"
6. "Serpent Of Dreams"
7. "I Don't Wanna Go"
8. "Great Divide: Revisited"

WAR, Why Can't We Be Friends (previously unreleased quad mix of United Artists LP UALA441-G, 1975 - reissued Avenue/Rhino, 2025)

1. "Don't Let No One Get You Down"
2. "Lotus Blossom"
3. "Heartbeat"
4. "Leroy's Latin Lament (Medley)"
   1. "Lonnie Dreams"
   2. "The Way We Feel"
   3. "La Fiesta"
   4. "Lament"
5. "Smile Happy"
6. "So"
7. "Low Rider"
8. "In Mazatlan"
9. "Why Can't We Be Friends?"

Jefferson Starship, Spitfire (Grunt BFD1-1557, 1976 - reissued Grunt/Rhino, 2025)

1. "Cruisin'"
2. "Dance With The Dragon"
3. "Hot Water"
4. "St. Charles"
5. "Song To The Sun"
   1. "Ozymandias"
   2. "Don't Let It Rain"
6. "With Your Love"
7. "Switchblade"
8. "Big City"
9. "Love Lovely Love"​