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Review: Blu-Ray Audio Boxed Set Spotlights Four Of The Band's Essential Early Albums With Quadraphonic And High-Resolution Stereo Mixes Of Toulouse Street, The Captain & Me, What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, And Stampede.

The Doobie Brothers celebrate two major milestones this year as the band marks its 50th anniversary and its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November. The 50th Anniversary Tour that was also planned for this year has been rescheduled for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic (new tour dates below). This will be the first time that principal band members Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald, Pat Simmons and John McFee have toured together in more than 25 years.

Before the band is welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rhino will release a new boxed set that highlights some of the music that helped make the Doobie Brothers one of the most popular bands of its generation. THE DOOBIE BROTHERS: QUADIO will feature quadraphonic mixes of Toulouse Street, The Captain & Me, What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, and Stampede. The four Blu-ray audio discs come in replicas of the original vinyl record sleeves and are all packaged together in a clamshell box.

For this collection, all four albums have been mastered using the original four-track Quad mixes. The set includes both the quadraphonic and high-resolution stereo (19224 DTS-HD Master Audio) mixes for each album. To enjoy the Quadraphonic mix as intended, the Blu-ray audio discs should be played using Surround Sound.

THE DOOBIE BROTHERS: QUADIO brings together four essential albums from the band's early days. It begins with the group's second album, Toulouse Street, which was released in July 1972. The record achieved platinum status and launched the group to stardom with the hits "Listen to The Music," "Rockin' Down the Highway" and "Jesus is Just Alright."

The following year, the band returned with The Captain & Me, which was certified double-platinum on the strength of hits "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove," as well as fan favorites "South City Midnight Lady" and "Without You." These back-to-back classic albums represent one of the greatest one-two vinyl punches of the 1970s. Many songs from the albums are still played every day on the radio, a testament to the timelessness of the music.

In 1974, the Doobie Brothers released the group's fourth album, What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits. The record peaked at #4 on the albums chart and was certified double-platinum. It also featured the band's first #1 hit, "Black Water," which was originally released as the B-side to "Another Park, Another Sunday."

Stampede is the final studio album featured in THE DOOBIE BROTHERS: QUADIO. Released in April 1975 and certified gold, it also peaked at #4 on the albums chart. It includes the Top 40 hits "Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me)" and "Sweet Maxine." Stampede would be The Doobie Brothers' last studio album with original singer/guitarist Tom Johnston until he re-joined the band in 1989.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight tearing to the top of the individual sleeves, very slight dent to the to the top right corner of the slipcase, product in perfect working order***


The Ramones are one of those bands that everyone agrees on, to some extent, before disagreeing. Such was their career trajectory. Unanimously, the first three albums - 1976's Ramones, 77's Leave Home, and Road to Ruin (1978) - were all bonafide 20th Century works of wonder. End of the Century, which landed as the decades switched over, is where views start to divide. As such this collection of their LPs from the next ten years, or so, may not immediately jump out and grab everyone.

That's a real shame, and hopefully this package, which is the first time these records have been reissued on vinyl, will go some way towards making people remember exactly how good the vast majority if their 80s output was. Pleasant Dreams, Subterranean Jungle, and Too Tough To Die are exceptional outings that are guaranteed to put you off whatever it is you're listening to from this millennium. Throw in Animal Boy, Halfway to Sanity, Brain Drain and Still More Stuff, the latter itself a retrospective of unreleased bits from this era, and we think this is a real punk winner.

Review: The ultimate collector's edition of the acclaimed fourth full-length from punk turned alt rock pioneers The Replacements comes in an extensive LP and quadruple CD format, complete with an excellent remaster of Tim handled by iconic producer/engineer Ed Stasium (Ramones, Talking Heads), as well as a bevvy of previously unheard cuts (Sons of No One: Rare & Unreleased) and a classic concert from 1986 (Not Ready For Prime Time). Landing in a 12x12" hardcover book featuring dozens of unseen photos and a detailed history of the Tim era written by Bob Mehr; author of The New York Times bestseller Trouble Boys: The True Story of The Replacements, who also won a Grammy for his album notes on the band's 2019 release Dead Man's Pop, this 180 gram remaster is essential aural work for any diehards. There's never been a more ample time to revisit or freshly discover the band's first major label release and also the final album from the original line-up before guitarist Bob Stinson would be kicked out towards the end of 1986.