This is the second Rhino Quadio release I’ve reviewed from legendary soul-funk jam band War, and their 1975 smash Why Can’t We Be Friends? is an absolute gem of a jam.
Beyond the infectious, sing-along title track, the album also delivers the band’s iconic, timeless, dance-floor-filling, car-cruising smash “Low Rider” — now in full four-channel quadraphonic sound.
Before I dive in to how good this new Blu-ray Disc sounds, I have to emphasize that I have long been disappointed with the sound quality on mid 1970s vinyl releases on the United Artists (UA) label (where War’s core catalog first saw release). In short, the pressing quality was just never very good and coupled with the oil crisis I rarely felt that I was hearing the true essence of music released by them. War was one of UA’s biggest acts at that time.
Fortunately, the underlying recordings on these releases were often pretty fantastic especially from War. I reviewed an earlier Quadio reissue in this series back in 2024 so I had great expectations for this new Quadrophonic presentation of War’s Why Can’t We Be Friends? I am not disappointed.
From official press materials we learn about Rhino’s fine Quadio series overall: “Each disc pairs the original quadraphonic mix with a hi-res 192 kHz/24-bit stereo transfer, both sourced from the original analog four-track quad master tapes.” From the Rhino site we have also learned that this quad mix is previously unreleased.
It’s worth noting that this is a 4.0 mix, so there’s no dedicated subwoofer channel like you’d get with 5.1 or Dolby Atmos. That said, the absence of an LFE channel doesn’t mean a drop in fidelity. The low end is still full, articulate, and deeply satisfying.
Actually, I think it sounds fantastic mostly keeping the band upfront but placing lots of really interesting detail in the surround channels — percussion frequently immerses the listener as well as funky guitar riffs and horn section punctuation.
While the entire album sounds remarkable, a few early standouts have emerged. “Heartbeat” makes excellent use of the rear channels, with rich congas appearing discretely behind you at key moments, adding rhythmic depth without gimmickry.
“So,” a gorgeous slow-burn ballad, spreads the vocals across all four channels for a lush, room-filling presentation, complemented by shimmering Fender Rhodes-style keyboards and Lee Oskar’s haunting harmonica floating effortlessly in the mix.
Iconic hit “Low Rider” puts you on the driver’s seat almost literally as there is Latin-tinged percussion all around you! It is an impressive mix, almost 3D like, especially in its presentation of those deep round bass vocals. At moments, it almost feels like the drawn-out “lowwww-riiiiii-derrrr” vocal is hovering in the middle of the room — and no, this isn’t Dolby Atmos.
For those curious, the standard stereo mix holds up beautifully as well, presented in full 192 kHz/24-bit resolution with clarity, punch, and plenty of breathing room.
The title track “Why Can’t We Be Friends” is a super infectious album closer that makes you want to get up and dance and — as I did — just play the album over again!
If you haven’t heard War on Quadio, you owe it to yourself to pick if you have a home theater system. You can find Why Can’t We Be Friends? at Amazon selling for a very reasonable $24.98 (click here). And, while you are there you might want to pick up War’s The World Is A Ghetto which was issued on Quadio back in 2024 (I reviewed it elsewhere on the web) and is equally excellent (click here), selling for $29.87.
Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc. You can learn more about him at LinkedIn.
Related Reading:
- ‘Wings Blu-Ray Collection’ Lifts Off In Dolby Atmos And DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround Sound
- Review: Grateful Dead’s Blues For Allah (1975) Arrives On Pure Audio Blu-Ray With Steven Wilson Dolby Atmos & 5.1 DTS-HD MA Mixes
- Rhino Releases Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, The J. Geils Band + Jefferson Starship Classics In Quadraphonic Sound
