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Rhino High Fidelity "Black Sabbath" and "Freedom of Choice"
By: Tracking Angle

May 17th, 2024

Category:

Industry News

Rhino High Fidelity's Next Two Titles Are "Black Sabbath" and Devo's "Freedom of Choice"

are we not happy?

LOS ANGELES — Rhino High Fidelity (Rhino Hi-Fi) returns with the latest additions to its acclaimed limited-edition, high-end vinyl reissues. 

Black Sabbath’s Self-Titled (1970) debut and Devo’s Freedom Of Choice (1980) are available today exclusively at Rhino.com and internationally at select WMG stores. Each release is limited to 5,000 individually numbered copies priced at $39.98. Order now.

Rhino High Fidelity has set the industry standard for sound quality and packaging, demonstrating Rhino's 45-year legacy of award-winning audio releases. To ensure an unmatched listening experience, Kevin Gray expertly cuts lacquers and Optimal handles the 180-gram vinyl pressing. The attention to detail extends to the aesthetic experience, with glossy covers and "tip-on" jackets reminiscent of vinyl’s golden age.

Black Sabbath’s debut album marked the birth of heavy metal, adorned with atmospheric doom and unsettling sound effects. The platinum record peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard  200 and featured staple tracks “The Wizard” and “N.I.B.”

Accompanying this release is an exclusive interview with Tom Allom, the album’s engineer, who gives a sneak peek into the recording process and the band’s influences. Allom recalls, “When you listen to Bill’s drum patterns, and Geezer’s bass playing, both that album and Paranoid, there’s a massive jazz influence.”

Devo's third studio album displayed the band's most profound combination of lyrics and music, notably with their hit single "Whip It." The song was a massive success, dominating both TV and radio, reaching No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, ultimately propelling the album to platinum status.

Freedom Of Choice includes liner notes by Robert Margouleff, the album's co-producer. He reflects on Devo’s influence and rhetoric, sharing that they “offered a predictive glimpse into humanity’s destructive nature, a strange and subversive warning about the regression of humankind in the single word: DEVOlution.”

Rhino High Fidelity continues to tap into Warner Music’s extensive music catalog, bringing music enthusiasts and audiophiles superlative versions of landmark albums from diverse genres, including jazz, blues, rock, pop, and beyond. The series will continue to introduce two classic albums bi-monthly, maintaining the same exceptional audio and packaging quality that has quickly defined Rhino High Fidelity.

Comments

  • 2024-05-17 09:16:40 PM

    tim davis wrote:

    "What is this that stands before me?" Any word as to whether or not Kevin cut from analog tape as opposed to digital files for these releases?

    • 2024-05-17 09:34:40 PM

      Chris Kelly wrote:

      They are all AAA as per the Rhino website.

      • 2024-05-17 11:31:36 PM

        tim davis wrote:

        Thank you!

  • 2024-05-19 10:00:25 PM

    Lemon Curry wrote:

    The original 1980 pressing of Freedom of Choice is very dynamic, sounds great. Let's hope the RHF lives up to this high bar.