Rhino Launches "Rhino High Fidelity"—a New AAA Limited Edition "Premium Vinyl" Reissue Series!

lacquers cut from master tapes by Kevin Gray

Rhino Records today announced a new "audiophile grade" limited to 5000 copies reissue series of rock and jazz classics mastered by Kevin Gray using the original master tapes, plated and pressed at Optimal in Germany and available only on the Rhino website. (However, as of the press release launch time, Friday May 19th at 9 A.M., neither of these records appears on the Rhino website).

The first two titles are The Cars, the group's 1978 debut and Coltrane's Sound (1964) recorded during the same session that produced My Favorite Things but released three years later.

The Cars features a new interview with guitarist Elliot Easton about the gear used on the album, plus producer Roy Thomas Baker’s tracking notes for “Good Times Roll.”

Upon hearing the Rhino High Fidelity pressing, Easton said, "It's like being in your studios. It's like listening to a studio playback… It just blew my mind." He then reflected on the making of the album, “We felt like we were doing something that hadn't been done before, like we were breaking some ground and making some sounds that hadn't been recorded before. That was very exciting. It was just completely the chemistry of the five of us. It's nothing you can calculate or plan. It just either happens or doesn't. It's magic.”

Coltrane’s Sound includes notes and images from the master tapes along with an archival essay by Tom Dowd, who engineered the record. Dowd recalled "It was amazing, even after an hour of solid playing [Coltrane] would be as calm and composed as when he first started. Normally when someone works this hard, they tense up. Not John. As I observed him playing, I could not detect any of the joints of his hands or fingers. He didn't seem to have any bones. He played with "feathers." His technique involved complete confidence, control, and composure."

 The packaging is gatefold, laminated, "tip-on" jacket deluxe complete with obi. All albums in the series have been and/or will be mastered directly from the original analog master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. Gray says about the series, "“It will be an honor to master this series! There is so much variety to explore in the Rhino catalog - everything from Jazz to Rock to R&B.  Rhino has a very deep catalog spanning across 5 decades. The possibilities are incredible! I look forward to all of it.”

Each quarter, The Rhino High Fidelity series will release two classic albums, each with the initial pair's audio and packaging quality in strictly limited to 5000 copy editions. The next round of Rhino High Fidelity releases will be announced in the coming weeks.

I got a sneak preview of some of the planned titles and it will make many fans of some under-reissued groups very happy. I also got preview editions of these first two titles and the packaging, pressing and sound quality are all what you'd hope for.