James Gang: Miami Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

James Gang: Miami Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 17, 2026

Note: August's batch of Quadio releases from Rhino offers four artists who haven't had previous Quadio releases, at least under their own name, with Bread's David Gates being that particular outlier, along with newcomers Herbie Mann, James Taylor and James Gang.

Kind of interestingly given its status as a precursor of sorts for future Eagles member Joe Walsh, James Gang's chart performance was considerably more successful in our neighbors to the north (that would be Canada, folks) than here in the good old United States. In fact only one of James Gang's albums managed to crack the domestic Top 20 (and then only at the twentieth position), and they never had an actual hit single. Miami came somewhat late in the band's career, a few years after Walsh had left and Tommy Bolin had taken over (though Bolin himself was soon to leave to join Deep Purple). The result is an agreeable if frankly not overly impactful collection of rock, blues and some nascent funk, with some intermittent guitar flair on display. If this would seem on its face to provide a more substantial rock element than some of the others in this particular batch of Quadio releases, there are many songs on this album that would have been right at home in their own way with the softer rock proclivities of folks like David Gates and/or James Taylor.

The album's track list can be seen in the screenshots of the disc menu I've uploaded to accompany this review. More information about navigating the menu can be found in the video section, below.

James Gang: Miami Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

This is another Quadio release with a static menu. As usual, the track listing changes color depending on whether you scroll, chapter skip (which amounts to next track) or actually individually select tracks, and I've offered some examples of the different changes on tap. Unfortunately this is another audio Blu-ray from Rhino where you have to navigate through the tracks to get to the audio codecs to change those, and also unfortunately this is another case where the song starts over once a different codec is chosen. I'll just mention in passing this also another disc from Rhino or Warner Music Group I've reviewed where I had a bit of a struggle determining what the different colors meant and which choice had been opted for, especially with regard to the audio codec choices (I somewhat hilariously kept reselecting Quadio on repeated attempts to listen to the stereo version).

James Gang: Miami Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

James Gang: Miami features DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options. This is a really interesting quad mix in that it features some of the most noticeable anchoring toward the rear channels of any of the many Quadio releases I've reviewed thus far. From the get go with Cruisin' Down the Highway through the next several songs, a lot of the sonic information is coming at the listener from behind (at least if they're facing forward). I'd argue it's really not until Miami Two-Step with its pedal steel emanating from the front right channel that there's really forceful engagement of the front speakers, but even then elements like the drums are noticeably rearward. There's appealing spaciousness, and the mix nicely prioritizes vocals, even if the guitar work is probably the single most captivating part of the album.

James Gang: Miami Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As usual with the Quadio releases, there are no on disc supplements. An insert leaflet reproduces the album's credits and also includes Quadio's standard photos of master tape boxes.

James Gang: Miami Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's no big hit single to attract prospective buyers to this release, but Miami is an enjoyable if minor effort from James Gang. The Quadio mix is rather interestingly weighted noticeably toward the rear at times, but gives a nicely spacious accounting of the album. For the band's fans at least, Recommended.