This set includes 17 riveting, beautiful tracks cherry picked from the 1970-75 output of one of ’s most powerful and interesting singing stars.  The voice is simply extraordinary, merging the passionate melancholy and longing of traditional music with the panache and exuberance of soul, all with masterful control and elaborate vocal ornamentation.  Gèssèssè’s lyrics are also fascinating.  Though a longtime star for the Imperial Body Guard Band, he was arrested when the guards were implicated in a 1960 coup, and from then on, people heard hints of politics in lovesick laments like “I Can’t Stand it Anymore,” a song banned both under Sellassie and the Derg.  From bursting funk exuberance and brassy blare, to inconsolable, smoldering balladry, these songs—many ingeniously arranged by Mulatu Astatqé—are arguably the cream of the Addis crop.

Contributed by: Banning Eyre