Various Artists - Ethiopian Hit Parade 1 / Various

Release Date:12/09/2016;Notes:Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing including bonus track. After releasing around fifty 45 rpm singles and his first 33 rpm album, Amha Esthèté set about compiling his best 45s on a series of now legendary albums (the originals are impossible to find) in 1972. The first four volumes of Ethiopian Hit Parade were released in September and October 1972, with the fifth volume appearing in January 1973. You might be the proud owner of Volume 1. An audacious, funky outlaw, a music lover and an entrepreneur in tune with the baby-boomer generation, young Amha Esthèté will be remembered as the instigator of a peaceful revolution thick with soul and rock 'n' roll. The opening track of the first compilation is highly symbolic. 'Addis Abeba bété ( Addis Abeba is My Home ) is an exuberant and light-hearted hymn ("Running into you was a dream, but where can I meet you properly?") whose life-affirming message is still relevant today for people living in the Ethiopian capital. It was also written by the first artist to team up with Amha and brave the backward law upheld by the emperor and his bureaucrats. It is a worthy tribute to those who didn't just dream of pop stardom, but put their lives on the line at a time when it was already dangerous enough to rebel. Girma Bèyènè (piano) and Tesfa-Maryam Kidane (sax) were also on board and took part in clandestine recording sessions at a state radio studio arranged by a brave sound engineer by the name of Bèfeqadu Dibaba. The other tracks on this first volume celebrate such pioneers of modern Ethiopian groove as Girma Bèyènè, Seyfu Yohannes, Tèshomè Meteku, Menelik Wèsnatchèw, Mulatu Astatq and Muluken Melesse, alongside "tradi-modern" singers representing Amhara (Essatu Tèssèmma) and Oromo culture, so rich and so long marginalized (Abbèbè Tèssèmma and Gèmètchu Itana).;Track List:1. Alèmayèhu Eshèté All Star Band - Addis Abèba BÉTÉ - Alèmayèhu Eshèté All Star Band;2. Girma Bèyènè - SÉT Alamenem - Girma Bèyènè;3. Gemetchu Itana - Shèmèrmari Tiya - Gemetchu Itana;4. Sèyfu Yohannes Soul Echos Band - Tezeta - Sèyfu Yohannes Soul Echos Band;5. Abaynèh DÈDJÈNÉ - Yèbèrèha Lomi - Abaynèh DÈDJÈNÉ;6. Tèshomè Meteku - Gara Ser NÈW Bétesh - Tèshomè Meteku;7. Menelik Wèsnatchèw the Ashantis - Asha Gèdawo - Menelik Wèsnatchèw the Ashantis;8. Muluqèn MÈLLÈSSÈ All Star Band - HÉDÈTCH Alu - Muluqèn MÈLLÈSSÈ All Star Band;9. Mulatu Astatqé - Yèkèrmo SÈW - Mulatu Astatqé;10. Essatu Tèssèmma - Ayamaru Eshèté - Essatu Tèssèmma;11. Abbèbè Tèssèmma - Ashasha Bèyèw - Abbèbè Tèssèmma;Special Attributes:180 GRAM VINYL, BONUS TRACK