L'esspresso 2017

101 Stax Records features the most iconic tracks by the biggest names from the world famous record company. Carefully compiled across 5 discs presenting some of the finest repertoire ever available at this price point.

Live performances of the laureates of the 2017 first Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition. This album contains orchestral performances of the final with the Brussels Philharmonic, conducted by Stéphane Denève, as well as Haydn’s Cello concertos of the semi-final session with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie conducted by Frank Braley. Chamber music performances during the first round and the semi-final session can also be heard, solo or with piano / cello accompaniment. The 2017 Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition was won by the French cellist Victor Julien-Laferrière, the Japanese Yuya Okamoto was ranked 2nd and the Columbian Santiago Cañón-Valencia 3rd; they are followed in the ranking by Aurélien Pascal (France, 4th Prize), Ivan Karizna (Belarus, 5th Prize) and Brannon Cho (USA, 6th Prize). The 6 other laureates, as well as 3 semi-finalists, are completing the program of this album.

Put together by esteemed writer-producer Norman Whitfield, the Undisputed Truth were one of Motown's flagship acts in the early-mid 70s, with 15 R&B chart hits including their near chart-topper Smiling Faces Sometimes and the original version of Papa Was A Rolling Stone and a string of best-selling albums. Surprisingly, only one of the original four Motown albums by the group's classic one-guy-two-girl trio has ever been reissued on CD until now.

The most popular exponent of the classic New Orleans R&B sound, Fats Domino sold more records than any other black rock & roll star of the 1950s. His relaxed, lolling boogie-woogie piano style and easygoing, warm vocals anchored a long series of national hits from the mid-'50s to the early '60s. Through it all, his basic approach rarely changed. He may not have been one of early rock's most charismatic, innovative, or threatening figures, but he was certainly one of its most consistent.

Ministry of Sound are proud to present RB Mixtape, released on the 27th January. With over two decades dominating the globe with expertly mixed multi-million selling compilations, there is no brand better to curate a 3CD essential album of the smoothest RB tracks that have taken over charts worldwide. Over the years, Ministry of Sound have defined the mixtape, and here they are once again to provide a flawless blend of legendary masterpieces mixed with todays hottest jamz. Rewinding back to all of the biggest artists and super groups including Destinys Child, R. Kelly, TLC and Whitney Houston, right up to this years massive mix of unforgettable tracks from Chris Brown, John Legend, Usher Alicia Keys.

Experience the punishing sonic origins of a punk icon. Collected here for the first time, and skillfully remastered from original board tapes, demos, and session masters, this collection is an authoritative chronicling of the wellspring and maturation of Grant Hart, Greg Norton and Bob Mould - three Minneapolis teenagers who'd go on to become the most heralded trio of the American punk underground. Follow the Hüskers to their earliest gigs in 1979, through extensive road dog touring, and to the start of their partnership with West Coast tastemaker SST in 1983.

Three Willow Park: Electronic Music from Inner Space, 1961 1971, contains 61 previously unissued gems by Raymond Scott (1908-1994). Widely recognized for his jazz-age melodies heard in classic Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck cartoons, Scott was also an electronic music pioneer and instrument inventor. In the 1960s, Scott produced beat-oriented proto-techno in advance of the 1970s explosion of electronic music and rhythms on the pop charts.

The BBC transcription disc I know very well and it was transcribed to digital in mint condition. It is, however, incomplete & is missing the tracks "Bombers" (should be inbetween "Queen Bitch" & "The Supermen") and "Almost Grown" (between "Looking For A Friend" & "Kooks") plus their Peel intros. "Almost Grown" feaatures Geoffrey Alexander on Lead Vocals. It is a shame they are omitted here although the show can be found in full on the 8CD "Ultimate BBC Radio Recording Sessions" box set.