Hailing from the Reyes and Baliardo Gypsy families, Gipsy Kings from the south of France have been playing "rumba flamenco" since the 1980s. On The Very Best Of the songwriting talent and virtuosity this unique group possesses is gathered together in one comprehensive album. It may be the heady weather or the relentless flamenco beat or both, but listening to The Gipsy Kings on a beautiful autumn’s day can't fail to remind you of great holidays gone and still come. Although you'll almost certainly know these tracks, there's surprising strength in depth on this collection, culled from almost two decades of passionate music making. It contains twenty songs, twenty universally known hits that guarantee dancing, partying, happiness and a healthy portion of optimism.

In short, the Gipsy Kings are a celebratory bunch who know how to rock with a rhapsody of acoustic guitars, passionate vocals, and walls of congas, timbales, cabasas, and bongos. Never ones to stick to tradition, they cherry pick sounds from the Middle East, Latin America and North Africa to make one joyous castanet-clicking, tap-dancing collection. Notable inclusions are the anthemic hit Bamboleo, from their debut, Gipsy Kings, the Italian cover Volare, from Mosaique and assorted cuts that wonderfully capture the wild energy these guys possess. The good mood is only broken a couple of times, chiefly in the form of the heartfelt reworking of My Way A Mi Manera, and their Spanglish version of Hotel California. There is no lack of the styles that turned the Gipsy Kings into the leading stars of "world music": pop and flamenco, Arabic and Latin music, rai and rock in songs like Baila Me, A Mi Manera, Bem Bem Maria, Como Ayer ...

The Gipsy Kings are largely responsible for bringing the joyful sounds of progressive pop-oriented flamenco, called Sevillana in Spain, to the world. The band started out in Arles, a village in southern France during the '70s when brothers Nicolas and Andre Reyes, the sons of renowned flamenco artist Jose Reyes, teamed up with their cousins Jacques, Maurice and Tonino Baliardo, whose father is Manitas de Plata. They originally called themselves Los Reyes and started out as a gypsy band traveling about playing weddings, festivals, and in the streets. Because they lived so much like gypsies, the band adopted the name the Gipsy Kings. Nicolas Reyes' voice has a rare and moving quality that can only stir powerful feelings in the listener, while his cousin Tonino Baliardo's musical skills have placed him solidly in the pantheon of guitar ‘greats’. Alongside their kinsmen, they continue to create vibrant, passionate music that contains all the human emotions.

15.09.2005