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Product Description

Hailing from the Reyes and Baliardo Gypsy families, this ensemble from the south of France has been playing "rumba flamenca" since the late 1980s. With this 1995 compilation, the songwriting talent and virtuosity this unique group possesses were gathered together in one comprehensive CD. Notable inclusions are the anthemic hit "Bamboleo," from their debut, Gipsy Kings; the slowly emotive "Trista Pena" the Italian cover "Volar¨¦," from Mosa?que; and assorted live cuts that wonderfully capture the wild energy these players spark onstage. 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. Check this caravan out. --Karen Karleski

Customer Reviews:

• This cd is wonderful!
  This cd has heart and soul and wonderful rhythms. Amazing percusion and beaultiful guitar. Extrordinary....more info
• Could there be a more perfect collection? Probably not.
  This album is full of hits and when I got hooked on it , I did not know it was considered flamenco. Erase the old images of this genre and make way for the Gipsy Kings. This will be a must have for decades to come. ...more info
• Strongly recomended.
  The album is outstanding in its tunes and music. I enjoyed it! I strongly recomend this album....more info
• Love the Gipsy Kings
  When I got "The Best of the Gipsy Kings" cd I only bought it for track 18, but after I listen to the who cd, I relized that I had been missing alot. This is great cd that holds the listeners attention. This cd is really great when you are working out. "The Best of the Gipsy Kings" is great cd that introduce me to one of my favorite bands....more info
• A stress buster and attitude adjustment therapy!
  It was really quite by coincidence how I came to love the music of the Gipsy Kings. A friend introduced me to their music when he listened to a CD I was playing a by Ottmar Liebert. He said that if I liked Ottmar, I would no doubt love the music of the Gipsy Kings. I just had to find out what all the excitement was about. We went to three CD stores around town before I FINALLY found one place that had the last one on the shelve. The clerk said he can't keep them in stock they sell so fast. NOW when friends come over and I'm playing the CD their heads turn and say "Hey what is the name of that CD?" That music is awesome! I just smile and I know it really doesn't take much to pass on the excitement! The passionate vocals of the Gipsy Kings speaks for it's self....more info
• Lots of fun.
  This is such a happy cd. It's got great rhythm and soul. Whether you like Spanish music or not, this is fun music that's great to dance to....more info
• highly entertaining
  I play this CD regularly in several situations: in my car, out on my friends' boat, while cleaning house and the days leading up to Cinco de Mayo. It is simple enough to be in the background during a dinner party and also fun enough to keep me moving. My favorites include "Djobi, Djoba", "Quiero Saber", "La Dona", "Baila Me", "Volare" and "Love & Liberte". The instrumental work is phenomenal and the raspy vocals are amazing. Even if you've never heard of the Gipsy Kings you should experience this CD....more info
• Ghastly
  It is well known that every questionable restaurant in the English speaking world has a copy of this record. Indeed, certain commentators are known to judge the repute of a given restaurant on this single fact.

  For nothing, but nothing, is guaranteed to expel straggling punters into the chill night air than a blast of these hoarse mediterraneans shouting their way through a foreign language version of "My Way". And if that doesn't do the trick, Bamboleo surely will.

  It rids the kitchen of vermine and wards off vampires, too.

  Olly Buxton...more info

• A Great Collection for Neophytes
  I'm not a Latin music fan, so I've got to review from the point of view of a pop fan. This is a very good collection of Gipsy Kings numbers, featuring most if not all of the tracks I liked best from their body of work - "Moorea", "Volare", "Viento del Arena", "Bamboleo". The mega-mix at the end is rather unnecessary, and points out how much some songs sound like others. Honestly, eighteen tracks tend to max my attention span, and the songs begin to run together. This may be an indication of my shortcomings rather than the albums, however. People looking for a Gipsy Kings album (or some Latin flavored music to add to their collection) probably won't be disappointed....more info
• Best of the Gipsy Kings
  If you like to dance and want to be energized, you will love this CD. I have my favorites, but the entire CD is GREAT!...more info
• Delicious Music
  This compact disc is a feast. It is the next best thing to a vacation in Spain. -- I find it impossible to listen to this cd without being overcome with happiness. -- Highly recommended for those Wednesday nights when the work week looks like it will never end. Enjoy!...more info
• Terrific compilation of the Kings' Latin pop
  This best-of compilation puts all of the Gypsie Kings' best known and most popular tracks together. It's great dance music, but also a good way to get to know Latin pop--whose rhythms and energy are distinct from everyday American fare. I enjoy relaxing to this album, or working to it, but on high volume this is also a terrific party album--guaranteed to get even the stiffest of guests tapping his feet, if not dancing....more info
• This is THE VERY BEST of the Gypsy Kings
  Weather your getting started with this group, or you are just a Gypsy fan, I trully recommend this disc. Its flavour and bravoura are just exquisit. These guys don't only write music thats full of color and emotion, they write music that goes deep into the heart. All these songs have a unique melancoly that is at the time touching and exciting. Without a doubt....more info
• Good, but See Newer Best of...
  The only reason I give this 4 stars at all is due to the fact that very recently gypsy kings has a double disc best of which is more comprehensive and has some real gems missing on this disc. All the songs here are bona fide favorites and quite exceptional, but the two disc has favs like habla me and hotel california which make it quite worth the upgrade. Get this one if you must, but the double disc is much better....more info
• Music from Heaven
  Heavenly songs and indeed true food for the soul.
  Envigorating music and charming melodies.
  This album has been a source of joy for me during my free hours.
  Highly recommended....more info
• Super album
  This is a superb album. I love to listen to this over and over again. The vocals are amazing as is the instrumentation. I will recommend this very highly....more info
• Love it
  A great CD, always gets rave reviews from others. Great for entertaining, or just hanging around....more info
• if you love their music, you'll love the CD
  My header pretty much says it: their music is a celebration of life.
  Good stuff....more info
• Why is this not under pop?
  This record consists of rumbas ! It's POP NOT FLAMENCO !! To see that there is not one single record with real flamenco from start to finish among the 20 first records listed under 'Flamenco' just shows what a minute understanding there is about this music here! Paco was playing fusion when he played with Al di Meola and Andres Segovia is a classical guitarist who never played flamenco.

  Its not a question of being a purist - the discussion in spain between traditional and new flamenco consists of issues like 'is it ok to use a saxophone in buler¨ªas ?' or 'is modern singers sounding to much like camar¨®n?'

  Now if you dont know who camar¨®n was or what buler¨ªas is then you dont know anything at all about flamenco!...more info

• WONDERFUL
  I remember their hit "Bamboleo" back in the 80's...and decided to get this CD, thinking that that was the only song I would like. I was never a fan of the Gipsy Kings, but I am one now!!!! I can listen to their songs over and over, "Baila Me" is such an upbeat song, you cant help but want to dance. "Viento de Arena" must be in another language other than Spanish, cant understand a word of the song, but also one of my favorite.
  
  The mix of traditional Flamenco guitars with a modern beat, is perfection in itself. ...more info
• Too much singing
  I took a chance on the Gypsy Kings, thinking that with all the rave reviews this album might be right up my alley. There are a few tracks that I enjoy but personally, I find there is too much singing. I just enjoy listening to the instruments. Oh well. You never know until you try....more info
• Your heartbeat will quicken
  Your heartbeat will quicken, your feet will begin to move. This cd is a joyous, tumultuous ride that will make you reach for your castanets. I first heard Bem Bem Maria when I went to see the Brendan Fraser film "Bedazzled", and in a few seconds, I was hooked. I had to find out who sang it, and I had to have it. My great good fortune was that every other song on this cd is just as fabulous as Bem Bem Maria....more info
• SI SI SI
  You cant stop humming and moving your feet. This is the music for every situation....more info
• The Best From The Very Best - The Gipsy KINGS!
  There are no words to truly describe the music of the Gipsy Kings. You just have to listen to understand that this is music that stirs the blood and moves the soul. The Gipsy Kings will transport you to another world, where you will want to dance your heart out, and sing along at the top of your voice - good-bye inhibitions. The sound of this CD is pure magic!

  The Gipsy Kings are from the gypsy settlements in Arles, and Montpelier, in the south of France. The group began back in the 1970s and is made up of singers and guitarists from the Reyes and Baliardo families. Lead singer Nicolas Reyes is the son of famed Flamenco singer Jos¨¦ Reyes. Their music really took-off in 1986 when they began to work with record producer Claude Martinez. The band's trademark is the indigenous music called the rumba flamenco, with its frenetic guitar work and passionate vocals. The rumba - which originated in Africa - traveled from Zaire via the slave trade to Cuba and the New World, then back to Barcelona, where it was adopted by the Gypsies.

  The group sings in gitane, a dialect mixing French, Spanish, and Catalan. "The Best of the Gipsy Kings" is an 18-track, single CD that includes much of their finest work. Cuts like "Djobi, Djoba," "Bem, Bem, Maria," "Escucha Me," and "Baile Me," will literarily move you - your feet, then your hands and shoulders...you just have to dance to this music. The dramatic "Viento del Arena" is pure sound of Spain with a gypsy touch. The mournful "Triste Pena," and "Amor" are ballads with roots plainly in flamenco. And "Volare" is a classic, with a slightly different take - gypsy style.

  I have yet to hear anything that I do not like from the Gipsy Kings. There is only music that I love, and music that I like very much. This CD is a compilation of the best of the best!...more info

• Baila, Baila!
  Though I don't remember much from high school Spanish, when I hear this CD, "Queiro bailar!" (I want to dance!) This is my favorite CD to listen to while stuck in traffic on Southern California's freeways. You can't help but be "moved" by the music. All of the songs are great (maybe that's why they call it the best of...) It's almost guaranteed that you will not be disappointed in this album....more info
• Always humming
  THE BEST OF THE GYPSY KINGS is FAN-TAB-U-LUS! It's music that sticks to your ribs and stays in your head. It makes you want to get up and dance and it certainly makes you want hear more of thir music....more info