They're one of Romania's top brass outfits, but for this album they've taken a much more pan-Balkan approach, bringing in guests from several Gypsy cultures around the region and beyond. Their collaborators are massive talents, most definitely the kings and queens of Romany music in all its glory. There's Macedonia's Esma Redzepova, the acknowledged Queen of Gypsy music, Gypsy-pop godfather Dan Armeanca, the young Bulgarian Jony Iliev, and veteran Ljiljana Butler, who recently came back from retirement - among many others. They go as far as France to bring in the flamenco sound of Kaloome - not as big as stretch as you'd imagine, given that Gypsy music is one of the antecedents of flamenco. But this also a tribute to band member loan Ivancea, who died of cancer last year. It's an excellent disc, but it does have its failings. Although everything falls under the Gypsy umbrella, there are stylistic differences between the guests and the band, and in finding a common denominator, the subtleties of performance are often missed. But there's a deep sense of joy in the playing, not only on the collaborations, but also the closing cut, a version of Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild" as you've never heard it before (and certainly not how John Kay envisaged it). If you want the royalty of Gypsy music all in one package, this is it. Not perfect, and possibly not for the novice, but pleasurable just the same.

By CN