Be forewarned: from its first propulsive beats, Gipsy Kings will put a spell on you. An authentic band of Gypsies from the south of France, these relatives of the renowned Gypsy singer José Reyes will steal you away on their seven-man guitar caravan to a freewheeling kingdom of Gypsy rock. It's a boundless realm where Spanish flamenco and Romany rhapsody meet salsa funk, by way of Morocco and the Middle East, and where hot-blooded passion reigns supreme.

The Gipsy Kings offer a king's ransom of riches in this collection of dance gems, ballads and instrumentals. Six synchronized acoustic guitarists strum standard flamenco chord progressions with the fervor of Django Reinhardt's Hot Club Quintet. Tonino "Golden Fingers" Baliardo creates gleaming lead-guitar lines, bending notes into minor-key Segovian filigrees and dazzling virtuoso runs. Sung in Gitane, a cryptic patois of Spanish, Catalan and Provençal, Nicolas Reyes's hoarse vocals wind from heaven to earth in a muezzin wail, conjuring up a soulful potion of Gypsy secrets, loves and suffering. The words are mysterious, but the message is universal. Stirring this ancient mix into a heady brew of syncopated salsa and African polyrhythms is a relentless rhythm section of electric bass, synthesizer and assorted percussion, propelled by vigorous palmas, traditional hand claps.

A Top Ten hit throughout Europe (where it was originally released independently following two earlier albums), Gipsy Kings foretells one possible future for "world music." So listen to your good fortune, and let the Gypsy spirit move you. (RS 546)

JANIE MATTHEWS