Long before the likes of Beirut or Gogol Bordello lashed Balkan music to contemporary beats the 12-piece Taraf De Haïdouks were bringing gypsy music to the rest of the world. Like some sort of raggedy Buena Vista Social Club, the wild boys from the Romanian countryside were tearing it up with their vivid explorations of the trad music of the lautari gypsies. Largely in their 80s, their woman-chasing and legendary drinking (they once even tried to flog their violins to bemused concert goers to fuel a session) become the stuff of contemporary legend.
Lauded by the likes of Brad Pitt, Yehudi Menuhin and Nigel Kennedy (he even formed a gypsy band in their honour) their exhilaratingly virtuostic violin playing, odd (to our ears) tuning, dazzling themes and bad-boy antics introduced the majority of us to the crazy, visceral trad music of eastern Europe.
But here they offer more stately fare, perhaps mindful that the likes of Kennedy have stepped onto their turf. The first half of this album is given over to ‘Tarafed’ versions of the likes of Bartók and Liszt, composers who themselves borrowed heavily from gypsy music.
It must have seemed like a great idea but with exceptions (the two Bartók pieces) it all feels rather mannered and it’s not till the bands own raucous tunes take over that the music really ignites.
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