In Brief:

** 1/2 Gipsy Kings, “Allegria,” Elektra Musician. These recordings were made in the early ‘80s, before the French-Spanish world-music phenomenon had the will (or budget) to color its flamenco-pop with modern technology. Even so, this acoustic music is not too different from the group’s more elaborate late-’80s worldwide smasheroos. Maybe scholars will appreciate the subtleties of the stylistic evolution it forecasts, but plain ol’ fans may find it redundant.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five stars (a classic.)