The Boban I Marko Markovic Orkestar's The Best Of Boban I Marko Markovic Orkestar - Golden Horns was released on 11th June on the Piranha Musik label. As you might guess from the title, it is a compilation of their best material, compiled from releases on CD and various other media.

Admittedly, I am not particularly keen on any kind of compilation albums, and perhaps especially not of the 'Best Of' variety. (Although where they are of historical interest for example they most definitely have their place.) However, I shall not let this prejudice me in any way; if I thought it might, I would not review at all.

The Boban I Marko Markovic Orkestar is a Serbian brass ensemble apparently from the Roma tradition. There are some good to excellent, even infectious, dance grooves on Golden Horns, but not all tracks fall into this category. Some are more reminiscent of a funereal dirge and could be a right mood killer if you are looking for a party album. Likewise, if you are looking for the sophistication and funk of say Herb Alpert this album is not for you, although some of the grooves are distinctly Latin. Just for sheer variety, there is also a rendition of the Israeli Hava Nagila, as if another version were really needed.

Often, the sound reminds somewhat of Indian brass bands (however, without ever approaching the zany liveliness of these), but predominantly the sound is more a characteristic Continental 'Oom-pah' sound. The mix of instrumentals and songs is somewhat detracting - one or the other only might have been preferable. Note though that I am not saying that this is a bad or altogether bad album. It has its good parts, and there is some fine playing. But on the whole I must confess that Golden Horns can fairly quickly become boring if not somewhat irritating even, with an overwhelming touch of derivativeness not helping. The Boban I Marko Markovic Orkestar may well be big fish in their native Serbia, but being big fish in any continental country (or even all of them) does not necessarily mean anything on the rest of the planet. (Does one really need to think of e.g. the absolute ghastliness that is the annual 'musical' freak show of the Eurovision Song Contest?)

Consistency is something that is totally lacking here, in the quality of the tracks as much as in the quality of production and recording. If Golden Horns is really representative of the best of The Boban I Marko Markovic Orkestar then that is a rather sad state of affairs. It neither represents a sophisticated modern brass sound (which it seems to strive to), nor does it reflect the characteristic Balkan/Gipsy sound. Rather, it seems to sit on the fence and get a very sore backside in the process.

While a few of the fifteen tracks are quite attractive, on the whole I sadly have to confess that I would not miss The Best Of Boban I Marko Markovic Orkestar - Golden Horns were it absent from my collection. You may take a different view, so by all means give it a try.