Global Underground: London

With his second volume in the Global Underground series (recorded at the superclub Heaven in Leicester Square) Danny Tenaglia proved himself a master mixer of all things house, from the most sensual, funky American disco to minimalist nu-house of a distinctly European variety. Tenaglia begins with a few tracks of tribal-house, exemplified by the sweet electric piano and vocal scatting on Roy Davis, Jr.'s excellent "Watch Them Come" (as Men From the Nile). From there, he grows ever more techno-oriented and minimal, spinning through cathartic dancefloor workouts like "In and Out of My Life" by ATFC and "Definition of House" by Minimal Funk IV, before ending the stellar first disc back in tribal territory with Nathan Hawks' "Back to the Q." The second disc finds Tenaglia blending Paradise Garage-inspired house with the trance sounds more familiar to regular Global Underground listeners with an effect much less powerful than on the first disc. Still, Global Underground: London is an excellent mix, definitely the best in the series so far as well as a standout concerning Tenaglia's output. ~ John Bush