*** Various Artists

THE BEAT OF AMERICA VOL. I

(Logic)

In this two-CD set, DJs Denny Tsettos and Christian B. (newcomers to the first rank of house DJs) remix a full plate of freestyle, Euro, and house-music hits and should-be-hits just the way you like them. Which means that the beat gyrates willfully. From the light touches of traxx style (house music with a salsa undertone) to the plush of deep house to the dreaminess of Eurodisco and back again, the music doesn't just program: it jumps, quick-cuts, moves where it wants to. Tsettos has his own take on romantic ecstasy (LaBouche's "Fallin' in Love" and Alison Limerick's "Where Love Lives"), romantic tension (Veronica's "Let Me Go" and Todd-Terry-presents-Shannon's "It's Over, Love"), and pure party (N-Joi's "The New Anthem" and Martha Wash & Jocelyn Brown's "Keep On Jumpin'") -- and because so many of his selections are hits, his mixes ambush the dancer all the more.

Christian B's music flows more gently, and his selections exude a pop polish worlds away from Tsettos's deep and sultry flamboyance. But his beats snap and stop, and the riffs buzz and sigh. It's hard to dis a set featuring disco high points like Le Click's "Tonight Is the Night," Love Inc.'s "You're a Superstar," and Blondie's "Maria."

-- Michael Freedberg