***1/2 Farley & Heller

JOURNEYS BY DJ PT 1 & PT 2

(Twisted/MCA, 2 CDs)

Few compilations narrate the dark fervor of house music as dramatically as this two-CD, 28-track program by Terry Farley and Pete Heller, DJs based in London. Credit the team's good taste. House music draws more of its oomph from atmospherics than any other form of disco, and the songs they've chosen spill over with atmosphere.

The first CD features Funky Green Dogs' "The Way," St. Germain's "Alabama Blues," "Morel's Groove" by New York mixing star George Morel, and Robert Owens's "Ordinary People" -- club hits all. The second CD offers Armand Van Helden's "Psychic Bounty Killer," Superstars of Rock's "Orange Sunshine," Cevin Fisher's "The Way We Used To," and 007's ecstatic "I Believe." All these jams are mixed smoothly and seamlessly, a continuously soulful up-feed free of Junior Vasquez-style difficulty, Todd Terry hardness, and electronic dance music's dry deconstructions as it swims its way plushly to the source of all gladness.

-- Michael Freedberg