Dimitri from Paris/Various

While he continues to avoid following up his spectacular 1996 lounge-flavoured artist album Sacrebleu, Dimitri from Paris seems to be clogging the market with a surplus of mixes both good and bad. Defected in the House of Love is a three-disc set that finds the Parisian DJ in the mood for love. Reaching deep into his crates for some true mood music in the form of rare and retro disco, funk and groove, as well as the house music he lives and breathes, Dimitri has amassed a satisfactory collection for lovers. Disc one gets going with the Originals’ "Down to Love,” a sure-fire groove-getter and all around classic that is kept alive later in the mix by the inclusion of Fat Larry’s Band and Sylvester, who keep the disco inferno burnin’. Disc two is a just as impressive assortment, beginning with Blackbox’s Italo-house number "Fantasy,” which marvellously blends into the stunning cover of "La Vie En Rose” by the inimitable Grace Jones. Disc three is merely a bonus that offers nothing more than a few extended/alternate mixes of select tracks from the first two discs. Unfortunately, where the album goes wrong is in the inclusion of contemporary artists like Bob Sinclar and Peter Heller (whose "Big Love,” no matter how great a house track it is, feels right out of place here), which ruins the retro splendour and throws a real kink into some good flowing sets. Dimitri’s assembled a great batch of timeless disco/funk tunes on this mix that could have worked impeccably, if he could only stop trying to impress his friends by including their done-to-death house tracks.