I approached the prospect of reviewing Pete Tong’s new compilation with some trepidation. After all, this is the man whose own name is rhyming slang for it all going wrong! But Tong’s list of achievements do speak for themselves. Whether he’s hosting BBC Radio’s seminal Essential Mix series, one of the world’s most iistened to radio programs, or setting up a new superclub in Ibiza – ‘Pete Tong’s Wonderland’ – he undoubtedly has the ability to facilitate, if not define, the music of the day as one of dance music’s greatest tastemakers.

And besides, the tracklist seemed to offer more complexity than the usual set ‘em up, knock ‘em down Ministry of Sound approach, thereby warranting closer inspection. Disc one sees Tong entering unexpectedly deep territory, beginning with Pryda mystic Europa which sets the scene nicely via the producer’s trademark subtle yet infectious grooves. From here we move from Leftfield’s moody pianos into Gold Ryan’s creeper of a tune, Clacker; reminiscent of Sebastian Leger or Mark Knight in its polished, thoughtful progression.

Time Zero offers nothing new to the tech sound, Interlater is disappointingly forgettable for a Skylark offering and Gotta Have Some Fun ups the paranoia in grating fashion before the compilation’s titular tune Wonderland arrives in all its cringe-worthy glory. Is it just me, or do the best rap vocal samples come from the UK garage scene, rather than the arrogant, dance-music ignorant US? Tyree Cooper’s needless requests to give respect to, “the DJ/ the DJ/the DJ” became too much for me after about a minute and a half, but may excite newbies.

Some fairly by the numbers fare from Wink and Xpress2 by way of Skylark lays the groundwork for a deeply disturbing piece of bad trip psychedelica, Radio Slave’s Grindhouse (Dubfire Terror Planet Remix). Mind wrecking even while judge-sober on the morning train, I pitied the poor clubbers affected by this nasty little tune when they least expected it. Thankfully, Tongy knows a thing or too, unleashing Paulo Mojo’s gorgeous Nightlaw to reach down into the depths of hell and steadily raise us up to the heavens. Beautiful.

Round two commences bathed in the warm, swirly glow of Dr. Kuchol’s Best Monday Of My Life, and gives the distinct impression Tong is most at home when he’s pleasing, rather than challenging his audiences. No Love Lost caused the music purist in me to cringe at the ‘American Idol’ style vocal, while the girl in me demanded to hit the floor, arms pumping in ridiculously unhip fashion. More contradiction ensued in the Mark Knight/Funkagenda rework of the classic Laurent Garnier tune Man With The Red Face . Seminal club tune though it may be, does the saxophone make it or ruin it? I can’t decide whether it’s just about the sexiest house tune going around, or a painful reminder that the sax was already heinously uncool long before President Clinton whipped his out at inauguration.

Continuing the crowd pleasing vibe, Tong drops Chicken’s phat and phunky WTF?, Joe T.Vanelli’s driving Harlem and Eric Prydz’s ubiquitous Pjanoo in quick succession. Lalalalala shows a marked intelligence, if coming as a bit of a downer after the sugar high of Pryda’s piano house epic. Tong then finishes the set off like the pro that he is with the singalong charm of Monday, before a somewhat anti-climactic synth creation from newcomer Paul Woolford .

Ultimately, Wonderland is an eminently listenable compilation. It succeeds in displaying the breadth of trends and talent currently sitting in the overflowing basket we call ‘house’, much cleverer and more mature than a ‘Clubbers Guide To’. Indeed, it would seem that for this time anyway, it certainly hasn’t all gone wrong. Far from it.