*** 1/2 4 Hero, “Two Pages,” Talkin’...

*** 1/2 4 Hero, “Two Pages,” Talkin’ Loud/Mercury.

The original British release of “Two Pages” was the drum-and-bass equivalent of Jekyll and Hyde. Just when deejays Dego and Mark had transported you to a landscape of calming, exquisite beauty with Disc 1, Disc 2 disrupted it all with its nervy collage of cold beats and frantic samples.

The U.S. version of “Two Pages” is a single disc, and it ends up being a better record. It retains the entire first part, intercut with snippets and a few tracks from Disc 2.

The majority of these exploratory compositions (the word “song” doesn’t quite apply) sound like trance-inducing variations on the epic orchestral patterns of soundtrack composer John Barry. Here, the majestic strings are embellished with jazzy drumming and sensuous vocals.

The dizzying amount of live instrumentation (string quartet, horn section, upright bass, tabla and acoustic piano, a soul choir, vibraphone and harp) are an indication of the project’s epic scope. Indeed, “Two Pages” feels more like a drum-and-bass opera than a pop record. There are echoes of Marvin Gaye, Afrika Bambaataa and the Miles Davis-Gil Evans albums of the ‘50s.

Dance music, yes, but also achingly vulnerable.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.