The exact equivalent of those albums in the '60s where a bunch of slumming
jazz musicians would spend an afternoon doing
easy listening takes of
Beatles songs,
Streetwize's
Does Dre would be utterly hilarious but for one thing: for all the inherent comedy of the premise (which the group never plays up, but doesn't avoid, either), the album actually works more often than not. As the title suggests, this is ten songs associated with
Dr. Dre, including
Eminem's
"My Name Is," Snoop Dogg's
"Gin and Juice," and
"Nuthin' But a G Thang," given mostly instrumental, sax-heavy
smooth jazz arrangements. The results may well make the average West Coast
gangsta rapper slightly ill, but aside from a couple of half-hearted and ill-advised forays into actual rapping, the group focuses on
Dre's roots in '70s-vintage
soul and
funk, bringing out that key influence and rebuilding the songs from there. Anyone who liked any of
Grover Washington, Jr.'s '80s and beyond work would find something to appreciate here. ~ Stewart Mason
