Streetwize Does Dre

Album review

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 /TiVo