Dr. Dre: 2001 - Clean Version (Import 180g) Vinyl 2LP

Censored import version. This high-tech as fuck-sounding album floored me when I first heard it almost 20 years ago, and the production values exhibited here are peerless, even now. The rap world couldn’t wait to hear what Dre cooked up after 2001. The mythologized Detox album never materialized, and the lukewarm Compton LP came too little too late. I’ll never forgive Dre for ditching music to cash in on overpriced branded headphones (“things just ain’t the same for gangstas”), but luckily the two Chronic albums have infinite replay value - due in part to Dre & his collaborators’ avoidance of fleeting references to modern technology in their verses - something I always noticed and appreciated in contrast to their contemporaries’ constant calling out of cars and pager models that seem dated as hell now. Album highlights: none; pour up a Chronic Iced Tea© and bang this from start to finish. Recommended. (Please note: clean / censored version!)

• clean / censored version
• digital download included
• limited edition
• music label: Aftermath Entertainment 1999 / 2013

reviewed by Jheri Saltz 10/2017