*1/2 Various Artists

Dr. DRE PRESENTS . . . THE AFTERMATH

(Aftermath/Interscope)

Even if you couldn't stand the stink of Dre's gangsta bullshit, you had to give him props for twice changing the course of hip-hop: first as N.W.A's hard-hitting producer, then as Death Row Records' smoove groove kingpin. But now, however you might admire his bold attempt to start yet again as a post-gangsta grown-up, you have to wonder whether this third phase doesn't mark the point at which his infantile regression finally contaminates his musical ability.

Granted, as the promo material keeps stressing, this isn't a Dre "solo album" but a "compilation" that showcases the talent at Dre's newly founded record company. Although the good doctor headlines only on "Been There, Done That," he leaves his mark in the hammy textures and lugubrious tempos that clot the whole project. From the hard-rap legends who kiss and make up on "East Coast/West Coast Killas" to the unknown R&B sexpots who air out their alveoli on "Got Me Open," almost no one escapes the style's overblown doominess. It's so oppressively preadolescent, it might even threaten the album's sales. I mean, RZA and his Wu-Tang Clan offer far darker hip-hop, Babyface and his divas far more sultry R&B. And I bet Ozzy Osbourne fans would rather fight than switch.

-- Franklin Soults