Dr. Dre: 2001 (2LP, instrumentals only) [AFTERMATH/INTERSCOPE]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set strips the vocals off 2001 and leaves the beats, so every piano stab and bass line is up front. The full album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 516,000 copies in its first week and has gone 6x platinum.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Instrumental edition

About the album

Some albums are remembered for the rhymes, and some for the beats; 2001 is that rare thing where people can hum the production from the first two notes. Dr. Dre spent years getting there. After leaving Death Row and founding Aftermath, he rebuilt his G-funk sound from the ground up, swapping the hazy synth whine of The Chronic for something sleeker, harder and colder.

Working mainly with Mel-Man, with Lord Finesse on the closer "The Message," Dre layered live keys, strings and bass over heavy, clean drums. Without the vocals you can really hear how it's built: the staccato piano of "Still D.R.E.," the eerie strings of "The Watcher," the funk swagger of "The Next Episode" and the bouncing bass of "Forgot About Dre." Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Xzibit and Nate Dogg are on the original, but here the music does all the talking.

Producers and DJs still study these tracks like blueprints, and this is the version that lets you do the same at home. It also turns out to be very good for doing the dishes, although we accept that's not what Dre had in mind.

Also at Kops: more Dr. Dre on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On Aftermath / Interscope (cat# B0030331-01), a reissue of the 1999 album.