In early 2009, WIDEawake Entertainment purchased the '90s glory and notorious mess that was Death Row Records, and wasted no time in releasing a snazzy remastering of the label's linchpin,
Dr. Dre's
The Chronic. Building upon that success, the folks at WIDEawake dug through unreleased recordings by
Dre's one-time protégé and fellow superstar
Snoop Dogg. Maybe it's a testament to just how spectacularly poorly the label was run during its heyday, but unlike many "from the vaults" hip-hop collections,
Death Row: The Lost Sessions, Vol. 1 contains very little chaff. While the record is as uneven as a compilation like this is inevitably fated to be, the majority of the album showcases a supreme performer at his prime. After
Snoop sets the scene with a mournful intro chronicling the exit of
Dre, followed by the death of
2Pac, the program begins with the steamy funk of "Doggystyle," a sparse-but-fun track featuring some top-shelf
George Clinton cameo moans. "Fallin' Asleep on Death Row" ups the ante with some vintage acrobatic
Snoop rhymes over the perfectly swirling D.R. beat. Another high-level highlight comes on the original cut of "O.G.," with its alternate flows and requisite Dogg Pound luminaries. WIDEawake have vowed to bring some sense to Death Row, and these
Snoop Dogg unearthings are the second step to proving their seriousness. ~ Jason Thurston