The soundtrack to an 18-minute film inspired by Snoop Dogg's "Murder Was the Case" provides more thrills than the average hip-hop release. Again, Dr. Dre relies on his standard production tricks and crew, introducing a couple of new members to the mix. But the result sounds anything but stale -- it ranks alongside The Chronic, Doggystyle, and Above the Rim in terms of quality. In fact, various-artist compilations like Murder Was the Case are the ideal vehicle for Dr. Dre -- they show his versatility. Murder Was the Case has the harrowing title track from Snoop Dogg, as well as the smooth funk of Warren G and the chilling hardcore of "Natural Born Killaz," the first track from Dre's collaboration with Ice Cube. At some point, Dre will need to find some new tricks, but Murder Was the Case finds him at the top of his game. [Murder Was the Case was also released in a "clean" edition, containing no profanities or vulgarities.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide