In Brief

* * * Dr. Dre, “First Round Knockout,” Triple X. Anybody looking for seeds of Dre’s production brilliance will find it on this compilation of mostly pre-N.W.A.-era tracks by other artists. With nothing yet to prove, Dre has unself-conscious fun as he wreaks and tweaks havoc on such songs as the D.O.C.’s loping, bouncy sex rhyme “Bridgette” and a goofy stab at early techno rap with Dre on lead vocals.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good), four stars (excellent).