In Brief

* * * 1/2 Various artists, “Dead Presidents” soundtrack, Capitol. With the likes of Isaac Hayes, Barry White, Sly Stone, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Curtis Mayfield culled for one project, can it go wrong? Impossible. Sure they’re old, but unedited classics like Hayes’ “Walk on By,” the Dramatics’ “Get Up & Get Down” and Al Green’s “Tired of Being Alone” demonstrate that the Dr. Dres and D’Angelos of the world, despite their brilliant accomplishments, have a long way to go.

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