Buy it... if you are familiar with the often gorgeous romance themes produced by Lee Holdridge throughout the years and seek the first and perhaps most famous entry in that collection.

Avoid it... if the fluffy atmosphere and pop elements in the score's conversational and action cues render Splash too dated to compensate for the more universal love theme.

Holdridge

Splash: (Lee Holdridge) Long before his seemingly endless parade of accolades for his dramatic acting performances, Tom Hanks was a regular favorite in the realm of dumb comedies. While most of these comedies were really quite awful, one of the exceptions was 1984's Splash, a very early entry in his career and featuring an endearing supporting cast lead by the sizzling Daryl Hannah (and including Eugene Levy and John Candy for laughs). After much alteration, Ron Howard's film of a New York dock worker twice saved from downing by (and eventually falling in love with) a mermaid hit all the right buttons, delivering its fantasy with grand comedy while tempering its message about love with the necessary bittersweet ending. For composer Lee Holdridge, Splash was an equally important career-turning success. The composer not only flashed his skills in the lush, orchestral themes that most remember from the film, but also extended his abilities in action and pop culture writing, as well as adapting his title theme for a song (an area in which the composer would support himself well in the coming years). The 1980's would in turn be considered the pinnacle of recognition for Holdridge, despite the composer's prolific production in the two decades to follow on a variety of obscure television and video projects. The wide scope of genres that Splash covers as a film led to an accomplished score sadly neglected through the years until resurrected in the late 1990's on album. For most listeners, the glory of Splash will reside completely in the flowing string theme occupying the film's titles. In "Main Titles," "Reunion," "Return Home," and "End Title," Holdridge unleashes the pleasantly harmonic theme with no reservations, utilizing the familiar high string structures also present in his song orchestrations. Deeply resonating bass strings under flowing layers of mid-range strings and brass accompany the theme, with the composer's keen sense of counterpoint always merging sections of the ensemble with the usual dynamic skill. The theme may not have the gravity of those to be heard in his classics like Old Gringo or The Mists of Avalon, but the allure of the romantic atmosphere it creates for Splash is undeniable.

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For the cues in between the full performances of this title theme, Holdridge manages to avoid the pitfalls of typical fluffy, light-hearted comedy scores. Although containing a few of those elements throughout, he builds the score around a very captivating thematic variant for a solo pianist. As the orchestra swells in and out of this theme, the piano is a constant reminder of the score's core. One of the most remarkable aspects of the score is Holdridge's ability to capture the underwater beauty and romance of the mermaid's world, and then translate those musical motifs into a pop and jazzy format for the New York City lifestyle. Never do the percussive pop elements overwhelm the orchestra, however, elevating the score to a level beyond the immature silliness of a more average urban comedy/romance score. There seems to have been some dissention regarding the extent to which the pop elements were present; Holdridge recorded more robust, purely orchestral variations on the film's late chase sequences (with some notable performances by the French horns) that were replaced by renditions heavier on the drums and guitars. For the most part, though, the Splash score contains a significant number of slight conversational cues, lead by the acoustic guitar in "Watching TV." The song variant on Holdridge's title theme is decently performed by Rita Collidge, with alternate versions on sax and guitar. Though the music was originally released on LP in 1984, collectors eagerly awaited some form of CD release of Splash for years, only receiving a single track on a Ron Howard score compilation from the mid-1990's. Even Holdridge had expressed interest for years in seeing a comprehensive CD release of the Splash score, being that it was often referred to as the most popularly recognizable film music work of his career. A promotional album pressed by the short-lived Super Tracks label in 1999 finally contained the full score, properly arranged in order and featuring several bonus tracks of alternate recordings. The only thing missing from the CD is the giant fold-out poster of Daryl Hannah as a nude mermaid that came with the LP, though art arranger Mark Banning must be given credit for the abundant cleavage included on the promo's packaging as possible compensation. Overall, for collectors familiar with the often gorgeous romance themes produced by Holdridge throughout the years, Splash is an easy recommendation. ****   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Lee Holdridge reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.75 (in 13 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.49 (in 6,763 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.