Buy it... if you've been disappointed by the sound quality of Lee Holdridge's other CDs from the 1990's and want to hear some of his best music in a superior recording.

Avoid it... only if none of Holdridge's superior scores on popular, commercial CDs have sustained your interest.

Holdridge

The Tuskegee Airmen: (Lee Holdridge) Back in 1995, the viewers of the cable-only HBO channel were only a small fraction of what they are today, and among the budding channel's earlier in-house productions was The Tuskegee Airmen. Based on the true story of the American 332nd Fighter Group in WWII, The Tuskegee Airmen details the training and triumphs of the first black aviators in the U.S. military. As an exhibition of the bravery and sacrifice of black airmen, this film treats its subject matter as Glory did for the Civil War era, staying true to the facts of history where possible. For viewers, The Tuskegee Airmen is most likely remembered for its remarkable acting performances across the board, as well as its fine photography of the vintage planes in action. The film's downside was its lower budget production values, including a limiting 16x9 shoot meant only for television viewing, a 2.0 Dolby sound quality that remains restrictive on 5.1 systems, and the necessary usage of grainy cockpit and combat footage from WWII during battle scenes. Usually, the lower budgets and shoddy sound quality of the projects for which he writes music is a significant detraction from composer Lee Holdridge's works. Despite always maintaining a classically rich and melodic structure, the performances and recordings of his work during the 1980's and 1990's have been frustrating in many cases, causing many potentially powerful listening experiences to be merely average scores to be appreciated for their ideas rather than their execution. One of the exceptions in Holdridge's 1990's production was The Tuskegee Airmen, which still suffered from the restrictions of a straight-to-television production, but HBO was apparently a step above Hallmark and Holdridge's other usual employers even back in the channel's early days. For all of those collectors who have sifted through Holdridge's work, waiting to lay down the money until one of superb sound quality came along, The Tuskegee Airmen is your answer.

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The underlying base doesn't differ from many of Holdridge's scores. Nearly constant harmony and easy progressions set the stage. But where The Tuskegee Airmen excels is in its inherent enthusiasm, crisp performances, and, most importantly, crystal clear sound quality. It was arguably Holdridge's most brassy score at the time, a preview for some of the even more robust portions of his popular The Mists of Avalon score a decade later. Ranging from the harsh tones of multiple layers of brass for the action sections to an elegant trumpet solo in the "Finale" cue, you have to be a brass fan to enjoy The Tuskegee Airmen. Its layers, whether performing counterpoint for the overlying string theme or simply providing a complex backdrop for a battle, are truly amazing. When combined with the lofty string section, this broad brass causes The Tuskegee Airmen to remind of John Barry's earlier orchestral writing. The strings also benefit greatly from their recording, with a lush and wet sound pulling some of the romance from Old Gringo's end titles. In several triumphant flying cues, usually accentuated by Holdridge's title theme, the strings soar with a touch of Jerry Goldsmith of Forever Young and his other flying scores. Among the highlights of the score are "First Solo" and "The First Lady Takes a Plane Ride," both of which mark each chord with a strong brass stroke, a crash of the cymbals, and even a gong. The exuberance of these cues, along with the historical significance they convey through their slower rhythms, provide for an extremely satisfying listening experience. There is a slight downside to The Tuskegee Airmen, however, and that is the relentless brass mix in the plentiful action cues in its latter half. Sometimes disjointed for the purpose of suspense, the same harsh brass that balances the strings can wear on the nerves when front and center with a snare in these action cues. That said, however, this film remains possibly one of the best uses of a Holdridge score in the picture itself, with its clear sound quality mixed at the forefront of several major scenes. Only released as a promotional product by the composer, the 1995 CD is a rare find, but if you've been enticed by some of Holdridge's most popular commercial soundtrack CDs, The Tuskegee Airmen is a safe and highly recommended next step. ****   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.