Lee Holdridge

Given the grip that tunes like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "If I Only Had a Brain" exert over successive generations of collective consciousness, any latter-day additions to the Wizard of Oz songbook face an uphill battle at best. Lee Holdridge's score to the 1990 NBC television docudrama The Dreamer of Oz nevertheless deserves attention, boasting a simple beauty that deviates sharply from what one expects from the Oz mythos. Because the telefilm dramatizes Oz creator L. Frank Baum's life, Holdridge's score is free to explore musical territory beyond the fantastic. While "Two Witches" sits squarely within traditional Oz sensibilities, "Aberdeen" favors a distinctively western approach, and the poignant "Dorothy" communicates a sadness that's all too human and real. Percepto's lavish reissue includes extensive liner notes and a plethora of production stills -- a superlative release in terms of both form and content. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide