Special Notes:

16-page colour booklet with liner notes by Daniel Schweiger / Limited to 3500 copies

Alongside The Graduate (1967), Caddyshack was a comedy whose success was partly tied to a collection of songs that perfectly suited the nutty characters, goofy story, and slapstick idiosyncrasies of the film (including a brilliant, teasing gopher).

Starring Chevy Chase, Ted Night, Rodney Dangerfield, Michael O’Keefe (Nate and Hayes), and Bill Murray, Caddyshack was a broad, crude comedy that's evolved over the past 30 years into a classic.

The original soundtrack album never made it to CD, which is odd considering the film has a cult following, and singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins enjoyed huge success with his songs for Top Gun (a soundtrack album that’s been in print on CD for years).

Veteran jazz composer Johnny Mandel (The Sandpiper, I Want to Live!) provided the instrumental, tongue-in-cheek cues, and with the exception of a variation of John Williams’ Jaws theme (played when “a doody” floats in a public swimming pool), the 31 min. album includes virtually all the songs and brief score cues.

The CD's cue order is slightly different than the film, with Loggins' “Make the Move” placed third on the album, in spite of the a cappella intro being heard over the film’s main title sequence.

Loggins provided three songs for the film: the punchy “I’m Alright” title song, with its catchy lyrics and funky bass and guitar twang; the love ballad “Lead the Way,” which features small orchestra support for Loggins vocals, as well as a short quotation of the title song’s harmonic intro; and the rockabilly “Mr. Night,” the lesser song among the trio.

The reason “I’m Alright” works so well is its unbridled, petulant hurl; it’s a ‘What the fuck?’ ode directed at bullies, morons, and upper class snots. In Caddyshack’s worldview, it’s a caddy who wants respect for being a good golfer when his family, associates, and the elite club’s snotty clientele are keeping him down among the worker bees. The vocal version feature’s the full lyrics as well as fifties vocal stylistics, whereas “Make the Move” is ostensibly the instrumental passage written outside of the title song, with “Make the Move” being the only lyrics.

(One suspects that had the album not been released when half hour platters and 45 rpm singles were the norm, Loggins would’ve merged the two theme versions into one long tone poem for battered and neglected caddies.)

Other vocal tracks on the album include Journey’s own rock ode “Any Way You Want It,” The Beat’s guitar-heavy “There She Goes,” and Hilly Michael’s operatic “Something on Your Mind” with distinct brass emulations on Moog.

Mandel’s score cuts are fairly brief, and encompass “Divine Intervention,” a compact version of Wangner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” charge; the orchestral, slight Bossa Nova lounge “Marina,” with Manciniesque strings, sleek piano improve, and thick bass; and “The Big Bang,” an up-tempo rendition of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” for brass and rock ensemble.

To perhaps make up for the album and score’s short running time, La-La Land’s 16-page booklet includes heavy liner notes by Daniel Schweiger about the film’s production, Loggins’ music, Mandel’s contributions, and cue notes.

Only qualms: the album’s original mastering is oddly flat, and lacks the punchy clarity one would expect from CBS, the label who released the original vinyl platter. Loggins’ theme song is a classic, but in needs more bass…

© 2010 Mark R. Hasan