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List of Western VGM Songs (with lyrics)
With the help of this thread, I would like to make a list of all VGM songs that were created in the West (outside of Japan/Asia). By "songs", I mean actual vocal pieces that have lyrics and a certain structure. I don't want to compile pieces that have voices, but no lyrics (i.e. choirs, a cappella, etc.), neither those that use vocal effects or only have a few words here and there (for example, "Just Do It Up" from Command & Conquer). Also, for some pieces, they are between acceptable and not, because the lyrics are only present in a small part of the song and they are not extremely elaborated (ex: "Headless Horse" from Need for Speed II). I don't know if I'll include those... what do you think? And about lyrics in a foreign (or nonexistent, hehe) language, they are good too, but I'm considering to list them in a seperate category. I'm mainly looking for songs in a style similar to mainstream music, though I guess styles that fit the other criterias should be allowed (for example, opera). Also, I don't want to hear about licensed songs, yet original material made by such artists for a game are welcome. While the list in this case will only include Western tracks, I would encourage anyone who would be interested to do a similar thing with Japanese VGM songs to do so, by creating a sister thread.
If possible, try to include as much info as possible when submitting a song. The title, composer, game and/or album it comes from, singer and musicians, etc. are all captivating in my eyes. And if you are able to and feel like it, you could provide a download link for the song. I know about a couple so far, but I'll let you start to submit those you know for the moment and post my entries later when I'll have organized a list. If you're not certain about a song, in that it might not fit here, post about it anyway and we'll see. I'll be waiting for your replies and update the first post accordingly to create the list. Thanks! -------------------------------------- Advent Rising - Greater Lights Alone in the Dark 3 - Alone in the Dark Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare - Alone in the Dark America - No Peace Beyond the Line - Theme Animorphs: Shattered Reality - Main Theme ~ Swamp Aquaria - Lost to the Waves Betrayal at Krondor - Tamny's Song Beyond Good & Evil - Propaganda, Bar Espagnol Breed - Celebrity, Far from grace, Unreal Cannon Fodder - War Captain Quazar - Theme Song Conker: Live and Reloaded - Great Mighty Poo's song, Dis-moi Donc que tu es a Moi Curse of Monkey Island - A Pirate I was meant to be Cyber Speedway - Dayglo Blues, Tabatha Discworld Noir - (vampire song) Donkey Kong 64 - DK Rap / Da Banana Bunch Dr. Brain 3 - Dr. Brain 3 Medley (many vocals, though not really lyrics) Drascula - Theme + 1 more song Drawn to Life - The End Earth 2140 - (6 tracks) Earth 2160 - Main Theme (Must Be Strong), End Credits (Live Your Life) Freddy Pharkas - Ballade of Freddy Pharkas, Closing Ballade Frogger Beyond - Theme Frontlines: Fuel of War - Closer To-Home GEX - Credits Inca - Inca People Interpose - Theme Jack Orlando - I Close My Eyes And Think Of You Jets'n'Guns - Hero Killer Instinct - Killer Cuts (many tracks) King's Quest II (remake) - When I Saw You King's Quest V - The Weeping Willow, March of the Ants King's Quest VI - Girl in the Tower King's Quest VII - A Land Beyond Dreams Knightshift - Theme Laura Bow 2 - The Archaelogist Song Legend of Dragoon - If You Still Believe Leisure Suit Larry 6 - Cell Block Love Medieval II: Total War - We are all one Metropolis Street Racer - (many) Mixed-up Mother Goose Deluxe - (many) Mr. Bones - In This World, Icy Lake Myst III: Exile - Exile No One Lives Forever - The Operative Phantasmagoria - Consumite Furore, Take A Stand Phantasmagoria 2 - Rage Portal - Still Alive Prince of Persia: Sands of Time - Time Only Knows PYST - I'm PYST Radical Rex - Theme Redneck Rampage - (all tracks) Redneck Rampage: Rides Again - (many tracks) Rise 2: Resurrection - Cyborg Rome:Total War - Forever Runaway: A Road Adventure - Runaway - Main Theme, In Memory Of Gina Sam 'n Max: Hit the Road - King of the Creatures Sam & Max Season One - Just You And Me (and Ted E. Bear), "Good for You (Good for Me)", "Useful to Boot", "World of Max", "More Than Jerks" Scud: The Disposable Assassin - (many tracks) Sega Power Cuts 1 - St. Gabriel's Mask (Vocal Remix) (from Ecco: The Tides of Time) Sega Tunes - Comix Zone (whole album) Shivers 2 - (5 songs) Simon the Sorcerer 3D - Burger Life Sin: Emergence - What's The World Come To Skullmonkeys - The Lil' Bonus Room, Musical Fruit, Klogg is Dead! Sonic CD (USA) - Sonic Boom Sonic R - (most tracks) Space Quest 6 - Soylent Clear Jingle Super Scattergories - Theme Talisman Tex Murphy: Overseer - Trying to Try, Slow Down, Tex's Lament The 7th Guest - The Game, Skeletons in my Closet The 11th Hour - Mr. Death, The Final Hour The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin - Swingtime The Incredible Machine 2/3 - Hip Hop The Pink Panther's Passport to Peril Thrillville + Off The Rails (expansion) Tiny Tank - Tiny's Theme, Tiny Boy Tomorrow Never Dies - Letter to Paris Treasure Quest - (all tracks on the OST, and some in-game) Two Worlds - Play The Game Vigilante 8: Second Offense - Return to Houston Virtual Pool - (all tracks) Virtuoso - (many tracks) Wild Woody - Bring It Back You Don't Know Jack Vol. 4 - The Boy from Chichen Itza, The Swabbaroos, Udder Love, You Divorsed Me (sic) |
Hey Rimo,
As you know, I'm a big Western VGM fan (specifically Sierra). List of Western games I know with vocals: Sierra (and Sierra owned): Betrayal at Krondor- Tamny's Song Freddy Pharkas- Ballade of Freddy Pharkas, and Closing Ballade Inca 1- Inca People King's Quest 2 remake- When I Saw You King's Quest 5- The Weeping Willow King's Quest 6- Girl in the Tower King's Quest 7- A Land Beyond Dreams Laura Bow 2- The Archaelogist Song Leisure Suit Larry 6- Cell Block Love Mixed-up Mother Goose Deluxe- Almost the entire CD Phantasmagoria 1- Consumite Furore, Take A Stand Phantasmagoria 2- Rage Shivers 2- 5 songs Space Quest 6- Soylent Clear Jingle The Incredible Machine 2/3- Hip Hop (short/obscure pieces: King's Quest 5- March of the Ants Dr. Brain 3- Dr. Brain 3 Medley (many vocals, though not really lyrics) ) Non-Sierra: 7th Guest- The Game, and Skeletons in my Closet 11th Hour- Mr. Death, and The Final Hour Diablo II remix- Deckard Cain Rap (put here for laughes more than anything) That's the best I can do for the time being. Sierra probably had some more vocal tracks, but I haven't played a lot of their later, post-95 games. What's the list for Rimo? :) Regards, - Spike |
Freedom Fighters - Main Title has a choir singing in a foreign language (I think). Not exactly 'mainstream' style, though.
I'll see if I can find any others in my library. Quote:
EDIT: Civilization IV - Baba Yetu - This one has lyrics, but I'm not sure if it's an actual language. It's a really cool song that was in SotW awhile back. Here's one that no one will know about. It's the theme from Super Scattergories, a PC game I have. It's a short jazz song with lyrics (singing about the game). The music's standard jazz fare, but still, it's something to add to the list. EDIT ^2: Skull Monkeys - Bonus Room is an acoustic guitar song with vocals (singing about the bonus room). This was in BSC '06. |
Title: Greater Lights
Singer: Charlotte Martin Composer: Tommy Tallarico & Charlotte Martin Album: Advent Rising - Music from the Video Game I really enjoy this song. So much so, that after hearing it, I had to grab all of Charlotte Martin's solo albums. She has an amazing voice. |
From the MDK Ending: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVvlkNrBT4k
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There's that dreadful vampire song from Discworld Noir that was in SoTW a few months ago, I forget what it was called.
You Don't Know Jack Vol. 4: The Ride had several full-length parody songs that are included in my rip, in addition to the shorter parody jingles. "The Boy from Chichen Itza" "The Swabbaroos" "Udder Love" "You Divorsed Me" (sic) That's all I can think of for now, since mainstream-style songs aren't really my thing (all about the instrumentals and choirs). But I'll let you know if I think of any more. |
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"In This World" from Mr. Bones showed up in Song of the Week some time ago, as well. A fairly enjoyable mainstream sounding track, which made use of a nifty blues-esque style. I no longer have the mp3, so I can't upload it, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone else does.
The Scattergories theme is strangely addictive, and Greater Lights is indeed beautiful. I'll have to seek out a few items on Spikey's list too, since there's some stuff that intrigues me (such as Leisure Suit Larry and The Incredible Machine). |
Thank you for the inputs so far! I know songs aren't the most popular thing in VGM, and even less the Western ones, but I guess this list will prove to be useful for the few who are seeking to find more about them.
I'll arrange a clear and detailed list in the first post eventually, but for now, I'll simply post some of my findings here: (see first post) |
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There were two songs in SOCOM 2 featuring an arabian (?) singer singing two arabian (?) songs.
The first one is more like traditional arabian music, the second is more like the arabian pop/techno/traditional mix. This songs really sound like mainstream music in arabia sounds. They both feature an orchestra so I think they were written by Inon Zur. |
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The vocal songs that stuck out at me during the BSC were "Human" from Scrapland, and "Lil' Bonus Room" from (I think) The Neverhood.
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Donkey Kong 64 - DK Rap / Da Banana Bunch
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You're right, it was Skullmonkeys.
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Myst III-Main theme
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Does "DREAM DREAMS" count? It's in a Japanese game, but the lyrics are in English. The same applies to Sonic CD, I think.
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Thanks for these, but I don't want to include songs from Japanese games here, even if they are in English and have a similar structure. The reason is that I'm interested to see what the Western composers came up with in that music category, and would prefer to not mix things up with the Japanese pieces. However, as I suggested in the first post, if you or anyone else would like to make a list of songs from Japan, it'd be a great idea to create a sister thread and compile them there.
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What about a Japanese-style song that was composed specifically for a western game? It sounds directly out of an anime (heck, the whole game tries to look like one), and even has a Japanese vocalist, but the game was done by Monolith, the same folks who made F.E.A.R.
I'm thinking of the opening track from Shogo: Mobile Armor Division, "Negai." (not trying to make trouble; it just came to mind) |
Hehe, it's good to test the limits and bring up exceptions, something I also enjoy doing when I get the occasion. :p
In this particular case, the whole song was done by an external Japanese crew, and both of the in-house composers for the game (Daniel Bernstein & Guy Whitmore) weren't involved. While it was created for a Western game, the song creators themselves weren't from the West (unless they are immigrants?), so I would disqualify "Negai" for this list, although I admit it's in a certain gray area. Sorry... The opposite is also true. A good example, while not being around songs, is Harry Gregson-Williams' implication in the MGS series. They are Japanese games, but I still consider him to be a Western composer. Other people might classify these info differently; it's quite subjective. |
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The only track I can think of that hasn't been mentioned so far is the Great Mighty Poo's song from Conker's Bad Fur Day (unless it's the same as the one from Live & Reloaded). |
Cannon Fodder for Amiga, i don't know if other versions also had lyrics. It's composed by Jon Hare and produced by Richard Joseph.
Amiga intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avpMl9HftUA Video from Amiga CD32 version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntk2X7rfaS4 |
Isn't that that "War" song? That's hilarious :D Brings back memories.
- Spike |
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