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The music for the 2010
action-adventure An action-adventure game is a video game genre, video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements f ...
western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
video game ''
Red Dead Redemption ''Red Dead Redemption'' is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. A successor to 2004's ''Red Dead Revolver'', it is the second game in the ''Red Dead'' series. ''Red Dead Redemption'' is se ...
'', developed by
Rockstar San Diego Rockstar San Diego, Inc. (formerly Angel Studios, Inc.) is an American video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Carlsbad, California. The studio is best known for developing the ''Midnight Club'' and ''Red Dead'' series. T ...
and published by
Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...
, was composed by musicians Bill Elm and
Woody Jackson Woodrow Wilson Jackson III (born June 10, 1970) is an American composer and session musician. He is best known for his work with Rockstar Games, composing scores for its video games ''Red Dead Redemption'', '' L.A. Noire'', ''Grand Theft Auto V ...
. Recorded at Jackson's studio in Los Angeles, the soundtracks were produced by David Holmes. The music was intended to imitate soundtracks of 1960s Western films, such as
Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...
's work on the ''
Dollars Trilogy The ''Dollars Trilogy'' (), also known as the ''Man with No Name Trilogy'' (), is an Italian film series consisting of three spaghetti western films directed by Sergio Leone. The films are titled '' A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964), '' For a Few ...
''. In collaboration with each other, Elm and Jackson produced over fourteen hours of music across fifteen months. The composers used unconventional instruments to create unique sounds, and worked with artists such as
Tommy Morgan Thomas Morgan Edwards (December 4, 1932 – June 23, 2022) was an American harmonicist and session musician, who had been active since the 1950s. He was considered one of the most heard harmonica players in the world, playing in over 500 fea ...
during production. Four supplementary vocal recordings were also produced for the game. The soundtrack album for ''Red Dead Redemption'' was released on
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
in May 2010. Additional compositions, composed for the game's standalone
expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion, is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game, collectible card game or Miniature wargaming, miniature wargame. An expansion may introduce new rules ...
'' Undead Nightmare'', were released on a second soundtrack in November 2010. Critical reception to the soundtracks was positive, as reviewers felt that the music connected appropriately with the gameplay and genre. The game's music was nominated for numerous awards. Several tracks became popular and begot
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s and live performances.


Background and recording

''Red Dead Redemption'' is one of the first games by Rockstar to use an original score. Music supervisor Ivan Pavlovich has cited the large scale of the game as one of the largest difficulties when producing the score. He said that, in order to achieve an effective gaming experience, the game could not solely feature licensed music, like previous Rockstar games. "We figured we'd need to write an original score," Pavlovich said. To work on the score, Rockstar engaged Bill Elm and
Woody Jackson Woodrow Wilson Jackson III (born June 10, 1970) is an American composer and session musician. He is best known for his work with Rockstar Games, composing scores for its video games ''Red Dead Redemption'', '' L.A. Noire'', ''Grand Theft Auto V ...
, member and former member of
Friends of Dean Martinez Friends of Dean Martinez is an American instrumental rock/post-rock band featuring members of Giant Sand, Calexico, and Naked Prey. The band combines Americana with electronica, ambient, lounge, psychedelia, and dub and intertwines surf ...
, respectively. In collaboration with each other, the duo composed over fourteen hours of music, which scores the game's missions, across fifteen months. The original score and subsequent album were both recorded and mixed at Jackson's personal recording studio in Los Angeles, and mastered at
Capitol Studios Capitol Studios is a recording studio located at the landmark Capitol Records Building in Hollywood, California, United States. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capi ...
. Following the recording, Irish producer and composer David Holmes listened to the original score, and subsequently spent three weeks compiling fifteen instrumental tracks that could be used as standalone songs for the game's official soundtrack. Holmes attempted to make the soundtrack representative of the variety of sounds and moods in the game. Four vocal performances were also recorded for use in the soundtrack.Alt URL
/ref> Recorded at 130
beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...
in
A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic ...
, most of songs featured are constructed from motifs in the game's dynamic soundtrack. A mix of modern instruments and those featured in traditional Western films, such as the
jaw harp The Jew's harp, also known as jaw harp, juice harp, or mouth harp, is a lamellophone instrument, consisting of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or Reed (mouthpiece), reed attached to a frame. Despite the colloquial name, the Jew's harp most like ...
, were used. Creative uses of instruments were used to bring unique sounds, such as playing a
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
onto the surface of a
timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
drum. Rockstar also consulted musicians who played traditional Western instruments;
harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...
player
Tommy Morgan Thomas Morgan Edwards (December 4, 1932 – June 23, 2022) was an American harmonicist and session musician, who had been active since the 1950s. He was considered one of the most heard harmonica players in the world, playing in over 500 fea ...
, who had been featured on several films over his 60-year career, provided traditional harmonica segments for the game. Beyond trumpets,
nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
s and
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
s, the composers incorporated other instruments, such as
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
s and
ocarina The ocarina (otherwise known as a potato flute) is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the bo ...
s. When researching music for inspiration, Jackson found that there was no "Western sound" in 1911; he felt that the soundtracks of 1960s Western films, such as
Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...
's work on the ''
Dollars Trilogy The ''Dollars Trilogy'' (), also known as the ''Man with No Name Trilogy'' (), is an Italian film series consisting of three spaghetti western films directed by Sergio Leone. The films are titled '' A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964), '' For a Few ...
'', was more representative of Western music. In appropriating the score to the game's setting, Elm commented that the process was initially "daunting", taking a long time to discover how the music was to work in an interactive way.


Albums


''Red Dead Redemption Original Soundtrack''

''Red Dead Redemption Original Soundtrack'' comprises songs from the game, composed and produced by Bill Elm and Woody Jackson. The soundtrack spans twenty tracks, covering a duration of 75 minutes, and features four additional vocal songs. Rockstar Games first published the album digitally via
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
on May 18, 2010, and physically on August 23, 2010. A limited
vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, ...
of the soundtrack was also released on November 18, 2010, as a collaboration between Rockstar and
Wax Poetics ''Wax Poetics'' is a global music platform for music collectors, with its roots as a music magazine dedicated to vintage and contemporary jazz, funk, soul, Latin, hip-hop, reggae, blues, and R&B in the crate-digger tradition; the name of the ...
. In the context of the game, ''Red Dead Redemption Original Soundtrack'' was well received. Simon Parkin of ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...
'' named it "standout", praising the use of multiple instruments. ''
GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
''s Will Herring echoed these opinions, comparing the soundtrack to Ennio Morricone's ''Dollars Trilogy''. ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
''s Justin Calvert called the soundtrack "superb", and ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
''s Erik Brudvig named it "exceptional" and "wonderful". ''Game Music Online'' praised the soundtrack as an individual piece, stating that it has the ability to accompany "any Hollywood film". Gideon Dabi of ''Original Sound Version'' felt divided about the soundtrack; though heaping praise, he wrote that it was "a little too slow on the draw". The vinyl release of the album split it into four sides across two records and features an additional track.


''Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Original Soundtrack''

''Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Original Soundtrack'', the soundtrack for the downloadable content '' Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare'', features compositions from the game, composed and produced by Bill Elm and Woody Jackson. It also features works from bands Kreeps and Misterio. The soundtrack spans eighteen tracks, covering a duration of 49 minutes. Rockstar Games first published the album digitally via iTunes and Amazon Music on November 23, 2010, simultaneous with the release of ''Undead Nightmare'', and physically on November 26, 2010. In the context of the game, the soundtrack was generally well received. Harris Iqbal of ''Game Music Online'' praised its ability to incorporate horror and western music, stating that the soundtrack is "sometimes gimmicky and narrow in its scope, but there is still a decent amount of variety". Michael McWhertor of ''
Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...
'' called the soundtrack "gorgeous".


Legacy

''Red Dead Redemption'' won the award for Best Original Music from
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
, Music of the Year and Best Interactive Score at the Game Audio Network Guild Awards, and Best Original Score at the
Spike Video Game Awards The Spike Video Game Awards (in short VGAs, known as the VGX for the final show) was an annual award show hosted by American television network Spike from 2003 that recognized the best computer and video games of the year. Produced by '' GameT ...
; the latter also awarded "Far Away" by José González with Best Song in a Game. Following the game's
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
release, it won Best Soundtrack at the Steam Awards in 2024. Gonzalez performed "Far Away" on
Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...
's show on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
in June 2010, at the Rockstar offices in New York in July 2010, and at the Spike Video Game Awards in December 2010. The performance at the Spike Video Game Awards was accompanied by a music video for the song, which Rockstar published a few weeks later. Ashtar Command also performed a live version of the song "Deadman's Gun" in August 2010. The popularity of the game has led to numerous
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of the music being released by various artists, such as musician Ben "Squid Physics" Morfitt, and artist María Katt.


Notes


References


External links

*
Official website music page
{{Red Dead series, state=expanded 2010 soundtrack albums Red Dead Redemption
Red Dead Redemption ''Red Dead Redemption'' is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. A successor to 2004's ''Red Dead Revolver'', it is the second game in the ''Red Dead'' series. ''Red Dead Redemption'' is se ...
Red Dead Redemption ''Red Dead Redemption'' is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. A successor to 2004's ''Red Dead Revolver'', it is the second game in the ''Red Dead'' series. ''Red Dead Redemption'' is se ...
Albums recorded at Electro-Vox Recording Studios