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Incoming: A thread about a couple of discrepancies about a relatively obscure 80s song that I personally have noticed and want to express to the world
Here& #39;s a song called "Friends" by Angelo Janotti and his band Dragon Sound, from the 1987 martial arts cult classic movie Miami Connection. I definitely recommend the song if you have time to listen in full. Great, cheesy fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGG-FfoO7Wc">https://www.youtube.com/watch...
It& #39;s a great song, but doesn& #39;t it feel like it& #39;s... missing something? That& #39;s because it is. Please let me introduce you to the version used in the credits of the 2013 Ubisoft video game Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9aF9_mZDyY">https://www.youtube.com/watch...
In the version from the credits of the 2013 game, the piano keys are amped up to 11 along with tons of other minor production decisions that turn the track into a truly over-the-top wall of sound.
Possibly the greatest and biggest change in the 2013(?) alternate mix is the nearly minute-long guitar solo to close things off. Really fulfilling climax to what is already a pretty decent track.
In all of my scouring of the internet I have seen no evidence that this version actually dates to 1987 like the original. Each upload of this version I& #39;ve seen also attributes itself to the 2013 video game, which really doesn& #39;t seem like it& #39;d be the source for this type of thing.
After hearing the 2013 version (which, admittedly, is the version I was first introduced to the song via) I& #39;ve never been able to listen to the 1987 version. Friends by Angelo Janotti just doesn& #39;t feel like Friends by Angelo Janotti without the revised production + guitar solo.
So here& #39;s where things get interesting. A label by the name of Enjoy the Ride Records recently gave the soundtrack of Miami Connection a re-release in 2020, complete with a couple of nice little bonus tracks. You& #39;ll see why this matters in a moment.
One of the included bonus tracks is an instrumental version of "Friends", which, if you listen, you can see that it& #39;s obviously based on the aforementioned 2013 version from the Blood Dragon video game and NOT the 1987 version from the original soundtrack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs7dw2tIu_U">https://www.youtube.com/watch...
This instrumental version eerily matches the format of some 80s "Dub Versions" I& #39;ve heard, if anyone reading this knows what those are. As this instrumental version is much much longer than the original, it essentially spends the final 3 minutes and 30 seconds repeating the hook.
One of the most odd things about all this is the fact that it never actually breaks into that guitar solo that I& #39;ve been touting, either. The production& #39;s all there from the 2013 version, but possibly my favorite quirks from that version are even missing in this instrumental.
My side goal with this thread is to inform my followers about a specific thing that they may or may not find interesting. But my main goal is to rally for the release of the vocal version of the song directly from the credits of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, wherever that may exist.
