Anyone who played Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption to completion will remember the game’s very effective use of two songs — Jose Gonzales’ “Far Away,” as John Marston rides into Mexico, and Jamie Lidell’s “Compass,” as he journeys home — to mark major narrative moments. Apparently, the game’s creators had another song at their disposal, one from experimental indie pop band Animal Collective, that went unused.
This week, Animal Collective released the song it recorded, titled “Mountain Game,” for Red Dead Redemption on its YouTube channel. The band didn’t have a whole lot to say about the experience or why it wasn’t used in the final game, however. “Here’s an unreleased track we recorded in 2010 for Red Dead Redemption and it never got used,” the band wrote on YouTube. “Enjoy.”
One listen to the song and you might understand why Animal Collective’s musical contribution could be seen as an ... odd fit for the Western game. If you’re a fan though, you can always fire up “Mountain Game” and listen to it while you play. The Xbox 360 version of Red Dead Redemption was recently added to Xbox One’s backward compatibility support list.
