Activision Blizzard has announced three more tracks for the upcoming Guitar Hero World Tour today, revealing that MC5’s Wayne Kramer, Motorhead, and The Sex Pistols have all re-recorded classics specifically for the game.
Kramer hopped into the studio with Alice In Chain’s Jerry Cantrell and Gilby Clark (formerly of Guns N’ Roses) to re-recorded the 1968 tracks, “Kick Out the Jams.” A re-recording of The Sex Pistols’ “Pretty Vacant” will appear on the soundtrack as well; the band contributed a re-recording of “Anarchy in the U.K.” last year for Guitar Hero III. Finally, Motorhead returned to the studio to re-record “Overkill” from their 1979 album of the same name.
Likely a situation where master recordings were unusable for the game, this is not the first time artists have headed back into the studio to re-record classics. Aerosmith stepped into the studio to lay down some new versions of their classics for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith; Motorhead also contributed a re-recording of “Ace of Spades” for the upcoming Rock Band 2.
Well, it’s better than covers, right? Press release with fancy information about the recordings afer the jump.
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MC5’s Wayne Kramer, Motorhead and The Sex Pistols Modernize Iconic Sound With Re-Recorded Tracks for Guitar Hero(R) World Tour
40 Years Later, Wayne Kramer, Joined By Jerry Cantrell of Alice and Chains and Gilby Clark Formerly of Guns ‘N’ Roses, Brings Back ‘Kick Out the Jams’ for Guitar Hero World TourSANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept 03, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ — Guitar Hero(R) fans will have a unique opportunity to unleash their inner rockstar as they come together and kick out some jams with exclusive re-records by MC5’s Wayne Kramer, Motorhead and The Sex Pistols in Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero(R) World Tour.
Just shy of the 40th anniversary of the seminal performance in October 1968 when “Kick Out the Jams” was originally recorded, founder and lead guitarist Wayne Kramer went back into the recording studio with original producer Bruce Botnick to re-record the track exclusively for Guitar Hero World Tour. Featuring the vocals recorded by Rob Tyner in 1968, Wayne Kramer was joined by friends Jerry Cantrell of Alice and Chains and Gilby Clark formerly of Guns ‘N’ Roses — at The Woodshed Recorder, studio of composer and ex-Oingo Boingo keyboardist Richard Gibbs — to update and modernize the sound without taking away from the original visceral garage sound that made MC5 famous and helped start the Punk Rock revolution.
Last year when they re-recorded “Anarchy in the U.K.” as a Guitar Hero exclusive, fellow Punk Rock band The Sex Pistols – with original members John Lydon on vocals, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and producer Chris Thomas – also re-recorded “Pretty Vacant” utilizing the original analog sound board (circa 1969) that was built for George Martin at Air Studios, London, England in order to maintain the classic sound. Further extending the immense depth of the Guitar Hero World Tour set list is world renowned recording artist Motorhead who returned to the studio to re-record their smash hit “Overkill,” which had originally appeared on their 1979 album, Overkill.
“We set out to deliver a soundtrack for Guitar Hero that envelopes as many genres, styles and artists as possible without limiting scope,” said Tim Riley, Vice President of Music Affairs for Activision Blizzard. “When highly respected artists such as MC5’s Wayne Kramer, Motorhead and The Sex Pistols are willing to go back into the recording studio to re-record their music exclusively for the game, the fans win by getting a unique experience of old yet new legendary sounds.”
When the house lights go down this fall, a new generation of guitarists, drummers and fearless frontmen will come together and rock with Guitar Hero World Tour. The latest installment in the #1 best-selling video game franchise of 2007, Guitar Hero World Tour transforms music gaming by expanding Guitar Hero’s signature guitar gameplay into a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless controllers with new revolutionary online* and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player “Battle of the Bands,” which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online for the first time ever. The game features a slick newly redesigned guitar controller, drum kit controller and a microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock ‘n’ roll anthems. Music creators will also be able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunes(SM) where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of unique creations.
Published: Sep 3, 2008 09:19 am