What's the longest song in the series?

[Face The Music]

This is a genuine question that's been in my head a long while now. Specifically after I found out that one of the GTA 5 beta songs (Get Ready, by Rare Earth) was over 20 minutes, and wanted to know whether any songs in the series (that DID make it in, so no beta songs) reached or surpassed that. So far, I've got a few songs that in their full versions are contenders, but in the GTA edits don't quite make it.

 

San Andreas:

Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd (9:12, but the GTA edit cuts it down to about 5:40, give or take, by eliminating most of the solo)

Fool's Gold by The Stone Roses (9:54, but the version used on Radio X is 4:06)

 

GTA IV:

People Hold On by Coldcut (full version is 9:24, version used on Vice City FM is 3:59)

 

There's still a few contenders, though: Roundabout by Yes is 8:35, the full version of Disco Inferno by The Trammps is a whopping 10:50, and Moments in Love by Art of Noise is 10:15. I haven't listened to the latter two of those in the games, and don't know if they've been edited, which is partially why this exists. I know GTA is really trigger happy with their edits (the entirety of the last verse of Smokin', the same for Edge of Seventeen, Highway Star and maybe Heaven and Hell, most of Free Bird's solo, the outros of Rusty Cage, Plush, Wild Side, Dominion, Mama and Hollywood Nights, the intro of Hellraiser and a few seconds off some other songs (namely Evil Woman and Dirty White Boy)), which means I'm not entirely sure how long the GTA cuts of Moments in Love and Disco Inferno run. I'm also not sure if any of the Double Clef songs are longer than 10, if any are one of those likely claims the record.

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by Face The Music

[Thomas Vercetti Esq]

I don't know how much of it they play, but the full version of Terry Riley's "A rainbow in curved air" (from "The Journey" in GTA IV) is 18:39. I don't think I've ever driven around for a period of 20 minutes nonstop, so I couldn't say if they edit it or not.

 

(Incidentally, that's another great thing about the GTA games - no matter how broad your musical tastes are, you'll almost certainly find something new).

Edited May 31, 2023 by Thomas Vercetti Esq

[NightmanCometh96]

On 5/31/2023 at 7:44 PM, Thomas Vercetti Esq said:

I don't know how much of it they play, but the full version of Terry Riley's "A rainbow in curved air" (from "The Journey" in GTA IV) is 18:39. I don't think I've ever driven around for a period of 20 minutes nonstop, so I couldn't say if they edit it or not.

 

(Incidentally, that's another great thing about the GTA games - no matter how broad your musical tastes are, you'll almost certainly find something new).

IIRC, only ~3 minutes of the song (which is 18 minutes and 39 seconds long) are played in GTA IV. A lot of songs on The Journey are cut down to varying degrees, although none are as long as A Rainbow in Curved Air to begin with. Incidentally, a weird platform difference that I rarely see mentioned is that Steve Roach's Arrival has a longer length on PS3 than 360 and PC: the ~ minute-long outro plays in its entirety on the former (perhaps R* wanted to take advantage of the extra space on Blu-Ray discs?), while the other two omit it.

 

And yeah, GTA IV is what got me into ambient music, Aphex Twin and Tangerine Dream specifically; I'm glad the latter was able to work on V's in-game score before Edgar Froese passed away. I also doubt I'd be into house/EDM as much as I am if it wasn't for SF-UR and the LCS rendition of Rise FM, but I digress.

Edited September 24, 2024 by NightmanCometh96

[Thomas Vercetti Esq]

46 minutes ago, NightmanCometh96 said:

IIRC, only ~3 minutes of the song (which is 18 minutes and 39 seconds long) are played in GTA IV. A lot of songs on The Journey are cut down to varying degrees, although none are as long as A Rainbow in Curved Air to begin with. Incidentally, a weird platform difference that I rarely see mentioned is that Steve Roach's Arrival has a longer length on PS3 than 360 and PC: the ~ minute-long outro plays in its entirety on the former (perhaps R* wanted to take advantage of the extra space on Blu-Ray discs?) , while the other two omit it.

 

And yeah, GTA IV is what got me into ambient music, Aphex Twin and Tangerine Dream specifically; I'm glad the latter was able to work on V's in-game score before Edgar Froese passed away. I also doubt I'd be into house/EDM as much as I am if it wasn't for SF-UR and the LCS rendition of Rise FM, but I digress.

Aphex Twin is one of the very few people of whom it can be said that "mad genius" is a genuinely accurate description.

[LowTierDude]

I think they played the full versions of the tracks for some of GTA Online's new editions.

 

In The Wake Of Poseidon by King Crimson and The Sun by Secret Night Gang come to mind.

 

I believe the full version of Roundabout was used in LSRR as well.

 

That being said I have no idea why Rockstar shortens everything to 3 to 4 minutes. They've pretty much cut out the best outros of songs like Rusty Cage by Soundgarden, Inside My Love by Minnie Riperton and Inner City Blues by Marvin Gaye using this method.

Edited June 1, 2023 by kobeni

[Krymefull]

(does this count?)

Self-Actualization FM has the longest song name in the series so far, it's The Orb's "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre of the Ultra world (Live Mix MK10)" like jeez that's unnecessary lengthy.

[Face The Music]

4 hours ago, kobeni said:

I think they played the full versions of the tracks for some of GTA Online's new editions.

 

In The Wake Of Poseidon by King Crimson and The Sun by Secret Night Gang come to mind.

 

I believe the full version of Roundabout was used in LSRR as well.

That is indeed correct, and honestly if some of the other contenders got edited down Roundabout might just take the prize.

 

2 hours ago, DubiousThiny said:

(does this count?)

Not quite. I was referring to longest song length. That said Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain is indeed the longest title in the series.

 

EDIT: Also,  these don't count, but I'm just now noticing how freakishly long some of the beta songs were. These are all of the 6+ minute beta songs I know of, there may be more.

 

GTA IV:

(I Know) I'm Losing You by Rare Earth - 10:59

Voice of the Earth by Spacetime Continuum - 9:10

Caribbean Queen by Billy Ocean - 7:55

Masato Eternity by System 7 - 7:17

Autumn Leaves (Irresistible Force Mix 2) by Coldcut - 7:05

3, 2 (Bedrock Ambient Mix) by Humate - 6:58

Fingerprint File by The Rolling Stones - 6:33

Funtime by Peaches and Herb - 6:33

Changin' Times by Nazareth - 6:04

 

GTA V:

Get Ready by Rare Earth - 21:32 (if they'd used the album version it would've been the longest song in the series)

6 Underground (Bluebottle Mix) by Sneaker Pimps - 8:38

The Real Thing by Faith No More - 8:14 

You and I by Rick James - 8:06

Be Alright by Zapp - 7:52

One Nation Under a Groove by Funkadelic - 7:29

She's Strange by Cameo - 7:11

Loose Caboose by Joe Tex - 7:08

Slippin' into Darkness by War - 6:59

Radar Love by Golden Earring - 6:26

Yes We Can Can by The Pointer Sisters - 6:01

Edited June 1, 2023 by Face The Music

[NightmanCometh96]

9 hours ago, kobeni said:

I think they played the full versions of the tracks for some of GTA Online's new editions.

 

In The Wake Of Poseidon by King Crimson and The Sun by Secret Night Gang come to mind.

 

I believe the full version of Roundabout was used in LSRR as well.

 

That being said I have no idea why Rockstar shortens everything to 3 to 4 minutes. They've pretty much cut out the best outros of songs like Rusty Cage by Soundgarden, Inside My Love by Minnie Riperton and Inner City Blues by Marvin Gaye using this method.

Intros often get the axe, too. Tangerine Dream's "Remote Viewing" has an eerie 2 minute opening that sadly doesn't play in-game.

 

If I had to guess why R* does this, it's probably to imitate some stations in real life (all? Or at least mainstream ones? IDK, the stations around me typically don't play the genres I care for, anyway. ) playing shorter "radio edit" versions of songs.

 

7 hours ago, DubiousThiny said:

(does this count?)

Self-Actualization FM has the longest song name in the series so far, it's The Orb's "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre of the Ultra world (Live Mix MK10)" like jeez that's unnecessary lengthy.

To top it off, the full song is also a bit longer than even "A Rainbow in Curved Air" (18:48).

 

EDIT: Doesn't V have the full versions of (a few?) songs when using the R* Editor? I swear, I remember hearing one or two when I fiddled around with it back during the PC launch.

Edited June 1, 2023 by NightmanCometh96

[Face The Music]

3 hours ago, NightmanCometh96 said:

To top it off, the full song is also a bit longer than even "A Rainbow in Curved Air" (18:48).

Hmmm....How much of it do they play?

[UserInvalid]

9 hours ago, Face The Music said:

EDIT: Also,  these don't count, but I'm just now noticing how freakishly long some of the beta songs were. These are all of the 6+ minute beta songs I know of, there may be more.

 

GTA V:

Radar Love by Golden Earring - 6:26

 

Rockstar could use a Single Version (or how is named] of a song that lasts only 3 minutes and 43 seconds, and I think that's the version Rockstar wanted to use.

https://mega.nz/file/5ecSUDLA#VoQHlB519Gmgvl1mSQeZNiCop0Jqo5uWSDsKrDPpk_U

[I can't upload this to YouTube due to the copyright]

Edited June 1, 2023 by UserInvalid

[Face The Music]

22 minutes ago, UserInvalid said:

Rockstar could use a Single Version (or how is named] of a song that lasts only 3 minutes and 43 seconds, and I think that's the version Rockstar wanted to use.

Eh, not too sure about that. Baker Street, which is 6:05, is played practically in its entirety on LSRR, and Radar Love isn't much longer. That said Rockstar was probably wanting the single version of Get Ready by Rare Earth as opposed to the album version.

[NightmanCometh96]

43 minutes ago, Face The Music said:

Hmmm....How much of it do they play?

Going by this rip of Self-Actualization FM (the songs aren't always in the same order in-game, but they do stay at the same length), the station plays roughly 4 minutes of the song (it starts at 9:03 and ends around 13:06):

 

Edited June 1, 2023 by NightmanCometh96

[UserInvalid]

8 minutes ago, NightmanCometh96 said:

Going by this rip of Self-Actualization FM (the songs aren't always in the same order in-game, but they do stay at the same length), the station plays roughly 4 minutes of the song (it starts at 9:03 and ends around 13:06):

 

In game is lasts 4 minutes and 3 seconds [took from the game files]

https://mega.nz/file/9b0nla6Y#OEwU0lr2i4qrIIB1ObrUsHDDKVwKgIAM_nlj4UOmKlE

[Face The Music]

47 minutes ago, UserInvalid said:

In game is lasts 4 minutes and 3 seconds [took from the game files]

https://mega.nz/file/9b0nla6Y#OEwU0lr2i4qrIIB1ObrUsHDDKVwKgIAM_nlj4UOmKlE

Yknow, while you're at it can you review some of the other long songs (Disco Inferno in particular)?

[UserInvalid]

21 minutes ago, Face The Music said:

Yknow, while you're at it can you review some of the other long songs (Disco Inferno in particular)?

Disco Inferno: 3:25

A Rainbow in Curved Air: 3:28

 

What other songs do you need? I can also check songs from GTA V and GTA Online.

[Face The Music]

39 minutes ago, UserInvalid said:

Disco Inferno: 3:25

A Rainbow in Curved Air: 3:28

 

What other songs do you need? I can also check songs from GTA V and GTA Online.

Welp that takes Disco Inferno out of the running then. Check GTA IV/V/Online for any 9+ minuters and see if they play the whole thing. And I'd also like to see a "Original Runtime vs. GTA Edit" on LRR (both versions), like for example using Smokin' by Boston in SA it'd be like "Original: 4:19, GTA: 3:26".

[Krymefull]

On 6/1/2023 at 6:34 PM, NightmanCometh96 said:

Intros often get theIf I had to guess why R* does this, it's probably to imitate some stations in real life (all? Or at least mainstream ones? IDK, the stations around me typically don't play the genres I care for, anyway. ) playing shorter "radio edit" versions of songs.

I don't get why Rockstar doesn't use any available radio edits for their songs, they could've easily saved themselves some space and effort by using radio edits but they still wanted to do it themselves anyway.

[Kalashnikov1947]

Godley and Creme - Cry in GTA 4. It's the only song I know of that doesn't get shortened in-game.

[Face The Music]

On 6/29/2023 at 8:25 AM, Panzermann11 said:

Godley and Creme - Cry in GTA 4. It's the only song I know of that doesn't get shortened in-game.

Runtime: 3:56 for the version they play on LRR. Not even the longest song on the station. Rough runtime rundown for LRR:

• 1979: 4:24 (no edit)
• Cocaine: about 2:55 by memory, full length is 3:45
• Cry: 3:56 (no edit, but this is a radio edit: album version is a bit over 6:30)
• Dominion: 5:08 (no edit, but does leave out "Mother Russia" which it is siamese twin songs with) on PC, about 3:20 on Xbox
• Edge of Seventeen: 4:30, full length is 5:27
• Evil Woman: 3:49, full length is 4:12
• Fascination: something like 3:40 from memory, full length is 5:48
• Goodbye Horses: IIRC it's 3:08 (no edit)
• Heaven and Hell: don't remember specfically, somewhere between 3:30 and 4:00, full length 6:57
• Her Strut: 3:16 or thereabouts, full length 3:53
• I Wanna Be Your Dog: 3:08 (no edit)
• Jailbreak: 4:04 (no edit)
• Mama: I think they use the 5:18 radio edit, then cut it down to 4:09. Full length is 6:59
• New York Groove: 2:45 (no edit)
• One Vision: 5:44, full length 6:28
• Remedy: I think 5:24 (no edit), perhaps missing a few seconds, on PC; Xbox runs about 3:10
• Rocky Mountain Way: let's call it 4:30, full length 5:15
• The Seeker: 3:30 (no edit)
• Street Kids: 3:38, full length 6:25
• Straight On: somewhere around 3:05, full length 5:07
• Thug: 2:55, maybe? Full length 4:19
• Turn You Inside Out: I think 3:20? Full length 4:16

 

Looks like, judging by amount of the song played in game, One Vision wins the Longest on LRR trophy by clocking in at 5:44. Everything longer than it got cut down, majorly, and even OV itself got a shave.

 

Rockstar, man.

Edited July 3, 2023 by Face The Music

[Kalashnikov1947]

8 hours ago, Face The Music said:

Runtime: 3:56 for the version they play on LRR. Not even the longest song on the station.

Huh. I remember checking LRR sound file on OpenIV and thought Cry was the longest on the station judging by the length.

[justrandomuser]

I noticed that about 90% of the songs on Los Santos Underground Radio last longer than 5 minutes, and one song "And Dance" lasts 14 minutes, Media Player has about 30-40% last more than 5 minutes, and I haven't checked Music Locker Radio yet, there are also most likely full versions of songs very long.

[Face The Music]

OK so I'm gonna do something different. I'm gonna list off the longest songs from individual GTA games. I've already gotten SA sorted, here's the top 10 for that game:

1. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird (9:18, but they cut it off right as the solo gets going)
2. Fallout - The Morning After - Sunrise Mix (8:30)
3. Blood Sisters - Ring My Bell (7:59)
4. The Nightwriters - Let The Music Use You (7:57)
5. Harlem Underground Band - Smokin' Cheeba Cheeba (7:40)
6. James Brown - The Payback (7:40)
7. Robert Owens - I'll Be Your Friend - DEF Mix (7:39)
8. Black Harmony - Don't Let It Go to Your Head (7:21)
9. Maze - Twilight (6:52)
10. Bobby Brown - Don't Be Cruel (6:48)

NOTE: The Stone Roses - Fool's Gold is 9:56 on the album, but I believe Radio X uses the 4:06 radio edit.

 

EDIT: And EFLC:

1. The Orb - A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld (18:49, but only about 4 minutes of it gets played)
2. The Trammps - Disco Inferno (10:59, but like The Orb's song above only 3-4 minutes of the song is played)
3. Jonathan Peters and Maya Azucena - Music (10:32)
4. Patrick Cowley - Menergy (8:49)
5. Booty Luv - Boogie 2Nite (Seamus Haji Big Love Mix) (8:27)
6. StoneBridge - Put 'Em High (JJ Club Mix) (8:21)
7. Michael Gray - The Weekend (Extended Vocal Mix) (8:08)
8. Pete Namlook and Klaus Schulze - Psychedelic Brunch Pt. 5 Version 8 (8:03)
9. Tom Middleton - Moonbathing (8:01)
10. Autechre - Bike (8:00)

Edited October 26, 2023 by Face The Music
Added EFLC. It turns out most of its long tunes come from Vladivostok and Self-Actualization.....hmm

[JE77]

What's the oldest song in the GTA series?

[Nico]

Such a shame this gem was dropped out of GTA 2, no doubt it would have been the answer to this topic if it wasn't cut:

 

 

[Pashaforever]

7 hours ago, JE77 said:

What's the oldest song in the GTA series?

Both renditions in Double Clef FM features pieces of compositions from Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro" (1786).

 

Non più andrai farfallone amoroso in GTA III, Overture in GTA LCS.

[JE77]

1 hour ago, Pashaforever said:

Both renditions in Double Clef FM features pieces of compositions from Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro" (1786).

 

Non più andrai farfallone amoroso in GTA III, Overture in GTA LCS.

Thank you for answering. 

[LowTierDude]

11 hours ago, JE77 said:

What's the oldest song in the GTA series?

If we're going by recording/performance year.

 

The earliest recorded track would be "She Made Toothpicks of the Timber of My Heart" by Homer and Jethro (1950) on Rebel Radio as most of those Double Clef tracks were recorded in the 60s and 70s.

Edited September 24, 2024 by LowTierDude

[JE77]

1 hour ago, LowTierDude said:

If we're going by recording/performance year.

 

The earliest recorded track would be "She Made Toothpicks of the Timber of My Heart" by Homer and Jethro (1950) on Rebel Radio as most of those Double Clef tracks were recorded in the 60s and 70s.

 

I was asking for both recording and the year that the oldest song in the GTA series was written also. Thank you both for answering. 

[NightmanCometh96]

14 hours ago, JE77 said:

What's the oldest song in the GTA series?

3 hours ago, LowTierDude said:

If we're going by recording/performance year.

 

The earliest recorded track would be "She Made Toothpicks of the Timber of My Heart" by Homer and Jethro (1950) on Rebel Radio as most of those Double Clef tracks were recorded in the 60s and 70s.

JNR seems to have two songs that predate that one: “Move” by Miles Davis (1949) and Duke Ellington’s 1941 recording of “Take the A Train”.
 

If you want to count beta tracks, the honor (at least AFAIK) still goes to one meant to be featured on JNR: “Fine and Mellow” by Billie Holiday (1939). R* had plans to update the station for TLAD, but that sadly never happened. It would have been a decent fit, too. The Jousters Club that Thomas Stubbs hangs out at seems like the kind of place that might play older jazz music. Not to mention that you visit Ray Boccino a few times at Drusilla’s; JNR in Vanilla IV/CE makes a lot more sense to play in an Italian restaurant than its replacement in EFLC standalone (Self-Actualization of all things).

Edited September 24, 2024 by NightmanCometh96

[LowTierDude]

31 minutes ago, NightmanCometh96 said:

JNR seems to have two songs that predate that one: “Move” by Miles Davis (1949) and Duke Ellington’s 1941 recording of “Take the A Train”.
 

If you want to count beta tracks, the honor (at least AFAIK) still goes to one meant to be featured on JNR: “Fine and Mellow” by Billie Holiday (1939). R* had plans to update the station for TLAD, but that sadly never happened. It would have been a decent fit, too. The Jousters Club that Thomas Stubbs hangs out at seems like the kind of place that might play older jazz music. Not to mention that you visit Ray Boccino a few times at Drusilla’s; JNR in Vanilla IV/CE makes a lot more sense to play in an Italian restaurant than its replacement in EFLC standalone (Self-Actualization of all things).

Yeah I can't believe I forgot about JNR. Cheers.