| Title Screen |
| Composer |
David Whittaker |
| Released |
1989-??-?? |
| Title Origin |
Game Location |
| Loops |
Yes |
|
Title Screen is the song that plays on the title screen of all versions of Weird Dreams, except the Commodore 64 version. It was written by David Whittaker for the Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, and DOS (PC Speaker) versions, before being arranged by Barry Leitch for the Commodore 64 and DOS (AdLib) versions.
Composition
David Whittaker versions
The song is written in the key of C minor, and is in the 6/8 time signature. The song starts off with some choir aah sounds as the main instrument, and the opening riff plays up the C minor scale. At about 0:22, the simple bass and drums enter. For a while, there are variations on the lead channel for the instrument. These variations repeat until about the 1:24 mark. Here, the drums stay the same, but the key changes to A minor, and the lead instrument changes into a piano-like instrument. At about 1:55, the lead instrument changes back to the choir pad. At 2:25, the song returns to the part with the piano-like sound. Then, finally at about 2:56, the song loops back to the beginning.
Whittaker composed both versions using his sound drivers in MC68000 assembly language.
Barry Leitch versions
Barry's arrangement of Whittaker's original composition is so different that it sounds like a completely new song. The song plays at about 120 BPM and is now in standard 4/4 time. The song is still in the key of C minor. The song repeats the same riffs, for the most part, throughout the whole song. The lead instrument does have some variations that, like Whittaker's version, repeat later in the song. Also, similar to Whittaker's composition, the drum pattern is the same throughout most of the song. The song then loops at about 2:33.
Games
Weird Dreams (AMI)
Weird Dreams (AST)
Weird Dreams (C64)
The Commodore 64 version is the only port of the game not to use this song during the title screen. Instead, it plays when Steve is at the final part of the piano, after having snuck past the ballerina. The game instead plays the Piano music at the title screen.
Barry wrote the song in assembly language using a sound driver by Axel Brown. However, according to Leitch, it's possible Dave Chiles and/or Adrian Waterhouse modified Axel's driver for this game. The song plays a quarter-step sharp.
Weird Dreams (DOS)
