The Two Different Versions of Blue SWAT's Theme Song

You thought it was over, huh? WRONG. Anniversary month continues with one last burst of energy! This time I will be talking about something I eluded to briefly in the past. I am going to get my gloves, grab my shovel, dig up Forte's rotting corpse and shake it violently until it becomes dust. That's right--I'm going to talk about yet another mystery from their short reign of terror...

Why are there two versions of Blue SWAT's opening theme song TRUE DREAM?

Let's start at the beginning...

The first time TRUE DREAM was released on CD was the 20th of March in 1994. The CD Single itself was as bog-standard as most Forte releases were. It featured the opening and ending theme songs and that's it--no Karaoke versions. TRUE DREAM sounded just as it did in the series. The version released later on for the Blue SWAT Music Collection was just a shortened TV size version of the same song from the CD Single.

Here's where things get a little bit murky for me as I do not own a copy of the 1994 Blue SWAT Song Collection.

On the 17th of May in 2004 the third volume of the Metal Hero Super Hero Chronicle was released. On it was a version of TRUE DREAM that was completely different from both the CD Single and TV Size version. Not only was there a heavy use of reverb throughout the entire song, but the lyrics were completely re-sung by Tatsuya Maeda. There are a couple of clear differences in inflection of certain lyrics.

Was this an outtake that somehow survived and managed to get a release years later? I'm not so sure about that. If it was a case of just the lyrics being sung a little bit differently, I would probably write this off as an outtake. The music being somewhat more polished in the Super Hero Chronicle version just throws everything for a loop.

To demonstrate the differences between the two, I created a video that dissects both versions. First, you'll hear the full versions of each song. After that, there are snippets of the differences laid back to back. Finally, there is a version I cut together that has both versions laid on top of each other. You can clearly hear the differences in singing on that. I recommend putting on the headphones for full effect. This is just another one of those mysteries that has kept Forte relevant two decades after it's demise...

Intro: There is much more build-up in the SHC version over the single version.
Lyrics: Sung differently in a few parts, use of reverb in the SHC version.
Guitar section: Stronger use of percussion.

So I guess the real way to differentiate the two is that previous versions are the Forte Version with the latter being the Columbia Version. Technically incorrect (since the Karaoke version on Toei Metal Hero Karaoke Vol.2 features the Forte version despite being a Columbia release), but I'm all for simplicity.

I hope you enjoy the video I put together. Thanks once again for supporting my blog for the past five years. This extra blog came about because I realized that I posted five blogs in January 2011 plus, well, it's five years. So why not go the extra mile and make it five? Regularly scheduled programming resumes in February. I have a doozy of a CD Collection post coming up mid-Feb.--one I actually get requests for.

See ya!

-CC

5 Year Anniversary Month

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The Complete Guide To Collecting Japanese CDs
Top 7 BEST Mecha Designs
CD Collection--Carranger 8cm CD Singles
Star Virgin (Movie + CD Soundtrack Review)