If you had told me that the vinyl release of the Mother Soundtrack would be my favorite out of my record collection back when I started picking up game music on vinyl, I would have told you that you were crazy; but after multiple listenings of this incredible record, that seems to be the case.

I had always known that full studio produced tracks for the release of Mother/Earthbound Origins existed, but I had only heard small bits and pieces of some of the tracks. When I picked up this record, I expected just a high-quality recording of the music from the Famicom classic; but instead, I got so much more. Let me be honest, these lyrical, studio-produced music tracks are pretty cheesy; but somehow hit me right in the heart with almost every track. For a game that was made to capture the essence of the mid to late ’80s in the United States, these arranged tracks manage to do the same thing. I could have easily heard music like this when I turned my radio on in the ’80s and not thought it was out of place. The arranged tracks range from genre to genre; sometimes you get a little pop music, and other times you get something that seems straight out of a Peter Gabriel album, but it’s all very well done and sounds fantastic on the format. Side D on the second record gives you the original music from the Famicom game, and it flows excellently in its constant mix presentation.

This two record LP set from Ship to Shore Phono Company is beautifully produced and comes on two gorgeous red vinyl discs, along with an excellent gatefold cover. The version I was given included a booklet which provides a fascinating history of the production of the music from this album and a thank you page devoted to the fans who backed the initial Kickstarter to fund this project.

Regrettably, the red double LP version of this soundtrack is out of print, but you can still pick up a pink vinyl pressing of the record or a CD version of this directly from Ship to Shore as of the publishing time of this article. If you are a fan of Mother or Earthbound and don’t have some version of this music in your library yet, I suggest you pick it up!

Mother Soundtrack CD/Vinyl: https://www.shiptoshoremedia.com/store/albums/mother