Mother (original soundtrack, 1989)

The original soundtrack for 'Mother' (also known as 'EarthBound 0' in North America), a unique role-playing game greatly influenced by American pop culture. The game was produced by copywriter Shigesato Itoi, and released by Nintendo for Famicom (the Japanese version of NES/Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1989. In Japan, 'Mother' is known for its excellent soundtrack, which is pop-oriented music with simple and beautiful melodies, influenced by the US/UK rock (especially Brian Wilson and John Lennon). Composed and arranged by Keiichi Suzuki (the central figure of the rock band Moonriders) and Hirokazu Tanaka (the game/sound creator of Nintendo at the time). The soundtrack album featuring not only the original game sound sources but also the song versions with vocals. All the tracks recorded in London, and the lyrics are English. Catherine Warwick (vocals), Louis Philippe (vocals), Michael Nyman (arrangement) and David Bedford (arrangement) guest. 'Eight Melodies' arranged by Michael Nyman is a famous song that appeared in a music textbook for Japanese primary school. The digitally remastered version (featuring the extended version of original sound sources and an unreleased demo track added) was released in 2004. The game is also available on GameBoy Advance port as 'Mother 1+2'.