The album cover of the official soundtrack
Mother (マザー Mazā) is the official soundtrack of EarthBound Beginnings, composed by Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka with collaboration from various artists such as Catherine Warwick, Jeb Million and the St.Paul's Cathedral Choir. The soundtrack was released on August 21, 1989 by Sony Records on cassette and CD in Japan. Production of album began before EarthBound Beginnings was even being programed, The soundtrack was recorded at eight different studios across England and Japan and It consists of eleven tracks, seven of which have vocals. The album's lyrics were written by Linda Hennrick under Shigesato Itoi's supervision.
The album was originally intended for a global release as part of the localization of Mother hence why the album was in English, but was canceled in 1991, making the album only available in Japan until 2015.
On February 18, 2004 , the album was digitally remastered and re-released on CD with an extended version of "The World of Mother" and a bonus demo track of "Smiles and Tears" from the sequel of Mother.
On December, 2015, Ship To Shore Phonograph Co. reissued the album on vinyl and CD and officially released it in the West.
On December 25, 2019, Sony Music Direct re-released the soundtrack on vinyl again but only in Japan.
On January 27, 2021 Keiichi Suzuki released a re-imagining of this album called Mother Music Revisited on CD, vinyl, and digital streaming. The original album has also since been released on Spotify, featuring The World of Mother's extension, but not the Smiles and Tears demo track.
Track listing & Personnel[]
(Adapted from the 2004 liner notes)
1. "Pollyanna (I Believe in You)" – 3:44
- Arranged By, Instruments [Other] – Keiichi Suzuki
- Backing Vocals – G. Tommey, K. Suzuki
- Lead Vocalist: Catherine Warwick
- Bass – Graham Edwards
- Drums – Geoff Dugmore
- Guitar – Chester Camen, Keith Beauvais
- Keyboards, Programmed By – Bob Andrews
- Programmed By – Takazumi Kunitomo, Tatsuhiko Mori, Yukio Doki
2. "Bein' Friends" – 5:16
- Arranged By, Instruments [Other] – Keiichi Suzuki
- Lead Vocalist: Catherine Warwick & Jeremy Holland-Smith
- Backing Vocals – 1000 Voices
- Bass – Graham Edwards
- Drums – Geoff Dugmore
- Guitar – Chester Camen, Keith Beauvais
- Keyboards, Programmed By – David Motion
- Programmed By – Takazumi Kunitomo, Tatsuhiko Mori
3. "The Paradise Line" – 3:46
- Arranged By – Keiichi Suzuki
- Backing Vocals – King Edward School Choir Boys
- Drums – Geoff Dugmore
- Guitar – Chester Camen
- Keyboards, Programmed By David Motion
- Lead Vocalist: Jeb Million
4. "Magicant" – 4:23
- Arranged By, Instrumentation By – Keiichi Suzuki
- Programmed By [Synthesizer] – Takazumi Kunitomo, Tatsuhiko Mori
5. "Wisdom of the World" – 4:43
- Arranged By – David Bedford
- Programmed By – Don Camer
- Lead Vocalist: Catherine Warwick
6. "Flying Man" – 4:51
- Acoustic Bass, Bouzouki, Ukulele – Hotoshi Watanabe
- Arranged By, Instruments [Other] – Keiichi Suzuki
- Backing Vocals – G. Tommey, K. Suzuki, Louis Philippe
- Guitar – Louis Philippe
- Programmed By – Takazumi Kunitomo, Tatsuhiko Mori
- Lead Vocalist: Louis Philippe
7. "Snow Man" – 3:54
- Acoustic Guitar, Bouzouki – Hotoshi Watanabe
- Arranged By, Instruments [Other] – Keiichi Suzuki
- Programmed By [Synthesizer] – Jun Tohyama, Takazumi Kunitomo, Tatsuhiko Mori
8. "All That I Needed (Was You)" – 4:45
- Arranged By – Keiichi Suzuki
- Backing Vocals – G. Tommey, K. Suzuki
- Bass – Steve Barnacle
- Drums – Geoff Dugmore
- Guitar – Chester Camen
- Keyboards, Programmed By – David Motion
- Lead Vocalist: Jeremy Budd
9. "Fallin' Love" – 6:18
- Arranged By – Takeshi Saitoh
- Drums – Jun Aoyama
- Electric Bass, Electric Guitar [Gut String] – Masashi Yokoyama
- Mandolin – Bun Itakura
- Percussion – Mato*, Tetsuaki Hoashi
- Piano – Kazuto Shimizu, Naoko Saitoh
- Saxophone – Masami Shinoda
- Strings – Joe Group Strings, Saito Neko Strings Quartet
- Trombone – Yoichi Murata
- Vocals – Reichi
10. "Eight Melodies" – 5:46
- Arranged By – Michael Nyman
- Choir: St. Paul's Cathedral Choir
11. "The World of Mother" (Extended version) – 16:31
- Arranged By, Instrumentation By – Hirokazu Tanaka, Keiichi Suzuki
Bonus tracks[]
- The World of MOTHER (Extended Version) - 23:53
- "Smiles and Tears" (Demo; reissue bonus track) - 4:47
Gallery[]
