In case you hadn't noticed, the release of Super Mario World's soundtrack on vinyl is a pretty big moment in the world of Nintendo music—the company hasn't embraced the format in quite the same way as others, so this is hopefully a turning point.
Even so, it's worth noting that the company behind this release is Warner Music Japan, not Nintendo—this is a vinyl reissue of the 1991 soundtrack album, which was issued in Japan on CD.
Produced by Koichi Sugiyama (Dragon Quest) and jazz legend Sadao Watanabe, the 3-disc set not only includes Koji Kondo's music from Super Mario World—performed by a band that includes Soichi Noriki (keyboards), Tsunehide Matsuki (guitar), Jun Kajiwara (electric guitar), Kenji Takamizu (electric bass), Yuichi Tokashiki (drums), Shigeto Hamaguchi (percussion), and Keiji Toriyama (synth)—but also features sound effects from the game and music from the first three titles in the series, released on the NES.
The packaging for this vinyl release is based on that of the CD version, complete with some unique photography (what's the deal with that little girl on the back of the sleeve?) and a sheet which details the track listing across all three discs.
It's not cheap—especially if you're importing it from Japan—and the artwork on the front shows signs of somewhat shoddy upscaling, but there's no denying that this music is utterly timeless, and hearing the jazz versions of tracks is a real thrill.
Let's hope this paves the way for more Nintendo music on vinyl, the seemingly invincible music medium.
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