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Soundtrack Review

It's astounding that Nintendo doesn't release more of its soundtracks.  It produces some of the most memorable music for some of the industry's most iconic franchises, and they can't even give fans the option to buy the soundtrack.  It was looking that Nintendo was going down this same road with Super Mario Galaxy, and while they didn't release the soundtrack to the public, they at least produced a limited number of copies for Club Nintendo members in Japan.

How can you get your hands on it?  Well, it's difficult, because it was only released in Japan as a promotional item for Club Nintendo.  Super Mario Galaxy is the first game in the series to use a live orchestra, and it really shows through the quality of the music in the game.  While I haven't been particularly satisfied with a Mario soundtrack in quite some time, Galaxy provides one of the most memorable Mario soundscapes to date, thanks to both veteran Koji Kondo and then-Nintendo newcomer Mahito Yokota.

First of all, to explain what this "Platinum" business is all about, Club Nintendo released two versions of the soundtrack: the "Gold Version" for Club Nintendo's gold status members, and the "Platinum Version" for their platinum status members.  The difference boils down to an additional disc that's included with the Platinum Version that contains all the non-orchestrated music, and some snazzy metallic packaging.  I'll be focusing on the first disc since it includes all the live material.

It begins with the epic brass and string motif of "Overture" before the piece digresses into a beautiful piano and pitch-bendy synth section that really makes you feel as though you're in space.  "Starbit Festival" is next, combining a sweet woodwind melody with some retro chip sounds.  I really love this track.  The last of the intro tracks, "Attack! Koopa's Fleet" packs a huge dose of nostalgia as a remix of the airship theme from Super Mario Bros. 3.  When I first heard this in the game, I almost lost it.  The arrangement is true to the original, but cool nonetheless.

Finally Koji Kondo makes his grand entrance (he only composed four songs for the entire game, three of which are the same song arranged different ways).  "Egg Planet" is one of the best songs on the album, acting as the first stage theme.  The whimsical arrangement gives way to an impressive and highly memorable chorus section voiced by a beautiful string section with the steady patter of snare drums in the background.  It's really a beautiful piece of music.  He follows up with "Rosetta's Comet Observatory," of which there are three parts, each building upon the other.  The first version is subdued and lullaby-like, and the final version is grandiose and powerful, musically representing the race to defeat Bowser and rescue Princess Peach.

Yokota returns with "Honeybee Kingdom" which brings on the funk with some live electric guitar, while "Stardust Road" sees the return of the highly reverberating piano from "Overture" to voice another majestic space theme supported by pads and spacey synths.

"Battlerock" is a popular track, opening with sweeping strings and a powerful snare drum that stays at the forefront of the mix, making sure that Mario knows that this means war.  "Floater Land" is another powerful piece that opens with mostly electronic elements, including a phasing saw pad that cuts in and out of the mix before string stabs and marching percussion joins the mix, creating a similar war-like atmosphere.  "Galaxy Plant" provides the musical backdrop for the final push into Bower's territory, and it's just as epic as you'd imagine with deep piano notes.

From here, it's on to the star of the show.  "Wind Garden" is simply one of my favorite songs of all time, and probably the best Mario tune that's ever graced this good green Earth.  A video showing the recording of the piece with the Mario Galaxy Orchestra was used to promote the game, and I remember having that video on repeat for days because I loved this song so much.  An absolutely stunning melody, harp scales, and some killer guitar and brass make for one of the most memorable pieces of music of all time.  It's really that good.

Yokota knew he had a hit on his hands, as he continues to work the theme into some of the ending pieces.  "Birth" features a lovely solo piano rendition, "Super Mario Galaxy" works in a slow-tempo string version that nearly brought tears to my eyes.  Finally, the notorious "Purple Comet" features a hybrid electronic/orchestral version of the theme during the chorus section of the piece, which was a rather unexpected surprise.  The theme really deserves all this love, and probably deserves an entire album of arrangements dedicated to it.

To briefly mention the second disc, there are a number of great ambient and synthesized tracks here, but most of the best tunes are on the first disc.  It's surely a much appreciated bonus that provides over an hour of music on top of the 65+ minutes from the first disc.  The packaging for the album is also spectacular with lots of shiny silvers and deep, spacey blues.  Even the discs themselves are highly stylized and cool to look at.

All in all, this is one Mario album that you should own.  I know it's hard to realize the value of an album when it's so new, but do yourself the favor and hunt this one down while you can.  Even if you can't find the Platinum Version, buy the Gold Version, as it contains the best music from the game.  I'm seriously looking forward to what Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo do for Super Mario Galaxy 2, as they've already shown footage using a MIDI version of the new "Wind Garden" track that sounds amazing.  Can't wait to hear it live!

Are you one of the poor souls who missed out on this album release?  Are you looking forward to what they do with the Mario Galaxy Orchestra on SMG2?

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