Shenmue and Streets of Rage soundtracks coming to vinyl
Data Discs is a soon-to-launch London-based record label dedicated to one thing: ‘purveying quality game soundtracks on glorious vinyl’. The label announced this week that they have entered an exclusive deal with SEGA to release their back-catalogue of soundtracks through label.
The label have announced that they will ship two vinyls in September featuring remastered fan favourites. DATA001: Streets of Rage will feature Yuzo Koshiro‘s electronic music from the Streets of Rage series, while DATA002: Shenmue featuring orchestral music from the Shenmue Original Soundtrack composed by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi and others. Tracks from the latter can be previewed at Data Discs’ SoundCloud below:
Data Discs will open pre-orders for the records on May 30 through its soon-to-launch website. The albums will each be available in three differently-coloured editions — among them website-exclusive pre-order editions — for £19.99.
Game music on vinyl has enjoyed a revival in recent years, with records recently been released for series as diverse as Final Fantasy, Halo, Minecraft, Persona, Killzone, Far Cry, and EarthBound. With a record label about to launch dedicated to game music on vinyl, no doubt we’ll be seeing many more game music classics commemorated on vinyl in future.
Posted on May 23, 2015 by Chris Greening. Last modified on May 23, 2015.
About the Author
Chris Greening I've contributed to websites related to game audio since 2002. In this time, I've reviewed over a thousand albums and interviewed hundreds of musicians across the world. As the founder and webmaster of VGMO -Video Game Music Online-, I hope to create a cutting-edge, journalistic resource for all those soundtrack enthusiasts out there. In the process, I would love to further cultivate my passion for music, writing, and generally building things. Please enjoy the site and don't hesitate to say hello!
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This is definitely excellent news! Shenmue’s soundtracks have been out of print for years, and being a huge fan of the series, this will definitely be a pre-order for me. I have a feeling that this might not be around for very long given how much of a demand there is from fans.
It’ll be interesting to see what tracks from the game the include, whether it’ll be a reprint of the original soundtrack or something new entirely. Either way, I’m definitely sold.
I would still prefer it to be on CD because this vinyl version is one LP, and is more like a collection of soundbites. This is a tiny piece of the score. It would have been cool if the CD came out with the same care to mastering and packaging for a definitive edition, spanning several disc and containing all the music. Even the original 2 CD disc, as excellent as it was, didn’t have all the music. There is an opportunity to do this soundtrack right and a digital download is also a must in this day and age.
The original OST’s from the time of Shenmue’s release are now very rare and when they do show up on eBay they are usually bootlegs. The original 2 disc version was released by Toshiba EMI so if it has any other labelling, it’s a fake.
That’s definitely true! I personally would love to see a reprint of Shenmue Orchestra Version in particular. Though short, I view it to be one of the best VGM albums out there and an excellent arrange album all-around.
I personally consider the vinyl as more of a collectors piece than a substantial soundtrack. Many of these sorts of releases tend to be shorter. That being said, the Shenmue fan within me can’t say no and I think that the remastered sound is going to be amazing judging from the sound samples. You’re also paying for a record that’s in a pretty sweet limited edition, so I view it to be worth the money. It being the first Shenmue soundtrack in 15 years automatically makes me want to get it.
There definitely should be a more wider release for Shenmue’s soundtrack! Shenmue II never even had one to begin with. Sega has released some of their music in the West officially before, so I do think that it’s possible. Digitally at least, since CDs are becoming less commercially viable here.
Not to mention the ill-fated sequel (as the whole franchise), Shenmue 2, had no OST release whatsoever and there’s a ton of music there. Such a shame.
It’s still nice someone remembered Shenmue after all these years, even with the fact that we’re getting a single vinyl with just 13 tracks from an otherwise incomplete CD OST.