personally I like the longer versions so I can study composers work while listening to it. I'm not a musician and also I'm not just a listener, I just like to grapple with scores and I say only this: the longer the better! :)
It's the same with movies: I like the longer one no matter what genre. For example the movie Solaris (2002) which is with its 100 minutes too short for my taste.

1701, May 19, 2006; 12:40 AM

In regard to 'Boy Who Could Fly' - please note that Varese edition is a re-recording and Percepto edition is the original soundtrack, so a direct comparison is not really possible. Now I don't actually have Varese edition, so I can't comment on the differences, but Percepto edition has such a superb & detailed booklet, and that (IMO) makes it an absolute must-have if you want this soundtrack. Even if you don't. :)

alekdov, May 19, 2006; 12:47 AM

coma: really? there is a Soderbergh-cut-version-thing of Solaris? they'll be damned if they don't release that one.
where did you read about this?

1701, May 19, 2006; 1:57 AM

I often find myself thinking about about things like boxes of soap which advertise "NEW AND IMPROVED!", and what utter baloney that is. Soap has not improved, or even changed functionally, for over a hundred years. If I buy the new formula, am I paying for extra cleanliness, or just a new combination of perfumes and starch filler?

If I buy an expanded release, will I get a disc which positively changes my perception of the material already known, or will it just be a bunch of generic, redundant, snippets and starch filler?

This touches on a question we often pose, doesn't it? Exactly what and how much of movie music should be released? EVERYTHING? Everything that's fit to listen to.

I bought the expanded Total Recall, and I'm still not sure it was worth it. It has interesting versus uninteresting material in approximately the same proportions as the original album... it's just longer now. So at least now I have the option of editing out from a larger pool the stuff I'd rather not listen to. Ditto ST:Insurrection. Ditto Starship Troopers. Ditto ID4.

The Varese and Percepto releases of Boy Who Could Fly, as well as I'm able to aurally detect, have ZERO shared music. My understanding, as Aldov's, is that the content of the Varese release is one of those "just for the album" recordings, whereas the Percepto is film versions.

Perhaps It's possible, though, that they ARE originally from the same source, and that I'm fooled by production tricks. Regardless, many of the tracks DO have a distinct sound, version-to-version, as well as running time. So there.

zuvqwyx3, May 19, 2006; 3:05 AM

Your analogy between soap and soundtracks is not exactly a clean one!

Sorry... I am greedy!

Moooooore is definitely better for moi!

serifiot, May 19, 2006; 3:30 AM

I agree that very often expanded does not equal better, just more. In the case of the
"Silverado" release, I've found the extra minutes to be exactly that -- extra minutes of music
that didn't make the original release for good reason. The Geffen release was lengthy enough,
cut tighter (meaning the music was more listenable vs. what it was required to do when it
accompanied the timings of the film), and almost acted like a concert piece. The extended
release was repetitive and diluted a lot of the good moments from the previous release.

glenngarv, May 19, 2006; 5:45 AM

Years ago I always complained about short releases (VARESE...). Now, I dont know if I grew up or what, but I find EXPANDED scores boring and usually meaningless (70 min GHOSTBUSTERS???Wow...). Sometimes a good 45 min is better than 77 (HORNER...?).

SILVERADO maybe now is too long, but the sound is so much better that is a MUST. Really.

falcsanz, May 19, 2006; 12:59 PM