Since this topic was already out there I thought I'd just resurrect it for a bit...
After having parsed through both versions of the Phantom Menace score I think both are worth having. The original flows nicely, but the UE has some key tracks such as when Anakin leaves his Mom and when he blows up the orbiting control station (especially). The edits are a bit of a problem, and when I first heard them I felt a bit jarred, but after awhile I got used to them I've actually heard some supposed reconstructions of the "original versions" and frankly those are just as jarring. Of course, compared to the ending battle of Attack of the Clones, this is editing of the highest order . Attack of the Clones is Frank Zappa-level crazy.
Too much good music was left out of the original single disc soundtrack. Awkward edits and all, I'm glad this version was made available. And almost all of it sounds stunning, even at 44.1kHz.
It's the best way to listen to this score. I love this kind of presentation and wish more scores were released this way.
With jarring edits, cross fading, and tracked music replacing previously original passages?
Yes. It still beats the sadly incomplete single disc version. (Qui-Gonn's Theme is nowhere to be found on that version, for instance.) You don't even have to be a huge C&C proponent to realize how much is missing from that first release. (BTW, the single disc also has cross fading -- meaning segues of cues, not individual CD tracks.)
Could the Ultimate Edition have been done better? (The FSM/LLL/Intrada way?) Absolutely. But until that time, this is the best we've got, and the closest thing to a complete release for that score.
Too much good music was left out of the original single disc soundtrack. Awkward edits and all, I'm glad this version was made available. And almost all of it sounds stunning, even at 44.1kHz.
It's the best way to listen to this score. I love this kind of presentation and wish more scores were released this way.
With jarring edits, cross fading, and tracked music replacing previously original passages?
Yes. It still beats the sadly incomplete single disc version. (Qui-Gonn's Theme is nowhere to be found on that version, for instance.) You don't even have to be a huge C&C proponent to realize how much is missing from that first release. (BTW, the single disc also has cross fading -- meaning segues of cues, not individual CD tracks.)
Could the Ultimate Edition have been done better? (The FSM/LLL/Intrada way?) Absolutely. But until that time, this is the best we've got, and the closest thing to a complete release for that score.
I'm not intimate with this score, but some FSM members convinced me to buy the expanded version and I love it. The talk of "jarring edits" and "cross-fades" are exaggerated IMHO. I really didn't notice them.
. Attack of the Clones is Frank Zappa-level crazy. 
