The Band's Visit cast recording available for first listen ahead of streaming release on 12/15

[yellibean2]

So excited to finally be able to listen to this gorgeous score!
http://ew.com/theater/2017/12/13/the-bands-visit-cast-recording-exclusive/

[irishgator1]

Listening now! I love it.

[3GamesToLove]

Can't listen until later today--can anyone tell me if they re-recorded "Omar Sharif?" I thought Katrina's performance on the audio that's been available on their website for months was perfect.

[dramamama611]

Thanks for posting!

[GeorgeandDot]

It sounds wonderful. Yes, it sounds like they did re-record Omar Shariff and it sounds even better, IMO.

[phan24]

The score and the recording is gorgeous, wish I could be on board with the book as well, but alas.

[sparepart973]

They defiantly re-recorded Omar Sharif. In the original promos Katrina pronounces Um Kulthoum "Um Kulsoum" (with an S), in the Broadway recording she pronounces it Um Kulthoum (with a th). 

[RaisedOnMusicals]

phan24 said: "The score and the recording is gorgeous, wish I could be on board with the book as well, but alas."

I saw the show last night and based on some comments here I was afraid that I wouldn't like the book and would find it slow. On the contrary, I have to side with the critics here and say that I thought the show was brilliant from beginning to end. I was completely engaged from start to finish.

 

[TFMH18]

They did re-record "Omar Sharif" and, as someone else mentioned, it's even better as Lenk seems to have gotten much more comfortable with the accent and pronunciations—great thing as it's the signature song from the role that's going to win her a Tony. What a FLAWLESS recording. So in love with this gorgeous show. 

[QueenAlice]

The recording is breathtaking. 

[gypsy101]

i’m just gonna say it: David Yazbek is one of the greatest musical theater writers working today. He’s written 4 Broadway scores and each one has many wonderful things to offer and i wouldn’t call any one of them a dud (as opposed to many other modern writers like Kitt, Lippa, LaChiusa, Shaiman-Wittman, Pasek-Paul etc. each of whom have written their fair share of clunkers/mediocre scores). The Band’s Visit may be his crowning achievement but all of his other works have wonderful things. This recording is beautiful and I hope he finally wins the Tony.

[Miles2Go2]

RaisedOnMusicals said: "I saw the show last night and based on some comments here I was afraid that I wouldn't like the book and would find it slow. On the contrary, I have to side with the critics here and say that I thought the show was brilliant from beginning to end. I was completely engaged from start to finish."

I agree RaisedOnMusicals. I adored this production. I’m so glad I made room for it last month (6 shows in 5 days) on my NYC vacation. I sat 2nd Row Center Orchestra and at the curtain call I was applauding loudly and bawling my eyes out. 

[musikman]

I've had Something Different on repeat since last night. I know it borrows thematically from Omar Sharif, but it's so incredibly atmospheric and sensual. You can literally taste the "spice in my mouth." (That sounds unintentionally suggestive ??)

This recording is fantastic. I hope this score wins Yazbek the TONY.

[TFMH18]

There is virtually no way this score WON'T win Yazbek a (VERY well-deserved) Tony. 

[James2]

I wish this album included the music that leads into the blackout.

[John Adams]

I LOVE this score! I have only one sniggling complaint.

If any cast album could benefit from added dialog, this is it. The score is great (IMO), but as a cast recording, there are too many examples where the music sounds like just snippets of something bigger; that something is missing in those tracks.

I haven't seen the show yet, but I feel like the dialog surrounding the shorter musical elements of the score is a necessary part of the song itself. Without it, the cast recording sounds VERY incomplete.

I wish more thought had been put into creatively selecting enough of the surrounding dialog to flesh out those examples of musical snippets into more complete elements, to create a more 'complete' cast album.

As an example, how would Papi Hears the Ocean fare if the non-musical audio of the seagulls and the sea were excluded because they are not (technically) a musical element of the song? I wonder if some additional dialog at the end of It Is What It Is might create a more complete track, for example (?)

[John Adams]

musikman said: "I've had Something Different on repeat since last night. I know it borrows thematically from Omar Sharif, but it's so incredibly atmospheric and sensual. "

I don't claim to know the mind of Yazbek, but I believe that example of 'borrowing' might be deliberate. In the lyric, she sings, "Is this my sheik? Is this my Omar Sharif?" IMO, that makes for a thoughtfully composed score.

 

[yellibean2]

John Adams said: "I LOVE this score! I have only one sniggling complaint.

If any cast album could benefit from added dialog, this is it. The score is great (IMO), but as a cast recording, there are too many examples where the music sounds like just snippets of something bigger; that something is missing in each track.

Yeah, I did think that it could benefit from some more dialogue - notably there is no Arabic [edit: forgot about Itgara, so I guess besides that] or Hebrew on the recording where as the book has plenty of both. I think though when it comes to repeat listens I don't like to keep listening to the same dialogue, so I kind of prefer recordings that keep it to a minimum, even if it helps especially for shows I haven't seen yet.

 

[BroadwayConcierge]

I can tell this cast album is already going to be one I cherish for a long, long time. This score is beyond sensational. It's one of few times I've felt genuinely transported in the theatre and forgot I was in New York City. Just glorious.

[musikman]

John Adams: oh don't get me wrong. I'm not using it as a criticism. On the contrary, I think it's actually pretty clear why he's using the same thematic material in both songs, especially from a dramatic standpoint. I know that some people on here were lamenting the fact that he was "using the same melody" in every song, but they feel so, well, different to me.

[regnad kcin]

Would folks who have seen the show advise listening to the cast recording ahead of seeing the show?  I have found that for some shows listening in advance enhances the experience, whereas in others it gives away too much.

[Dfgtoronto]

Whether or not to pre-listen is a question I often ask. I have sometimes regretted not listening in advance. With this show the only song I heard beforehand was Omar Sherif. I loved every minute of this show and think I would have been fine without hearing any of the songs prior to seeing it.

[dramamama611]

I'm not seeing it until April.....and I listened to the sneak listen and just downloaded (uploaded?) the recording.  If I were seeing it sooner (like Jan/Feb), I would have waited.  I'm too excited to do so!

[ljay889]

I know it’s one act, but I’m surprised how short the score is on the recording. Didn’t feel as short in the theater with dialogue. Beautiful recording, though.

“Answer Me” might be David Yazbek’s best song ever written for the stage and one of the best showtunes I’ve heard in recent years.

[Call_me_jorge]

I can’t stop listening to Answer Me, especially at time stamp 3:32. The way those voices come together is just so gorgeous.