Posted: 12/13/17 at 11:39am
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/
Posted: 12/13/17 at 11:50am
Posted: 12/13/17 at 11:53am
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.
Posted: 12/13/17 at 11:56am
Thanks for posting!
Posted: 12/13/17 at 12:12pm
Posted: 12/13/17 at 12:14pm
Posted: 12/13/17 at 12:16pm
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).
Posted: 12/13/17 at 12:25pm
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.
Posted: 12/13/17 at 1:03pm
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.
Posted: 12/13/17 at 1:04pm
The recording is breathtaking.
Posted: 12/14/17 at 8:43am
Posted: 12/14/17 at 9:38am
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.
Posted: 12/14/17 at 9:47am
Posted: 12/14/17 at 10:09am
There is virtually no way this score WON'T win Yazbek a (VERY well-deserved) Tony.
Posted: 12/14/17 at 11:38am
I wish this album included the music that leads into the blackout.
Posted: 12/15/17 at 10:18am
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 (?)
Updated On: 12/15/17 at 10:18 AM
Posted: 12/15/17 at 10:34am
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. 
Posted: 12/15/17 at 10:45am
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.
Updated On: 12/15/17 at 10:45 AM
Posted: 12/15/17 at 11:26am
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.
Posted: 12/15/17 at 12:41pm
Posted: 12/15/17 at 12:46pm
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.
Posted: 12/15/17 at 1:24pm
Posted: 12/15/17 at 1:27pm
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!
Posted: 12/15/17 at 1:37pm
Posted: 12/15/17 at 2:23pm
