The Band's Visit cast recording available for first listen ahead of streaming release on 12/15- Page 2

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 12/15/17 at 2:23pm

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

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 12/15/17 at 3:02pm

regnad kcin said: "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."

As the cast recording wasn’t out when I saw it last month, I went in with very little knowledge of the score and loved it. I think it actually had a more profound effect on me because I had no preconceived ideas of how the songs would fit into the book and vice versa. So if you can, I’d say hold off on listening to the cast recording until after you see it. I’d also recommend sitting as close to the stage as possible as some have said the experience isn’t as profound from the mezzanine seats. Based on that advice, I actually paid $20 to move from front mezzanine to the second row of the center orchestra and loved it! Bring tissues and prepare to applaud at curtain call while wiping tears from your eyes. 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 12/15/17 at 6:01pm

This show was already on my “Need To See” list based on word of mouth, but after listening to the 30sec Spotify previews of this recording, it’s going to the top of the list!

Next question is, should my partner and I watch the film before we see the show?

[Wildcard]

Posted: 12/15/17 at 8:29pm

I like the recording though I'm surprised some songs sounded a lot like Women on the Verge

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 12/15/17 at 10:19pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "This show was already on my “Need To See” list based on word of mouth, but after listening to the 30sec Spotify previews of this recording, it’s going to the top of the list!

Next question is, should my partner and I watch the film before we see the show? "

I saw it without seeing the movie first and think I was better off for it. More surprises. Less expectations. 

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/15/17 at 10:53pm

Wildcard said: "I like the recording though I'm surprised some songs sounded a lot like Women on the Verge"

 

I think Yazbek expanded on the growth and sound he found with Verge like a natural progression. His score for Verge thankfully became highly praised and got a tony nomination, and he definitely built on the maturity and depth heard in the Verge score, and some of it does sound a little similar because of Yazbek’s distinct sound. 

The growth between Full Monty/Scoundrels and Verge/Band’s Visit is staggering. Yazbek might be my favorite composer currently writing for the stage.

Updated On: 12/15/17 at 10:53 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/15/17 at 10:57pm

Yazbeck is one of my favorite composers working today. I LOVE The Full Monty score - I think the subject matter kind of turned some people off, but his work is really great. And Dirty Rotten Scoundrels has some great tunes in it, and a great show in general. And Women is actually quite good. Just wish they could have made it work. Lupone's big number is quite good. 

And of course, this show is just gorgeous. I saw it at the Atlantic, and just was quickly taken with it. Just brilliant. Glad to see it's finding an audience on Broadway, and I think the producers were so smart. They picked the perfect season to come in - they're contending with jukebox musicals and Spongebob. 

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/16/17 at 1:53am

Wildcard said: "I like the recording though I'm surprised some songs sounded a lot like Women on the Verge"

I completely agree. It sounds very, very much like "Women on the Verge...".

Although I like the score for "Women...", and listen to it often, I never thought the style of the music reflected the setting of the show. Those very similar melodic themes and rhythms, placed in an Egyptian/Israeli setting feels and sounds like a much better match to my ears.

I'm totally anthropomorphizing the score, but it's like "Women on the Verge..." was living in one space that was nice, but wasn't completely compatible, but when it migrated to "The Band's Visit", along with a few new "roomies", it found its dream home.

 

Updated On: 12/16/17 at 01:53 AM

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 12/16/17 at 1:59am

Yazbeck's a great composer. This score is wonderful and Omar Sharif and Answer Me are probably two of his best songs, if not his best.

Also, on the subject of Women on the Verge, can we get a revival soon? I'd love to see someone like John Doyle totally overhaul that show and strip it back a bit. Yazbeck's score is magnificent and those original performances were sensational, but the book was messy and Sher's direction, which is usually phenomenal, just really didn't work. They just tried to cram too much into one show. I'd totally love to see it get a second chance, especially with Katrina Lenk in the lead role.

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/16/17 at 9:11am

Verge had a stripped down and revised London production and that is now the official licensed version of the show. A few good songs were cut/replaced, the orchestra greatly reduced, and the epic overture was devastatingly cut.

Updated On: 12/16/17 at 09:11 AM

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/16/17 at 9:30am

ljay889 said: "Verge had a stripped down and revised London production and that is now the official licensed version of the show. A few good songs were cut/replaced,the orchestra greatly reduced, and the epic overture was devastatingly cut."

Do you know if there's a cast album of the London version?

 

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/16/17 at 9:37am

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

I feel the same way. Also, in terms of how the cast album was produced, the transition from Something Different (Reprise) to Answer Me is the most satisfying.

 

Updated On: 12/16/17 at 09:37 AM

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/16/17 at 9:49am

GeorgeandDot said: "Yazbeck's score is magnificent and those original performances were sensational, "

I wasn't a fan of Patti Lupone's accent in "Women on the Verge..." - or really anyone's for that matter, but especially Ms. Lupone's.

 

[sparepart973]

Posted: 12/16/17 at 1:45pm

John Adams said: "ljay889 said: "Verge had a stripped down and revised London production and that is now the official licensed version of the show. A few good songs were cut/replaced,the orchestra greatly reduced, and the epic overture was devastatingly cut."

Do you know if there's a cast album of the London version?

"

There is - but it was never officially released, but there are digital copies circulating around the web. 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 12/16/17 at 8:53pm

The version that is now a licensed matches the London production. If you go to the MTI website, you can hear all of the tracks that were recorded for the London recording that was never released.

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/16/17 at 9:46pm

Thanks, sparepart and Alice

Not to highjack the thread, but I found a few clips on YouTube and I what little I saw, I liked better than the Broadway cast. Especially this:

 

[BDrischBDemented]

Posted: 9/27/18 at 2:57pm

I have a dumb, anal retentive question- I like to put my cast albums in chronological order when I put them on my phone, and my understanding is that the bonus track Afifi is used as underscoring at some point during the show. Having not yet seen it, I don't know where it actually falls in the song list. Could someone help a needlessly pedantic guy out and tell me where Afifi should go on a chronological playlist of the show?

[John Adams]

Posted: 9/27/18 at 3:12pm

From: https://genius.com/Original-broadway-cast-of-the-bands-visit-afifi-lyrics

"In a track-by-track breakdown of the cast recording, the show’s composer and lyricist David Yazbek said:

When you watch the show this music can slip right by you because it plays on the restaurant jukebox but our musical director Andrea Grody suggested we listen to it carefully and consider using it as a bonus track. Dean Sharenow (with whom I produced the album) and I were impressed by the mood it sets and by the musicians’ beautiful solos, so we readily agreed."

If someone can help regarding where the restaurant scene occurs, you'd have a definitive answer, but you could also rent the movie and find where that restaurant scene occurs. That would give you a general idea.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 9/27/18 at 3:24pm

It should be before Omar Shariff, which is the restaurant scene.

[BDrischBDemented]

Posted: 9/27/18 at 3:28pm

GeorgeandDot said: "It should be before Omar Shariff, which is the restaurant scene."

Thank you, GeorgeandDot! You've brought great joy to my needlessly ordered playlist.